Family Touch

By Thomas Shess

Photo by Gary Payne

The direction of ASID designer Nahid Nikzads career was strictly corporate until a few years ago, when she transitioned to residential projects at the urging of family, friends, friends of friends, and commercial clients asking me to design their home, their temple, she says. Now, in addition to offices and medical clinics, Encinitas-based Nikzad happily balances her portfolio with home design.

A year ago, Nikzad and her husband, Tom, an engineer with the city of Chula Vista, decided to turn their own Cardiff-by-the-Sea tract bungalow into a larger Mediterranean- style home that blended their California lifestyle with their Persian heritage. The couple contacted architect Masood Sodaify, whom theyd known since childhood.

The trio launched the project by creating more square footage (from 1,700 to 3,800 square feet). They designed the expansion to have architectural integrity and harmony by seamlessly blending old and new. We wanted the addition to look unified with the existing house and not appear as an afterthoughtlike so many do, says Nikzad.

The couple wanted a comfortable interior where they could host large gatherings and receive clients. Upstairs became a private zone (the family room is there). Also important were creating a separate living space for Nahids mother and taking full advantage of the bungalows ocean view.

But first, a few thorny design dilemmas had to be addressed. Because of the lots setback limitations, the only feasible option to increase square footage was to build up. They wanted three levels and had to work within Coastal Commission height limitations. Another problem was the garage, built on the west side of the circa-1960 house, totally disregarding the view. We fixed that by mirroring the garage to the eastern portion of the lot, and remodeling the old garage into Moms one-bedroom flat, Nikzad says.

The completed project is viewed as a contemporary Mediterranean-style home. Few can tell that the house is a multilevel addition. A balcony on the second floor and a third-floor terrace beautifully carve out space for relaxing or entertaining, with an unobstructed view of the Pacific.

The inside is very comfortable for our style of living, Nikzad says. Walking through the spaces is so enjoyable because it has unity. She achieved the sense of balance with perimeter ceiling lights and warm colors for the walls and dcor, and by using travertine throughout the first floor and bamboo flooring on the upper level.

Color makes me happy. I think as human beings we need color in our environment, she says. It truly enhances ones mood. Every client has their own palette of colors that I usually discover for them. The colors I chose for my house are the colors I need in my life.

In addition to warmth, a home needs meaning or a reflection of what makes us who we are, Nikzad insists. Furnishings, art and accessories should have a history with the family.

Our artwork and accessories have sentimental value for me. For example, my grandmothers makeup box with beautiful carvings of a dragon now sits on my coffee table [with some] old poetry books, and my moms collection of favorite poems hand-written by her during her teenage years.

The 19th-century French serigraph of two nudes, over the fireplace, was a present from her grandfather to her mother.

For years it was hidden under another drawing. The serigraph was discovered 20 years after my grandfathers death, when on a windy day the frame just fell off the wall and broke, and my mother found this buried treasure. I would say what makes a room cozy and inviting is meaningful objects that are part of our lives and that have a story, or objects that one must absolutely have.

The family room upstairs is where Nikzad unwinds. It has the view but her favorite room is the dining room.

It houses many family heirlooms from our great-grandparents. I feel that when we entertain in this room, my ancestors are looking on. Theres comfort in seeing my grandmothers wine goblets, our grandfathers tobacco pouch that was attached to his saddle, the samovar from Russia, the rose-water decanters and all the rest.

Such warmth is what makes a house a home.