Tour an Interior Designer’s Lush and Calming Malibu Oasis

After living through the collective period of disruption that blurred the lines between work and life, designer Sarah Solis is firm about setting boundaries. “Here is where I dream, and I am able to cultivate great ideas, be with my family, and truly live,” the AD PRO Directory member says standing in the dining room of her home in Malibu, California.

“When we bought [the house], I thought, I’m changing everything; this is not us,” designer Sarah Solis explains. After a few months of getting to know the bones of the structure—and facing permitting challenges to expand the footprint—Solis embraced the original building envelope and saw exciting possibilities. The front door with sidelights is a reclaimed element from England. “I love incorporating old pieces.” Custom gas lamps are from Bevolo, and Vaso Toscano terra-cotta planters flanking the doorway are from Eye of the Day.

The gut renovation of a 1951 Colonial Revival house on a sprawling one-acre lot brought other priorities into focus. When she and her husband, photographer Rennie Solis, purchased the property in 2020, she began developing an ambitious remodel that included expanding the footprint while mixing Colonial gentility and old world charm with Cliff May–inspired ranch house vibes. Then after about six months into the process, Solis changed course. “I realized I had something magical to work with within what the capsule already was,” she explains.

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“Calm is a big word in my practice,” Solis shares. “I think in your home, for it to feel safe, it needs to feel calm.” The living room in her house retains the intimacy of the abode’s original 1951 layout downstairs. The nine-foot ceilings are enhanced with coffers and a Light Branching Disc chandelier by Lindsey Adelman from the Future Perfect. A vintage Swedish floor lamp, reclaimed French limestone fireplace mantel sourced from Pittet Architecturals, Pierre Frey linen drapery made by Wovn Home, and Classic sofa and Royal lounge chairs from the Galerie Solis Heritage Collection exude warmth and comfort. Custom area rug is by Carol Piper Rugs.

Solis, who began her career in fashion and operates her design studio inland from Malibu on the other side of the Santa Monica Mountains, eventually understood that the property’s intrinsic design qualities were better aligned with her philosophy. “I am over big open floor plans—the acoustics of it, the lack of intimacy, the lack of coziness and warmth. We fell in love with the scale of the rooms,” she shares while walking from the dining room into the formal living room. “I figured out a way to make it functional for us.”

The antique Swedish console table is by Lucca Antiques and the circa 1950 French rope table lamp and jute shade is Audoux & Minet via 1stDibs. The pendant is from Urban Electric. Bluestone brick tile imported from Belgium via Exquisite Surfaces and Forbes & Lomax electrical switches with rotary dimmers add to the antique-inflected material palette that simultaneously feels fresh.

The reclaimed front door, imported from England, communicates the overall intention. “I had my heart set on having a cool, old door that was going to bring a lot of character,” Solis says about the oversized wood slab punctuated by windows and outfitted with a brass Baldwin rim lock. The stairwell that spills into the foyer with only a wall-mounted handrail is another choice that stemmed from her deepening understanding of these interiors. After working on a handrail design for the exposed side of the stairs, “we grew attached to having it open. It gives it some breath,” she says about the entry hall. Belgian bluestone brick sourced from Exquisite Surfaces in combination with Portola Paint’s Roman clay surfaces throughout adds a textural layer.

The cozy library is a favorite space in the house. “Books are the best gift in the world,” Solis says. In addition to selections from her ever-growing number of art and design tomes, her collection includes Golden Books from her childhood. Solis designed the paneled walls and ceiling in white oak, along with bespoke cabinetry and shelving. The built-in day bed features French tufted cushions in Galerie Solis Belgian linen and a Galerie Solis Crowne chair upholstered in Italian mohair. The custom brass ceiling light is hand-turned in France.

As part of the renovation, Solis revealed the dramatically pitched vaulted ceiling in the family room, which previously was obscured by a drop ceiling. The room has a midcentury, Cliff May–esque ranch house vibe that’s perfect for family movie nights on the roomy Commune sofa by Galerie Solis. “I’ll never let go of my Pragh chair. It’s one of the most comfortable chairs and it’s an heirloom piece,” she adds, pointing to the Ib Madsen and Acton Schubell work. The reclaimed fireplace surround came from the south of France. Artist Sage Vaughn, a friend of the Solises, created the painting scaled to the room. Turned brass Oscar pendant lights are by Roman and Williams Guild.

She is a big proponent of work-life separation. “I don’t have to have a workstation here to be making and dreaming and creating.” Custom mohair area rug in the family room is by Carol Piper Rugs.

The library is another extension of Solis’s approach to the work-life juggling act. “This is a favorite room in the house for sure. We’ve always had an analog room,” the designer says of the white oak-lined space where soft surfaces beg to be read and lounged upon without a screen in sight. Each family member has a designated shelf area too. “I love books,” Solis adds. In the family room, she discovered a vaulted ceiling that had been concealed above a drop ceiling, making the space an exception to the house’s nine-foot ceiling height. This is the preferred spot for movie nights and watching TV on the spacious Commune sofa from the Heritage Collection by Galerie Solis, her platform for bespoke furniture, fabrics, and antiques.

