Coastal Architecture in Malibu, CA
Cove & Cliff designs oceanfront and beach houses that live with the water — open to the light, the view, and the California coast, and built for a lifetime by the sea.
Homes on the Water
Oceanfront and beach houses along the Malibu coast.
Homes That Live With the Water
A house on the coast is unlike any other, and designing one well is the whole craft of Cove & Cliff. For twenty-one years, from our studio on the Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu, we have designed oceanfront and beach houses along this stretch of the California coast, and we approach every one as an act of designing not just a building, but a life lived with the water. A great coastal home is defined by its relationship to its site. It opens to the view — completely, generously, so the ocean is present in every room. It follows the light, which on the coast is extraordinary and ever-changing, and shapes its rooms to catch it through the day. It dissolves the line between inside and out, so the deck, the sand, the pool, and the breeze are part of daily life, because indoor-outdoor living is the whole point of a house by the sea. And it does all of this while standing up to the coast itself — the salt, the sun, the wind, the moisture, and the resilience an oceanfront or hillside site demands — because a beach house that isn't built for its environment will not stay beautiful for long. We design for every one of these things at once, and we do it with a light, relaxed, elegant hand that suits the ease of coastal life rather than fighting it. We know this coast intimately: its light, its sites, its climate, and the Coastal Commission and hillside realities that govern building here, which we navigate with the expertise that comes from decades of doing it. The result is a home that feels effortless and airy, unmistakably of the coast, and made to live with the water for a lifetime. Designing the houses where people spend their best days by the sea is the entire reason our studio exists.
- ✓Homes that open completely to the view
- ✓Designed to follow the coastal light
- ✓Indoor–outdoor living as the whole point
- ✓Built to stand up to the salt, sun, and sea
How We Design for the Coast
The full range of coastal architecture, from a new oceanfront home to a beach house renovation.
A new oceanfront home, a renovation, or a hillside view house? Tell us about your site.
Three Principles of Coastal Design
For homes that live with the water, the California coast trusts Cove & Cliff.
The Site Comes First
We design from the view, the light, and the slope — so the home lives with its site rather than fighting it.
Inside Meets Outside
We dissolve the wall between indoors and the coast, so the deck, the breeze, and the sea are part of daily life.
Built for the Sea
We detail every home for salt, sun, and wind, so it stays airy, beautiful, and sound for decades by the water.
From Site Visit to Move-In
A clear, collaborative process for designing a home on the coast.
Site & Vision
We visit your site, study the view, light, and slope, and understand the coastal life you want to live.
Design
We design the home from the site out — the views, the light, and the indoor-outdoor flow, in every detail.
Approvals & Permitting
We produce the drawings and carry the project through the Coastal Commission, hillside review, and permits.
Build & Move In
We stay with the project through construction and delivery, to a coastal home ready to live in for a lifetime.
A Coastal Home Is Only as Good as Its Relationship to the Sea
It is tempting to think that a beach house is just a house that happens to be near the water — that the same design that works inland will work on the coast if you add a few big windows and point them at the view. Anyone who has spent time in a great coastal home, and in a disappointing one, knows how wrong that is. The houses that make life by the sea feel magical are the ones designed in deep relationship to their site: sited and shaped to capture the specific view and the specific light of that exact spot; opened so completely to the outdoors that the ocean, the breeze, and the sand become part of every day; and detailed with a real understanding of what salt, sun, wind, and moisture do to a building over time, so the home stays airy and beautiful rather than weathering into disrepair. Get that relationship right, and a coastal home becomes something rare — a place that lifts your spirit every single morning, that draws family and friends, that turns the ordinary act of being home into a kind of vacation, and that holds its value as one of the most coveted things in real estate. Get it wrong, and you have an expensive house that fights its extraordinary setting and slowly loses to the elements. Designing that relationship — a home that lives with the water rather than merely beside it — is exactly what our studio does, and it is the difference between a house on the coast and a true coastal home.
- ✓A beach house is not just a house near water
- ✓Sited to capture the specific view and light
- ✓Opened so the sea is part of every day
- ✓Detailed to endure salt, sun, and wind
Homes on the Coast
Cove & Cliff designed our oceanfront home on Broad Beach, and living in it is like living inside the view. They understood exactly what a beach house should be — the way it opens completely to the water, the way the light moves through it all day, the seamless flow from the great room to the deck to the sand. It is airy, effortless, and unmistakably of the coast, and it is built to stand up to the salt, sun, and weather of an oceanfront site for decades. Their command of coastal design and indoor-outdoor living is exceptional. It is the home we always dreamed of on the water.
We renovated our Point Dume beach house with Cove & Cliff, and they transformed it completely while keeping its relaxed, easy coastal soul. They opened it to the light and the ocean views we never fully used, reworked the flow for indoor-outdoor living, and detailed everything for life by the sea — durable, low-maintenance, and beautiful. It now feels twice the house it was, without losing an ounce of its character. Their sensitivity to the site and the coast made all the difference. We could not be happier, and we recommend them to every neighbor who asks.
