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[Matt] This house has
been being added to
for almost 100 years.

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It was originally built
in 1924.

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Since then, every person
has done some level
of remodel,

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and everything that we've done
to the house,

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we want it to be true
to what was done before.

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I think if you can add
personality and layers to it,

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it's more fun.

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[Matt] This house,
for our family,
is home.

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It's getting ready
for its 100-year
birthday party,

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and we regard ourselves
as the caretakers.

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It is our house,

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but before that,
it was quite a few
people's houses.

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Laguna Beach is halfway
between San Diego
and Los Angeles,

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on the Pacific Ocean.

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[Shea] I've lived
in Southern California
my entire life.

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Started in San Clemente,
met Matt in law school.

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And then we carpooled
up to school,

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and then he wouldn't get out
of my car, I guess,

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[laughing] and so,
here we are.

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They get so much
out of the ocean

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and being down here by it.

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Clearly, it was something
that I couldn't shake.

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Because I've never
really [laughing] left
Southern California.

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The feel of the breeze
coming off the water.

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It's just a place
that I find happy.

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[Matt] As a child,
the beach was our vacation.

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I grew up inland

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and I always wanted
to be sort of closer
to the beach.

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I kinda like to be on vacation
in my own house.

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This house has grown
over the years,

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but it currently
is four bedrooms
and four and half baths.

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[Shea] The house
has two stairwells

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that take you
to two separate
spaces upstairs

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that connect
through an outside porch.

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[Matt] This house
was originally built
in 1924.

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We're sitting
in the original portion
of the house.

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It was added to in the 1940s,

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again, in the 1980s,

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and then, again,
in mid-1990s.

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Our obligation
is to make sure

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that it's here
for another 99 years.

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Architecturally, what we liked
about the house

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was the steep pitch
of the roof,

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the sort of, like, very
cottagey-looking shingles.

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[Shea] It's generally
considered an English Tudor,

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which I don't think
is as common
on the West Coast.

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I think it has kind of
an East Coast energy to it,

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where you see
more of the Tudors.

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First mandatory stop
on the way back
from the beach...

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little outdoor shower
that has gotten lots of sand

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off of our children
over the years.

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[Shea] The koi fish
are so calming.

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It's one of those things
that we inherited
with the house,

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they were here,

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and they just add
such a peaceful element
to this house.

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It's very calming,

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you know, my son
loves it at night,
it lulls you to sleep.

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With the Dutch door open,
you can hear it
throughout the house.

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Did you see the other side?

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[laughs]

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Just depends on
how we're feeling. [laughs]

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[Matt] So, we've just
come in the front door,

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to our right is the kitchen.

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We have got the living room
off to my left.

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We purchased the home
in the late fall of 2021,

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we lived in the house
for about a year,

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and then spent about,
uh, nine months renovating.

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The most recent major
renovation of the house

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was a little over
20 years ago.

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The former owner of the house
moved a couple of ceilings up

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and put these, uh,
schoolhouse lamps
throughout the whole house.

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So that was a thing
in particular that we wanted
to preserve in the house.

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They're the key feature,
I think,

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-in the house that
we will never touch.
-Yeah.

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To me, this room is kind of
about "what shouldn't match,
does" in here.

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Plaids and checks and stripes,
all in one spot,

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should not live together,
but look, here they are
and they're fine

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[chuckling] and it's okay.
And I think that's what
we like most about it.

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It doesn't feel chaotic,
it's an extremely calm room.

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But there's really a lot
going on in it

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when you start
to look at the details.

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We found them
in a little shop in Laguna,

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I just fell in love with them
and had to have them.

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Turns out
they're from the 1700s.

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They were from a castle
in France.

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The faces have been repainted
probably seven to eight times.

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Based on the owners
of the castles,

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they would pass 'em down,

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and it was so expensive
to commission the piece of art

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that they would
just repaint the faces.

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[Shea] The house lives on,

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these houses live on
and on and on,

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and the owners change.

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And so, it's about
the character

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and the life that's been
lived in this house
for so many years.

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That's the important feature
I think, is these old houses.

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We were wondering
what to do with the space,

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and I was like, "Well,
a disco ball would be
completely unexpected."

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My middle daughter had
just come back from camp

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and was making all these
friendship bracelets.

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And I'm like, "Do you
think you could make
one, like, big?"

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And she's like,
"I don't know, I'll try."

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And she produced this for me.

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So it's, like, her own
little craft project
in the powder room.

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You just want things
to be unexpected and fun,

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and I'll tell you,
this bathroom has
sparked more conversations.

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Like, people ask
to go to the restroom

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and they come back,
and they will always talk

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about the disco ball
or the polka dots.

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It's fun, it's nice
to have that opportunity.

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This stairwell goes up
to our daughter's room.

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We built in the bed,

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and then we put in couch,
it's also a daybed,

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so she has friends sleepover.
She got the room.
I mean, this is...

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It's such a great space.

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And it's the original house

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and I think you can feel
the history in this room.

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I mean, just all the different
angles and shapes,

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and our architect came
and he was looking...

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He must've looked
and he's like, "I don't get
what it's doing,

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because they clearly cut out
some crossbeams,

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and so how does
the roof stand up?"

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And we don't
really question that,

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[chuckling] but you just feel
the original house here.

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This room connects
to our balcony.

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And then, the ocean
is right there.

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Fourth of July, you get
some of the best
fireworks' views in town

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because Laguna Beach does
her fireworks right there.

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It's a beautiful view
out there.

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So, this is
our primary bedroom.

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This was two bedrooms up here
with a Jack And Jill bathroom
in between.

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That didn't exactly
function for us,

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so what we did is,
made this the primary

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and then turned
the other bedroom
into my closet,

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which is... Was my dream.

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And it also has a little desk
in there for me,

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and, you know, just a place
I can get things done.

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It's kind of my hiding spot,
I would say.

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You still can hear
the koi pond.

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It's got a little bit
of a treehouse vibe
up here, almost.

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You're kinda up in the air.

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And then, another thing
that we remodeled was
the primary bathroom.

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Expanded the shower,
put in a tub,

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and then we got our two sinks

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because I actually am
a firm believer

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the secret to a successful
marriage is not sharing sinks.

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And this tub is great
because you've got
these windows here.

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And, actually, when there's,
like, a full moon or anything,

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it shines right in.
It's beautiful.

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[Matt] The skylights
were created

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by just literally removing
the roofing material

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and adding a piece of glass
instead of it.

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And we're not sure who did it
or when it was done,

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but we love it.

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And we're now heading
out to the backyard.

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We got a place to play,

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a place to relax
in the hot tub,
and a place to eat,

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so we're able to enjoy it
pretty much any time.

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Miranda and Robbie,
Mom and Avery.

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[Shea] Do you wanna go first?
Green? Green first, go.

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-I'll go first.
-[Shea laughs]

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This house is evolving
and it's kinda got
a life of its own.

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There's nods
to the former owners,

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there's nods
to former designers,

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but the house keeps going,
it keeps evolving,

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and that's kinda
the cool part of this house.

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I don't think
it'll ever be done.[chuckles]

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Like, you gotta keep going,
that's the fun of it.

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[Matt] That's the best one
so far.

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This house, to me,
invokes a responsibility,

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sort of, to preserve
and maintain.

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Oh! [laughs]

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There's always a project
to be done

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and there's always
something to do,

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and I kinda like it that way.

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And I like just getting
to be here

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and I feel pretty darn lucky.