Homeowner and interior designer Allison Knizek PHOTOGRAPHED BY ERIKA BIERMAN PHOTOGRAPHY
Designer Allison Knizek’s oceanfront Laguna Beach condo combines classic architecture with coastal luxury and Hollywood flair.
The central Laguna Beach location and incredible Pacific views are what inspired Allison Knizek (allisonknizekdesign.com)—a third-generation Los Angeles designer and developer of over 20 spec homes—to buy this oceanfront condo on Cliff Drive in October 2020. “I think the sunset view on Diver’s Cove to our right is what sealed the deal,” says Knizek, who’s always on the lookout for real estate opportunities with her husband, a managing partner at The Agency RE, and planned to use it as a rental property if they didn’t love it. “As I embarked on the design and construction, it became a bit of a passion project, and I just had this feeling we would end up keeping the tiny pied-à-terre.”
Accents of Tempaper wallpaper add interest to the archways in the home’s PHOTOGRAPHED BY ERIKA BIERMAN PHOTOGRAPHY
The building and location felt nostalgic to Knizek. “They remind me of when I used to come down from Long Beach in the early ’80s with my friends to surf,” she says of the ’60s apartment building across from the Laguna Beach Lawn Bowling Club. “Even though the building does not present as a true midcentury modern design, it still has telltale signs of that period such as the glass mosaic detailing on the facade and the simplistic, geometric lines of the balconies and roof.” However, prior to the renovation, her two-bedroom, two-bathroom condo was an “1,100-square-foot box with linoleum flooring and outdated everything,” she says. “In addition to creating a visually exhilarating space, I knew I needed to maximize storage and create some airflow.”
Blue tiling from Bedrosians Tile & Stone adds retro charm to the kitchen. PHOTOGRAPHED BY ERIKA BIERMAN PHOTOGRAPHY
Jeffrey Dooley of Aliso Viejo’s Eco Century Construction gutted the unit, changing the patio door and opening up the kitchen. “My daughters and I love to cook and entertain so the kitchen had to be designed really thoughtfully and have all the same amenities, just shrunken down,” says Knizek, whose primary home is in Sherman Oaks. She added blue square Bedrosians tiles, hidden cabinets, white Café collection appliances with bronze handles and two arches—which she creatively lined with peel-and-stick Tempaper wallpaper. One canopies the breakfast bar and opens to the dining area: “Because I didn’t have room for an island, this is where everyone hangs out when we entertain.”
A handmade wall hanging by Sarah Zarrabi Ceramics is displayed over the sofa PHOTOGRAPHED BY ERIKA BIERMAN PHOTOGRAPHY
“REGENCY SHOWCASES RICH AND OPULENT DETAILS, AND WHEN YOU THROW IN SOME LAID-BACK BEACH VIBES, IT SLIGHTLY TEMPERS THAT UNAPOLOGETIC MAXIMALISM.” –ALLISON KNIZEK
Pacific Ocean views abound from the kitchen and living room. PHOTOGRAPHED BY ERIKA BIERMAN PHOTOGRAPHY
Inspired by chic international beach clubs, Knizek created a “beach regency” style, melding coastal luxury with Hollywood flair. “Regency showcases rich and opulent details, and when you throw in some laid-back beach vibes, it slightly tempers that unapologetic maximalism,” says Knizek, who nodded to regency with a black-and-white-striped fabric awning above the patio door, geometric shapes, gold and mirrors. She referenced the beach via white oak flooring reminiscent of bleached driftwood, and a sliding door painted in Benjamin Moore’s Marlboro Blue with a white lacquered shell from Nest Studio. “The color palette of blues, greens and violets is a beachy twist on the commonly found jewel tones in regency decor.”
Southern California artist Tina Crandall painted the mural in the verdant primary bathroom PHOTOGRAPHED BY ERIKA BIERMAN PHOTOGRAPHY
Knizek aimed for the home to be “tactile, cozy, low-maintenance and sand-friendly, while still looking polished and pulled together.” The open living room features a geometric Lulu and Georgia rug that was “too regency to resist,” a convertible sofa bed covered in easy-care Crypton and a custom fringed ottoman in Thibaut performance fabric—which she relies on for both form and function. Knizek looked to layer textures and materials, and to showcase local artwork. “After all, Laguna was founded on the free and creative spirits of independent artists,” she says. Slim Aarons photography decorates the guest bedroom, and above the sofa is a large ceramic Sarah Zarrabi wall hanging: “When the ocean breeze hits it, it’s transformed into a giant wind chime.”
“Finding A Spot” by famed photographer Slim Aarons hangs above the bed in the guest room. PHOTOGRAPHED BY ERIKA BIERMAN PHOTOGRAPHY
A self-described “wallpaper fanatic,” Knizek used five different kinds—including a L’île Aux Perroquet by Ananbô, Paris wallpaper mural in the dining area and Anna French for Thibaut Tree House in eggplant in the primary suite. “Purple has always been my favorite color and yet most of my clients are too shy to try it,” says Knizek, who added cylindrical Serena & Lily nightstands and a CB2 Miri bed. “With its black lacquered finish and woven headboard, [it] feels like a vintage chinoiserie item so often found in regency decor.” Both bedrooms boast king beds—“everyone is happy to cuddle up and end a beach day with some Netflix and popcorn”—and artwork creates “big personalities” in the compact bathrooms.
Bold and playful, Anna French for Thibaut Tree House wallpaper in eggplant covers the walls of the primary bedroom. PHOTOGRAPHED BY ERIKA BIERMAN PHOTOGRAPHY
By June 2021, Knizek’s condo had gone “from plain box to jewel box,” and the couple and adult daughters have retreated there ever since. “When we enter, usually at the end of the workweek, a big wash of calm comes over us as we view that stretch of sky and water,” says Knizek, who’s particularly fond of the patio. “We never miss an opportunity for a cocktail and sunset.”
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