“The banks deemed this home uninhabitable while we were trying to secure a loan [in 2018],” says renowned Southern California designer Raili Clasen. “It was vacant and decrepit for years, but the house’s bones were amazing.”
Modest for the secluded and high-dollar neighborhood of Rancho Santa Fe, the 2,000-square-foot, white, mid-century ranch house has a separate guest home and a hillside perch offering breathtaking views of a private bocce court, eucalyptus groves, and towering live oaks. But before it became a comfortable retreat for Clasen and her family when they’re not in Newport Beach, the home required some sweat equity.
“We refreshed it on a major budget, replacing only plumbing, counters, and flooring and cleaning up the rest with a fresh coat of paint,” Clasen says.
Budget or not, the home is a living representation of Clasen’s distinctive design approach. Functional and quietly chic, her aesthetic choices reflect her ever-firing brain, with a bright, airy style oriented toward an active yet relaxed lifestyle (she also designed Kelly Slater’s Surf Ranch complex and penned the 2024 design book Surf Style at Home).
She loves typography art and admits she “totally forces” her clients into embracing it. “Every project, I’ve tried to stuff those down on my clients,” Clasen laughs. “Sometimes they’re like, ‘I don’t want one word! Don’t even bring it up!’ But I love how it plays out, and I try to sneak it in there and, usually, they see the vision. I love how symmetric lettering is.”
It’s everywhere in her own home and guest house, which are decorated in modern style. The focal point of the property is the open living/dining/sitting room, which occupies the space between the north and east walls of the home, featuring floor-to-ceiling glass sliding doors; high, white-painted, wood-beam ceilings; and a variety of gathering spaces. A couch near the white-painted brick fireplace gives way to a nook overlooking the backyard, directly adjacent to a large dining table in front of the kitchen counter, which is lined with barstools. Flanking the dining room are original cabinets that Clasen painted olive green.
“I know it’s considered a sin in original modern homes to paint the wood and brick,” Clasen says. “But they weren’t in great shape and had to be trashed or painted. I think it’s better this way.”
She and her husband take their coffee in the nook most mornings, watching the deer go by. Then, her husband and sons “usually go surfing down at Del Mar 26th Street,” she adds, while she relaxes and gets work done.
Her family and friends usually end their days in that space, typically with a few drinks. “We’ve fit 20 people in this spot, dancing the night away!” Clasen says. Surf style, indeed.