Cove & Cliff designed a hillside home for us above Zuma with panoramic ocean views, and the way they sited it on a difficult slope to capture the water from every room is masterful. The house steps down the hill so naturally it feels grown from it, opens to the view and the light, and handles the coastal exposure beautifully. They navigated the Coastal Commission and the hillside constraints with real expertise and made a daunting process feel manageable. The result is a home that lives with its extraordinary site rather than fighting it. A gifted, thoughtful studio we trusted completely.
Let's design your home on the coast
Tell us about your site — an oceanfront lot, a beach house to renovate, or a hillside with a view. The first conversation is where a coastal home begins.
Working With a Coastal Architect, Answered
Why hire a coastal specialist instead of any architect?
Because a house on the coast is a genuinely different design problem, and the difference shows in how the home lives for the rest of its life. A coastal home has to do things an inland house never does: it has to be sited and shaped to capture a specific ocean view and the ever-changing coastal light, open completely to indoor-outdoor living, and stand up to the relentless salt, sun, wind, and moisture of a seaside or hillside site. That requires real experience with coastal design, materials, and detailing, as well as fluency with the Coastal Commission and hillside rules that govern building here. A talented generalist rarely has all of that, and the cost of getting it wrong on a coastal site — in comfort, in beauty, and in maintenance — is high. Twenty-one years devoted to the Malibu coast is exactly that specialization.
Do you handle the Coastal Commission and permitting?
Yes, and on the California coast it's an essential part of the work. Building near the ocean or on a coastal hillside means navigating the California Coastal Commission, local coastal programs, hillside and geological requirements, and a permitting process that can be genuinely daunting. Doing it well requires both technical knowledge and long experience with how these bodies actually work. We produce the studies, drawings, and documentation these reviews require, present the project, and carry it through approvals so that what is often the most intimidating part of a coastal build is handled for you. Our decades of experience navigating the Coastal Commission along this coast is one of the biggest reasons owners are glad to have us leading their project.
How do you design for indoor–outdoor living?
It's at the heart of everything we do, because it's the whole point of living by the sea. Indoor-outdoor living isn't just a wall of sliding glass — it's a way of designing the entire home so that the boundary between inside and the coast genuinely dissolves. We think about the flow from the great room to the deck to the sand, the transitions that let you live across inside and out without thinking about it, the shelter from wind and sun that makes outdoor space usable all day, and the way the ocean, breeze, and light become part of ordinary daily life. Done well, it makes a coastal home feel twice its size and turns being home into something closer to a vacation. Designing that seamless connection to the outdoors is one of the things we do best.
Will my coastal home hold up to the ocean environment?
Yes — designing for the coastal environment is fundamental to how we work, not an afterthought. A home by the sea faces salt, intense sun, wind, moisture, and sometimes sand and storm exposure that will punish a building not designed for them. From the first sketch we choose materials, assemblies, finishes, and detailing that are proven on the coast — corrosion-resistant, durable, and low-maintenance — so your home stays airy and beautiful rather than weathering into constant repair. Twenty-one years of building on this exact coast has taught us exactly what lasts here and what doesn't. The result is a coastal home that is not only stunning on move-in day but built to stay that way, with sensible upkeep, for decades of life by the water.
How are your fees structured?
Coastal architecture fees are typically a percentage of construction cost or a negotiated fee based on the scope and complexity of the project, and after an initial conversation and a look at your site we provide a clear, transparent framework. Coastal work involves more — site and view study, indoor-outdoor design, resilient detailing, and Coastal Commission navigation — than a straightforward inland house, and the value it creates, a home that lifts your life every day and holds its value on one of the most coveted coasts in the world, is significant, so we're glad to frame the investment in those terms. We're candid about numbers from the first meeting. Thoughtful coastal design is never the cheapest path, but on a home by the sea it is what makes the difference between a house and a place you never want to leave.
What areas do you serve?
Our studio is on the Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu, and we work up and down this stretch of the California coast — Point Dume, Broad Beach, Carbon Beach, Paradise Cove, Zuma, Trancas, and the surrounding coastal communities. This is our home ground, and our deep familiarity with its sites, its light, its climate, and its Coastal Commission and hillside realities is essential to the quality and smoothness of our work. For a significant coastal or view property elsewhere along the Southern California coast, we're glad to talk. If you have a site by the sea and want a home that lives with the water, we'd welcome a conversation.
Start Your Project
Tell us about your site and the coastal home you're imagining. We'll be in touch within one business day to arrange a conversation.
- Visit us22869 Pacific Coast Highway, Malibu, CA 90265
- Call us(310) 555-0186
- Email usstudio@coveandcliff.com