Hamptons Luxe Californian Bungalow

When our clients bought this 1920s Californian Bungalow it had good heritage bones, but a poor plan. Decades of piecemeal additions had left the rear a warren of small, dark rooms – a cramped kitchen, a disconnected dining room, a study and laundry added at different levels, doors and corridors everywhere. All of it turned its back on the garden and wasted the one thing this elevated, north-facing site offered in spades: abundant northern light.

MILEHAM was engaged for the full scope of architecture, interiors and construction across a two-phase renovation. At the front, we reworked the original layout to create a natural flow between the living, bedroom and bathroom areas. At the rear, we removed the dark tangle of small rooms, walls and doors and rebuilt it as one open kitchen, living and dining space on a single level, opening entirely onto a sun-drenched terrace. A series of closed-off rooms became one generous, connected space where the family spends its day, and where indoors and out become one for entertaining. Above, a new third storey holds a private master suite and guest ensuite bedroom, with district views across the treetops.

The interior brief was for a quiet, luxe take on the Hamptons aesthetic, built to last and made for real life: hand-painted custom shaker joinery, Caesarstone and marble surfaces, honeyed timber floors and aged brass that patinas with time. The outcome is a five-bedroom home that lives lighter, calmer and genuinely shaped around how this family lives.