COASTAL BEAUTY
By Brandy Woods Snow; Photography by Karyn Millet
This article appeared in the January/February 2026 issue of Home Design & Decor’s Charlotte edition.
A Manhattan Beach family finds their sweet spot somewhere between Carolina traditional and California cool.
When a former professional football player and his wife returned to Manhattan Beach with their four children, they sought a home that told the story of both their journey and their growth.
Years on the East Coast had shaped their aesthetic, blending an appreciation for refinement with an easy West Coast sensibility. The vision: a house rooted in tradition yet elevated by a distinctly modern edge.
To bring that vision to life, they enlisted architects Ken Pursley and Craig Dixon of The Pursley Dixon Studio—celebrated for their timeless craftsmanship—and Manhattan Beach designer Joe Lucas of Lucas Studio, Inc., whose work epitomizes California livability. Though it was their first collaboration, the partnership clicked immediately. “They gave us a beautiful architectural foundation to start from,” says Lucas. “The trim work, the paneling, the tongue-and-groove details—everything felt intentional and refined.”
For Pursley and Dixon, the goal was to design a home that was both distinctive and neighborly. The second floor was tucked within the roofline to reduce scale, while a dramatic bay window floods the interiors with natural light. A side entry wrapped in glass blurs the line between indoors and out, and a serpentine porch opens the corners of the house to the street while maintaining privacy. Below, a basement level holds a theater, bar, bunkroom, and lounge that displays the owner’s football memorabilia. Throughout, the architects prioritized not only beauty but also how the home lives, layering in thoughtful details like a hidden playroom behind a living room bookcase and kitchen doors that fold away to merge with the courtyard.
Lucas, whose style blends comfort with sophistication, saw the project as an opportunity to stretch in a new direction he calls “California Cool meets East Coast traditional.” Cleaner lines and sculptural furniture ground the interiors, while texture, color, and pattern bring warmth and personality. Because the family brought little more than a few heirlooms and collectibles, each space was designed to help tell their story. The wife’s love of wallpaper became a playful through-line, with bold prints enlivening the laundry, powder, and playroom. “They asked me to move them beyond the more subdued palette they’d had before and really unleashed us to do our thing,” Lucas says. “In the paneled rooms, we kept things quieter so the details could speak.”
Though elegant, the home was made for everyday living. The butler’s pantry doubles as her workspace, and his office, lined with books and keepsakes, feels both personal and purposeful. Smart storage throughout keeps the open plan clutter-free.
Pursley believes the best results come when every collaborator works to reveal a project’s unique potential. “This home is a wonderful reflection of that philosophy,” he says, “with architect, owner, interior designer, and landscape architect coming together to create a true work of art.”
From its intricate millwork to its fearless use of color, the home captures its bicoastal spirit, standing artful yet approachable. “It’s not a showhouse,” Lucas says. “It’s a family home that can withstand being lived in and loved while still looking beautifully curated. It checks all the boxes of style and functionality.”