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This Stinson Beach home is in “California Coastal.” (Photo by Adam Potts)

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Two Marin authors have teamed up again for their third design book, “California Coastal: Seaside Living From Sea Ranch to San Diego,” a pictorial look at 17 beautiful coastal homes, which came out last month.

Now they’re embarking on an iconic road trip along the California coast for their book-signing tour.

Their whirlwind trip will wind along California’s breathtaking coast through Santa Cruz, Carmel, Carmel Valley, Santa Barbara, Los Angeles, Newport Beach and La Jolla, before the authors return for more appearances in the Bay Area.

“It’s going to be busy,” said Heather Sandy Hebert of Larkspur.

Hebert and her co-author, Tiburon resident Chase Reynolds Ewald, met years earlier as members of the Hivery, a coworking space in Mill Valley. They’ve previously collaborated on 2021’s “At Home in the Wine Country” and 2023’s “Design Mixology: The Interiors of Tineke Triggs.”

Individually, Hebert worked in the field of architecture for more than two decades before authoring 2019’s “The New Architecture of Wine,” and Ewald has written nearly 20 books over the past several decades, including “American Rustic,” “Rustic Modern,” “Cabin Style,” “Bison” and the soon-to-be-released “Modern West.”

So why write about coastal homes?

“We both live here, write here and are continually inspired by the natural beauty of our state, which is largely defined by its coastline,” Hebert said.

“Honestly, every home in our book is amazing, from the absolute Zen achieved by the home in Stinson Beach designed by Susan Skornicka to the modernist marvel that touches down on a high point overlooking Carmel to the home in Big Sur that echoes the brutalist artistry of the cliffs in its architecture. They are all amazing.”

In fact, whittling down “the homes to include in our survey of life along the shore was a challenge,” she said. “There are so many beautiful examples.”

Ultimately, the two writers settled upon coastal homes that vary in both scale and architectural vernacular, mostly in the contemporary style, designed and built in the last few years.

“What they have in common is their direct response to the opportunities and challenges of their coastal environments,” Hebert said.

The authors deliberately chose “homes that were mindful, intentional responses to both the opportunities and the challenges of their particular sites,” she said.

“We were most impressed by the strength of the coastal elements and how the architects and designers worked to not only capitalize upon but also shelter their clients from the coastal environment,” Hebert said.

“Most of the homes in our book are a combination of what we call ‘prospect and refuge,’ simultaneously embracing the views while protecting from the elements, which can be strong along the coast.”

Throughout the project, Hebert says they were mindful not only of the beauty of our coast but also of its vulnerability.

“While coastal development is inevitable, at its best it should not only respect but also embrace the health and well-being of the coastline,” she said. “Quite honestly, this book is a love letter to California and its grand, varied, awe-inspiring coast.”

She hopes readers will be informed with “a deep appreciation for how the best designers listen to the land, designing and building structures that balance the needs of both the client and the site.”

“As humans, we tend to save that which we love and appreciate,” she said. “If we help people to love and appreciate our California coast just a bit more, then perhaps they will be just that much more likely to work to treat it with the respect it deserves.”

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If you have a beautiful or interesting Marin garden or a newly designed Marin home, I’d love to know about it.

Please send an email describing either one (or both), what you love most about it and a photograph or two. I will post the best ones in upcoming columns. Your name will be published and you must be over 18 years old and a Marin resident.

PJ Bremier writes on home, garden, design and entertaining topics every Saturday. She may be contacted at P.O. Box 412, Kentfield 94914, or at pj@pjbremier.com. 

Originally Published: July 25, 2025 at 12:00 PM PDT