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Huntington Beach Morning: The Architecture of a SoCal Beach Town

 

Everyone has a different idea of what one one of the most famous of SoCal's beach cities must look like, and every beach city in SoCal, in Los Angeles or Orange County, has a unique flare and style. Huntington Beach is no exception. I've always understood Huntington Beach to be home of good surf, beautiful bad boys, and commerical surf and skate gear. 

 

It's amazing how many people I've seen wearing t-shirts from American Eagle or any other mass commerical retail chain that boast of Huntington Beach. I think most people with those shirts who end up here might be dissappointed, unless you hit a surf bar and start to understand that the people in this community is what makes this place sparkle. Anyhow, t-shirts of places and reality tend to be two very distinctly different things. But, don't ask these retailers to stop selling the dream.

 

Back to a basic point, the people create the community, and an early stop on main street would mean you'd find all the locals recovering from last night with a solid breakfast and good cup of joe. 

 

Remember that this was shot in the first week of January, yes, the sky is real and there isn't a drop of snow anywhere. We've got mountains for that two and a half hours away...isn't that just wonderful!

 

Things in Huntington are pedestrian friendly, with low-rise buildings and wonderful wide sidewalks. Off the original main strip, the big chains are begining to push their way in by redeveloping entire blocks of old buildings. As lovely as this might seem, it's tragic to loose the original roots of what makes this town special and it's not big McMansions....

 

There are also several new homes that are built with Italian-Euro influences. I personally love the ivy growing on the first house below. 

 

The palm trees are absolutely more fabulous than the next house, even though it's a million dollar-something home, the newer generation of home really lacks character like the old beach cottages.

 

The spanish tiled roof is a great way to add interest to the newer built homes.

 

But the true charm happens to be the small beach cottages. They are rustic and have been there for as long as I can remember. This is what a true beach cottage looks like. 

 

Time to really shift focus to the true roots of Huntington Beach. Another less glamour beach cottage, at total fixer-upper in fact, has wonderful succulents instead of grass. I'm posting this picture because the succulents grow wild in Orange County. They grow along the beaches, freeways, or front lawns in Cali and they have spectacular fushia pink or sun yellow blooms. Wish they were in effect when I snapped this photo. But, this is more typical of the sort of places that surfers crash.

 

The old ice house is another Huntington Beach staple-ice is a must for any party!

 

Need something to roll over ice? Old school signs, but the shelves are stocked with Grey Goose. Grab a taco while your at it!

 

I love the old antique shop. The weather beat clapboard reminds me of the Wild West.

 

Even the police station has kept its roots to old California beach cottage-yes, that is a Huntington Beach police station!

 

 

The street signs acknowledge the surfer's rule in Huntington Beach. 

 

Classic California beach neighborhoods are very unglamourous. They are humble, content, and beautiful in their own right. It's not about the Desperate Housewives of OC lifestyle, but don't get me wrong-it does exist. It's just nice to let your hair down and enjoy a day of flip-flops, jeans, and t-shirts. That is afterall what the beach is all about!

 

Shopping Around Town: South Orange County Style

After stopping by my absolute fabulous dentist in South Orange County, the next stop was a quick tour of The Shops of Mission Viejo (located in beautiful sunny California, which if you'd check out that sky is just another January day in the mid-eighties).

Time to park the car and head inside....Here is what the interior design and space looks like, and I have to add that this is a mixed-income area, but mostly those shopping on a Thursday afternoon were wealthy ladies that lunch or happy OC moms with beautiful children. On the whole, not so many people at the mall. Orange County is in the midst of a serious economic recession. My hygentist at the dentist office was the first to tell me how scary this year was fiscally, but how tragic is it have seen so many of their friends and patients loose homes, careers, cars, health insurance the whole she-bang.. I'm getting away from the point of this post, which is design in South Orange County. I will mention that there were beautiful spanking new ferrari's at the valet-so someone in OC is still doing quite well...Let's look at Mall architecture.

Spacious, light-filled, and clean. I love the stone tile choice for floors. However, this mall is nothing too unique and has all the token stores that you expect to find in a Cali mall, like Z Gallerie and Restoration Hardware.

I love the black canopies and black window casings. The black is truly the architectural detail that creates a simple and beautiful entrance to the store. The architectural firm that has worked with Z Gallerie, almost from the beginning, is Herschman Architects. They have blended urban elements with retail design and created a very successful corporate brand. I love this residential interior by Herschman that has a similar urban industrial feel.

On a side note, I recall when I worked from them as a teenager at their flagship Santa Monica store and the owners would return fresh from European shopping trips with tons of new stuff to sell. That was a job I enjoyed working for the time I was there, and I've always loved their taste in products.

 

At Restoration Hardware, the windows are traditional, which reflect the company's aesthetic values. One of my favorite dining room interiors is from an old HouseBeautiful, which has RH lanterns.

Back to the The Shops at Mission Viejo, so there is a Nordstrom's there, with a super squeaky small home section. The bedding was surprisingly neutral, and almost bland.

 

The shelves behind the bed were stocked full of insanely expensive objects, like a $100 salt shaker made of brass and crafted to look like a dusty rose. The trouble is that not many people would seek out a $200 salt & pepper shaker, but it was pretty to look at. There were similar objects, some of which I had seen at the discount shopping places like Home Goods and Home Sense. As far as it goes, I buy discount when I can. What girls doesn't want to stretch her dollar?

 

What I really loved at Nordstrom was one of their typical displays of featured clothing and recycled looking surfaces. The chandelier was fantastic and the mosaic table top just lovely.

 

Here is a close up on that chandelier...could I make that..?

The Pucci-inspired mannequins are so lovely at Nordie's. Although, I have to say it is disappointing to get to South Orange County and be stuck shopping Nordstrom's and the other big box store, Macy's. Even Macy's wasn't faring that well. The racks were really light and sparse, not much merch, and the aisles empty of people. I have always loved the collage and stacked look of framed photos.

I was also amused that Macy's has taken the star and branded it so heavily throughout the store. It kind of feels like being brain-washed, but hey that's life. I kind of believe that the use of the star was department store attempt to follow in the footsteps of that other famous red-dot retailer, Target.

Did you notice the stars? I think I need to escape the mall...which escalator do I need?

Okay! I made it! Time to eat! That Asian horse could mean only one thing...

P.F.Chang's is around the corner...too bad it's like three hours before Happy Hour, they have the best Mai Tai's in town!

Cheers to my Mother who has always inspired my ideas in art, beauty, design, and, of course, good food!

I'll be keeping Modern Girl Style updated on more Orange County resources and trends in the days ahead.