Chameleon on the Coast

Thanks to a flexible design, this La Jolla Shores beach house transitions from a home casual enough to sport sandy footprints in the morning to an elegant destination for corporate parties in the evening.

When travel magazines tally the world’s greatest beaches, La Jolla Shores consistently places near the top of the list. That’s why Deni and Jeff Jacobs decided to build their 5,500-square-foot beach house here instead of Cabo San Lucas, Bali or Hawaii.

“I spent a lot of time on the beach as a kid, so I have a real affection for La Jolla Shores and San Diego’s climate,” says Jeff, executive vice president of Qualcomm. “When this particular piece of beachfront [a weather-beaten ’50s cottage] came on the market, I knew immediately our new beach house would be in La Jolla.”

He says the house “had to suit our many different lifestyles and be a place for family retreats, casual barbecues with friends, a romantic getaway for Deni and me, a place to hold more-sophisticated parties, such as political and charitable fund-raisers, and to host senior executives from multinational corporations.”

Putting together the architectural and interior design team was as easy as hitting speed dial. Deni and Jeff turned to two trustworthy experts. Architect William Hayer and interior designer Helene Ziman, ASID, had worked with the couple on several other residential projects and completed projects for Jeff’s parents, Joan and Irwin Jacobs.

“We were comfortable with them, and you can see by the results why we keep bringing them back,” Jeff says. “Bill is the architect of several other beach homes in La Jolla, including both of our immediate neighbors. He understands the complexities of designing for weather near the water, plus he’s dealt with the permit process before.”

Ziman was also an easy choice. “She did great things on our house at Spyglass [near Monterey, California],” Jeff says. “And the rapport she has developed with Deni is incredible, so we trust her with taking our ideas and bringing them to fruition.”

Hayer, who recently relocated his firm to Del Mar after 23 years in San Diego, designed the twostory home to be substantial. “A home near the ocean needs to have mass to face up to the weather,” he says. “Stone makes that statement. As solid as it appears from the front, the mood quickly changes at the back as the home becomes more delicate, translucent and airy.”

While Hayer had no reservations about designing a home with Balinese aesthetics, he had to be sure it would suit the Jacobses’ “desire to have the home feel intimate for their family of four, but, on any given day, be able to serve as a party house for 200 or more guests.”

The home obviously plays to the west for views, breezes and gorgeous sunsets. Downstairs, a great room at sea level flows gracefully into a remarkable terrace. Carefully appointed furnishings can be moved or removed temporarily to accommodate large groups. Glass doors look onto sand and sea and disappear into pockets inside the stonework. With entertaining in mind, the design team gave the Jacobses an outdoor kitchen, so guests always have access to food and drink.

Upstairs, the master bedroom is part Zen, part observatory. Designed for tranquility, the room captures the exhilarating feeling of waking up at a favorite resort. The extensive use of windows takes advantage of stunning views over the Pacific, La Jolla, the shoreline and nearby Scripps Pier.

Ziman, who opened her firm, Helene Ziman & Associates, in San Diego 20 years ago, knew up front the beach house would have a more masculine feel. The reason was simple: While Deni admits she’s not a beach person, her husband and their two young sons are. Jeff leads an active and athletic lifestyle. He’s a surfer, an ardent ocean kayaker and a triathlete who has twice competed in the Ironman in Hawaii. As Ziman explains, this home had to be a fully operational beach house. Since it wouldn’t be their primary residence, Jeff and Deni wanted a place where they could seamlessly transition from Hot Wheels, boogie boards, kayaks and sandy footprints to casual but elegant affairs for family, friends and clients.

“My goal was to provide a luxurious, livable, sophisticated design that can stand the test of time,” says Ziman. “This project was a collaboration of ideas I was allowed to edit from conception through construction and completion. I was able to select materials and design the ceilings, beams, interior doors and cabinetry. And I was able to complement the space with my original furniture designs.”

Her talent shines through in the visual drama of the stonework in the main kitchen. The countertops reflect the same rich azures and emerald hues of the waters surrounding Bali. Interior woods are exotic and meld with harder surfaces as if tree and stone were one. But what puts this décor squarely on theme is Ziman and Deni’s collaboration on the accessories and artwork—two elements that give the home its Southeast Asian accent.

The beach house also has a lot of eco-friendly touches. “I utilized a lot of wools and cotton, as well as natural pebbles and stones,” Ziman says. “Whenever I could, I integrated ammonites into the floor, and I had large citrine rocks embedded into the water sculpture. By repeating the natural elements of earth and water, I connected the integral parts that lead to the personality of the house.”

Indeed, Ziman and Hayer designed a home that is the epitome of California casual. Its multi-use design, combined with sophisticated appointments, make this house intimate for a family of four, while possessing the savoir-faire and ambition to host an embassy-style soirée.

Not bad for a place that’s a boys’ beach house at heart.

Jeff and Deni Jacobs on Design

What’s love got to do with design?
One of the key reasons we fell in love was our lifestyle compatibility. Both of us are just as comfortable gorilla trekking in Rwanda, riding dugout canoes in the Amazon, diving in the Galápagos and hiking through the densest rain forests of Costa Rica as we are hosting or attending black-tie galas.

What attracted you to Balinese design?
The Balinese use of beautiful, light-colored stones contrasted with darker wood caught our eye, along with the use of water, high wood or bamboo ceilings and stylish but informal and livable furniture. The simple, soft, flowing fabrics accented by stronger, more aggressive accents drew our attention.

You chose contemporary over traditional. Why?
Because we thought it not only best suited the Balinese style— and we love contemporary homes—but also contrasted with the Tuscan-style home we use as our main residence. If we were going to feel like we were getting away, we thought it would be important that the look and feel of the home be in contrast to our main residence. With the decision to build a contemporary home, it was very important to us to make sure the house still felt warm and welcoming, a place where we and our family and friends could find solace from the often frenetic life we all live.

You wanted a warm, inviting place. How does that mesh with contemporary design?
With the contemporary style and extensive use of a colder material like travertine, we knew we had to choose woods that would warm up our house. We love how koa wood is used in the hotels and homes we’ve stayed at in Hawaii. So the original direction to Helene Ziman was to use koa and to find a darker, more-brown wood that would beautifully contrast koa’s reddish hue. After a long search, we decided on Mozambique wood as the darker accent.

What inspired the terrace spa?
Much of our design sense has been heavily influenced by our travel to other Asian countries, specifically Vietnam, Thailand, India, China, as well as from our travels in Africa. So many of the places we stay at have remarkable water features. The location of the spa in our beach house was an obvious choice because we could envision sitting in the spa with a Margarita in hand, watching the beautiful sunsets over the Pacific. With our children, we also thought it important to have both a wading pool to cool one’s feet and a deeper end for splashing around. With not enough room to put a full-size pool in place, it made sense to design a spa in the center of the water feature and a smaller pool around it.

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