In architecture, few opportunities are more rewarding than transforming a compact, underutilized site into a home that feels expansive, light-filled, and rooted in its setting. The Shoreline Residence exemplifies this transformation - an architectural response to a modest coastal lot that reimagines traditional home design through the strategic application of a two story house design.
At AB design studio, we approached the project with a dual objective: to honor the scale and warmth of classic California beach homes while using verticality to enhance livability, privacy, and flow. The resulting two-story residence bridges tradition and innovation - offering timeless form, improved function, and a more elevated engagement with both site and surroundings.
EMBRACING A TWO-STORY HOUSE DESIGN FOR COASTAL LIVING
The original structure on this lot - a 1,068-square-foot, single-level home - no longer met the needs of modern living. By introducing a two story house design, we were able to nearly double the livable area to 2,043 square feet without compromising the outdoor space that defines coastal living.
This vertical approach allowed us to divide the home programmatically: gathering and communal areas on the first floor, with private retreats above. This strategic stacking provides a clear zoning hierarchy and enables views, light, and ventilation to move efficiently throughout the house. It’s a design strategy that reflects the core values of traditional home design - clarity, scale, and proportion - while providing a contemporary response to the constraints of infill lots.
The two-story layout also provides architectural flexibility. It allows the home to sit modestly within its neighborhood context, preserving the approachable character of surrounding homes while subtly asserting its expanded presence through volume and articulation.
The Shoreline Residence takes inspiration from classic Craftsman-style homes found throughout coastal California. These houses - known for their generous eaves, exposed rafters, and thoughtful proportions - offered a starting point for our design language.
But rather than replicate, we reinterpreted. The exterior composition relies on familiar materials and forms: wood siding, gable rooflines, and an approachable front porch. Yet these elements are distilled and simplified - creating a more modern take on traditional home design that feels both familiar and fresh.
By leveraging a two story house design, we were able to maintain the human scale and warm materiality associated with traditional homes while introducing new opportunities for spatial variety, light capture, and site engagement.
A key advantage of two-story architecture lies in its ability to deliver openness without requiring a sprawling footprint. In this residence, the ground floor was designed as an open-plan core that allows for natural flow between living, kitchen, and dining areas—spaces that visually and physically extend out to the front patio and rear courtyard through large-format glass doors.
Upstairs, the vertical layout allows for a clear separation of private zones. The master suite is situated to capture ocean views and morning light, while two secondary bedrooms provide comfort and flexibility for guests or family.
Circulation between levels is handled by a custom stair that turns near the entryway - a sculptural anchor for the home and a functional transition between public and private spaces. This efficiency of layout is what defines successful two story house design: the ability to maximize every square foot while preserving the sense of scale, rhythm, and proportion that traditional home design depends on.
Though Shoreline Residence presents as a two story house design from the street, its spatial organization extends below grade - where a thoughtfully integrated basement level broadens the architectural narrative and enhances everyday function.
Designed as a flexible retreat, this subterranean floor includes a dedicated family entertainment room, a fully equipped home gym, and a secured household technology center. These spaces support wellness, leisure, and infrastructure in one discreet footprint, allowing the upper levels to remain open, bright, and visually connected to the site.
The technology room - conceived as the operational core of the home - houses the smart systems, security controls, and AV infrastructure that support a modern lifestyle. By tucking this program below grade, we preserved the simplicity of the primary and secondary floors while delivering robust, future-ready systems behind the scenes.
Finishes, lighting, and air circulation were all designed with the same care as the rest of the residence, ensuring the basement doesn’t feel secondary - it feels essential. This architectural layering - from subterranean tech to sky-facing bedrooms - reflects a deep commitment to functional, intelligent, and livable two story house design.
More than just a transitional element, the staircase in Shoreline Residence is a key architectural gesture. Positioned at the inflection point between the public and private zones, it defines the interior sequence and elevates the experience of vertical movement.
Wrapped with warm wood treads and a tailored metal handrail, the stair anchors the space while remaining visually light. Above it, a chandelier suspended in the double-height volume emphasizes the home’s vertical scale - a spatial reminder of the two-story strategy and the lightness it enables.
Importantly, the stair’s placement allows for framed views in both directions - from mountains to the sea - demonstrating how two-story architecture can be as much about connection as separation.
In California residential architecture, the boundary between inside and outside is rarely static. This project embraces that sensibility, using both ground-level and elevated outdoor zones to enrich the living experience.
At the ground floor, outdoor living spaces are arranged to extend the primary interior volumes: a firepit lounge at the front and a dining courtyard with hot tub at the rear. On the second floor, the master suite opens to a private balcony that frames ocean views and connects the upper level to the landscape.
This multi-level engagement with outdoor space is made possible by the two story house design - and is particularly meaningful in a traditional home, where porches and verandas once served a similar role. Here, we reinterpret those typologies into modern forms that support today’s lifestyle and climate responsiveness.
With any two story house design, the risk of bulkiness must be balanced by articulation and material rhythm. At Shoreline Residence, we addressed this through a combination of stepping rooflines, thoughtful window placement, and a subdued material palette that ties all elements together.
The siding consists of natural-toned wood cladding and painted elements that reflect the color of coastal sand and sky. Windows are rhythmically spaced to give the façade breath and balance. The second story is massed with sensitivity - set back where needed to reduce shadow impact and maintain neighborly scale.
This attention to massing and detail reinforces the traditional sensibilities of the home, while allowing the two-story form to present itself with grace and restraint.
A successful two story house design is one that doesn’t just look good on day one - it must support the evolving needs of its residents. At Shoreline Residence, we prioritized flexible programming, natural lighting, and long-term durability.
The spatial organization allows for a wide range of use scenarios: remote work, extended guests, multi-generational living. Storage is integrated throughout the design, and each floor is independently functional - making the home adaptable as family needs change over time.
From materials to mechanical systems, selections were made with long life cycles in mind. This approach aligns with the core philosophy of traditional home design: to build not just for the present, but for the future.