Design
Photography by Bernardo Grijalva
In the cultural California that captures the imagination of the world, everything is sunsoaked bliss awash in coastal beams of surfside fantasy—a land of beach parties and easy living. And yes, that Technicolor dream exists in plentiful supply in many places in the Golden State.
But there is another California—a rugged place where the terrain and weather are wild and raw, and the ecology attracts relaxation and celebration of a different sort. In The Sea Ranch, rising up out of the fog on the Northern California coastline along the famed Highway 1, the land and the wide expanse of the sea are the focus, and infrastructure and diversion play a supporting role.
For Julie Cavanaugh, founder and principal of Design Matters, Sea Ranch is a place steeped in personal history. Cavanaugh spent over 30 years visiting Sea Ranch with family and friends, so when the opportunity arose in 2018 to purchase a decaying, never-renovated home in the community, the decision was easy.
“From my earliest visits in the late ’90s, I was captivated by how Sea Ranch integrates design with nature,” says Cavanaugh. “The geometric forms, window placements, and use of natural materials create a built environment that feels inevitable—like it has always belonged.”
Frequent visits to Sea Ranch as a young design student inspired Cavanaugh on a deep level, and sparked ideas for a lifelong career designing unique homes that thrive in their given environments.
Seaside homes in Northern California have a certain aesthetic, and the Sea Ranch community represents the form in perfect style. First appearing in the 1960s, these simple, angular, boxy, timber-framed dwellings are shelters from the salty Pacific gusts. Like silent sentinels on the coastal cliffs and hills, they keep watch over the coast, as their wood sidings age to a perfect gray and mossy patina over the years.
“Sea Ranch coastal architecture is uniquely its own—rooted in restraint, harmony, and an intentional dialogue between built and natural environments,” says Cavanaugh. “While other coastal communities have copied the style to various degrees of success,
no place embodies the delicate balance of form, scale, and landscape integration quite like The Sea Ranch.”
The home is fully electric, including appliances, water heater, and room heaters.
Core-Tec flooring with cork backing enhances energy efficiency and sound quality.
Fisher & Paykel electric appliances and doubleinsulated windows and doors are used throughout.
For her Sea Ranch home project, Cavanaugh partnered with experienced local builder Shawn Bettega Construction. Taking cues from the surrounding landscape, she focused on integration with the environment. The sea, sky, and surrounding elements demanded focused spaces oriented toward the natural world. Cavanaugh feels that in the ever-worsening and lengthening California wildfire season, the task of building sustainable structures is not trendy; it’s tantamount to survival.
“A concept like ‘sustainability’ plays differently in a community like Sea Ranch,” says Cavanaugh, reflecting on her years of experience in responsible building. “I’ve always been passionate about environmental harmony, and that passion began at Sea Ranch.”
Cavanaugh devised a safe, fire-retardant concrete composite as a siding option for her home, as a solution that would provide protection, look great, and last long in Sea Ranch’s coastal climate. She also designed her home to be completely electric,
including all appliances, water heater, and room heaters. Cork-backed flooring enhanced the energy efficiency and sound quality of her home. The main structure and guest house are connected by a seamless patio to encourage sunset gatherings, facilitating conversations whose words eventually drift out to sea. Julie Cavanaugh selected stunning artwork by local Sea Ranch artists Kerry Mansfield and Rozanne Rapozo to enhance the interior of her home.
“Sea Ranch is evolving, but its essence remains the same,” she says. “It’s a place where architecture and nature exist in harmony. With modern innovations, the next generation of residents can embrace the spirit of Sea Ranch while ensuring its longevity for decades to come.”
As a designer, Cavanaugh feels that her home represents a stake in the ground for the future, not just for her, but for coastal communities like Sea Ranch, where design, construction, and innovation must evolve to meet the changing landscape of a changing California—a beneficial balance of beautiful spaces that dance with the landscape to create a symphony of sustainability by the sea.
