When Morgan Miles first approached Katelyn De Spain to help redesign her and her husband’s newly purchased Del Cerro home in 2021, she had one very specific request: Miles wanted to be deeply involved in the entire process. De Spain—still a freshman in the industry with only three years under her belt—was open to collaborating, even if it potentially proved a bit more challenging to have more than one cook in the proverbial kitchen.
“The home had been owned by the same family for 43 years and was still very much in its original state,” says De Spain, owner and founder of Makehouse Design Studio. “[Miles and her husband Sean] knew that they would have to do the home in phases, starting with the main living spaces, which included the kitchen, family room, breakfast nook, and formal dining and living rooms.” Phases two and three would entail the guest bathroom and the primary bedroom and bathroom.
Designer Katelyn De Spain
A professor of marketing at San Diego State University, Miles also moonlights as a lifestyle photographer. As she and De Spain dreamed up a new look for the family home, it quickly became apparent that her creative eye translated into a natural affinity for design.
Together, with builders STS Construction and stylist Nicole Kaczenski, De Spain helped see the couple’s dream come true in February 2024—eventually coining Miles’ personal design style as “high-end unfussy.” The result? A quiet, cozy, and subtly playful sanctuary mixing modern and traditional styles, natural materials, and curated art.
See the full design details below:
De Spain wanted to make the entryway stand out as its own dramatic feature, not merely a nondescript portal to the rest of the home. The flooring features honed Carrara and Marquina marble tiles from GG Tile & Stone, while the velvet bench is from CB2. “We upgraded the double doors and implemented this fun checkerboard pattern [with the marble tiles],” De Spain says. A vintage planter basket and books supplied by Yes Yes Collective on Cedros Avenue in Solana Beach complete the look.
Miles adored the 1960s home’s organic flow, so De Spain left its layout alone and played up its midcentury style. “The client loved natural stone and really wanted that depth and that character,” De Spain says. “We chose marble countertops [from Tutto Marmo] to lean into that more modern part of it, and we went with skinny shaker cabinetry.” For the lighting, she decided on cone-shaped custom leather pendants from Tudo & Co. to round out the space.
Within the kitchen sits a breakfast nook featuring a custom-built bench and green leather backrest highlighted by vintage ceramics from Comman Goods and a pendant from Triple Seven Home. “We incorporated this built-in console in the corner that takes you into the family room,” De Spain says. “We wanted to make this room feel sort of long and open and connected to the kitchen.”
The marble tiling and bench set the stage as you walk toward the formal living room. “We updated the furnishings [in the living room] and replaced the fireplace with smooth stucco, adding marble to the hearth in there to carry some of that natural stone throughout,” De Spain says.
Miles “dabbles in painting” in addition to working as a photographer, De Spain explains. One of her pieces, a still life of a pear, adds a personal touch to the kitchen. Miniature ceramics from Comman Goods and olive oil from Stillbones surround the artwork.
“We wanted this room to just sort of have that organic, modern feel to it. The lighting fixture has curves, but it’s a modern design,” De Spain says of the formal dining room. “Same with the table. We integrated some different wood tones in here that would play off the rest of the colors to lean a little bit into that midcentury look.” A work from San Diego artist Kristen Guest already part of Miles’ personal collection—hangs above the crushed oak dining table from CB2. A vintage rug from Sapere Collection brings subtle color to the room.
“[In the formal living room], we had our woodworker add in this custom media console. It’s actually only six inches deep,” De Spain says. “We integrated wood slats in the doors so the clients could have their speakers in there, and we could still hear them through the built-in.”
For the primary bathroom, De Spain’s first purchase was Calacatta Viola marble from Tutto Marmo in Miramar. “We loved the dramatic pattern on it,” she says. “It’s got a little bit of purple; it’s got some dark—we knew we wanted to make that the focal point of this bathroom.” Complementing the marble, unlacquered brass fixtures from Signature Hardware add warmth to the space.
PARTNER CONTENT
Above the nightstand in the primary bedroom hangs a small watercolor painting from Visual Contrast in Orange County. “We really wanted to bring in some more of that rust color in here, as well as the blue. There’s color in this house, but it’s muted, so it’s really earthy,” De Spain says. Behind the bed, a giant, live-edge wood slab, veined with naturally occurring cracks, forms a show-stopping headboard.
Though most of the house’s layout remained the same, De Spain updated a former water closet into a glass-enclosed steam shower outfitted with ceramic subway tile from Zia Tile.
