Neskowin Estate
OREGON
James met Chris Tate several years ago when he was hired to be the SVP of Visual and Store Design for Theory… Chris called one day and said that he would like to speak after returning from London. James then explained that he was in London… Chris then said he was staying at the Café Royal Hotel… James was at the Café Royal Hotel….Chris then texted that he was having breakfast in the café…. James texted back…he was having breakfast in the café… they were sitting next to each other. There, in a café in London, a friendship began with both laughing at how the universe works.
A few years later, Chris called us and asked if we would meet him and his wife for a residential project. They calmly sat and explained their vision of a creative community which they would develop over the next few years. The project would start with one house tucked away on a beach, which they had just purchased in Neskowin, Oregon. It was such a lovely story, we knew that we had to be a part of their journey.
The house was built in the 1980’s and was need of a refresh. We started from the outside and painted the exterior a deep black color knowing that this will fade with time and give the house a bit of patina.
The interior of the house was nearly all wood… a lot of wood. We decided that this had to stay as we wanted to respect the house, but just needed a bit of a modern take. The kitchen and the bathrooms were updated with more contemporary materials and made a bit more “family” friendly with a large new kitchen island and walk in showers in the bathrooms. The fireplace area was updated with a modern blackened steal frame and we designed a modular sofa in the living room to take advantage of multiple views made more visible through the large windows which we extended from floor to ceiling.
The decor of the space was a family affair - Chris shopped for art in LA and Paris, James and Stefanos sourced items for the kitchen and kids' rooms and Alexis kept the contractors in line. The result is a modern, warm family home which will become the center of an artist community.