While her father could deftly play the vintage Steinway baby grand piano that stands in the living room, “I did not get the music gene,” Solis says. Wall and ceiling treatments are Roman Clay in a custom color by Portola Paints.

The formal living room holds various examples of Galerie Solis’s upholstered seating. The grown-up elegance feels at home in this relaxed, coastal context. Beloved items including a Steinway baby grand piano in the living room, a round Galerie Solis dining table with a set of vintage Jeanneret chairs, a Murano chandelier, and a circa-1940 Charles Dudouyt sideboard prove that Solis is not a creative who single-mindedly chases the new. “I love when a piece ages with grace, and I love the markings and the story that comes along with it,” she observes.

Exposing another previously enclosed vaulted ceiling in the primary bedroom was among the interventions Solis made on the second level. “It was the weirdest layout,” she says about the previous iteration. In the primary bedroom, which opens onto a balcony that runs the width of the upstairs, artist James Mobley handpainted a tone-on-tone in situ piece. “He hasn’t done any murals like this before,” Solis explains. The imagery pulls from the property and surrounding Santa Monica Mountains. Bedside lamps are Jamb. George Smith lounge chairs are upholstered in Galerie Solis Italian mohair. Parachute Home bedding. Side tables and upholstered mohair bed frame by Galerie Solis. Sistine area rug is Armadillo.

Solis’s closet and dressing room is practically a sacrosanct space, with de Gournay silk wallpaper and de Gournay silk drapery made by Wovn Home. Jenni Kayne Brentwood dressing chair.

The primary bathroom is another serene retreat. The mid-1920s copper iteration of Poul Henningsen’s iconic PH 4/3 pendant design that hangs like a quiet punctuation mark above the freestanding bathtub is from Chairish. The Golden Lion hardware complements the earthy white oak custom vanity. Sconces are Lumfardo. Waterworks plumbing fixtures. Sol ottoman by Galerie Solis covered in Galerie Solis cashmere. Vintage rug.

The upstairs layout required a heavier intervention. Now the three en suite bedrooms and baths are suited to each family member’s tastes, needs, and wants. The vaulted primary bedroom opens to a balcony perched above the backyard and serves as a literal and figurative dreamscape, thanks to an in situ original mural by James Mobley that captures imagery of trees and the nearby rambling hills. Solis designed her ideal closet and dressing room swathed in de Gournay silk wallpaper. The couple’s daughter, Josephine, inherited her mother’s crafty inclinations, so her bedroom holds a dollhouse with components made out of upcycled fabric swatches. An upstairs linen closet doubles as a crafting station. Son Lucien’s bedroom is saturated in Farrow & Ball’s Hague Blue and arranged so “he can funk it up, and then he can make it feel more like a gentleman’s room.”

While not trained as a landscape designer, Solis’s designs for the extensive front and rear outdoor spaces establish soothing continuity between indoors and out. Her husband Rennie’s culinary additions include a pizza oven and Big Green Egg smoker built into the outdoor kitchen. Among the mature olive trees that animate the area around the revamped pool are specimens the Solises have dubbed “Ma” and “Pa” trees. With a mix of humor and earnestness, Solis sees these presences as a metaphor for her family. “Our big old trees—it’s us,” she says. “And then we’ve got the younger trees around.” Wild native grasses require little water and maintenance. Edibles that grow in the vegetable garden, however, often fall victim to the many critters who call this swath of land home.

Given the overall setting, Solis isn’t fazed by such intrusions. “This property is really, really special,” she says. “I don’t think I’ve loved a space I’ve lived in more.”

Rennie and Sarah Solis with their children, Lucien and Josephine.

Solis insisted on installing “beautiful divided light windows” and wide-plank French oak flooring from Duchateau. “I thought that was going to inform the experience of the house.” Kitchen counters are Calacatta Viola imported from Italy with a seamless integrated apron front stone sink. She opted for plaster walls instead of a hard surface backsplash. Creamware pendant lights by DeVol continue the understated thread. R.W. Atlas collection faucet, bar faucet, and pot filler by Waterworks. Custom cabinetry with custom hardware from France via the Golden Lion hardware. Le Cornufé range and double oven.

A Story round dining table by Galerie Solis surrounded by her collection of classic Jeanneret dining chairs anchors the dining room. A painting by Solis is at left, with a vintage Swedish oil painting opposite. Pierre Frey linen drapery is fabricated by Wovn Home. The 11 pieces in the Heritage Collection, which launched this fall and is also represented at the Future Perfect, “were informed by this house. I love making things, so if I have a prototype that I’m working on, I’ll test it out and live with it,” Solis says.

“I’m really into monochromatic moments,” Solis states. She describes the downstairs guest room as falling “more in the neutrals and greens.” Howe London lamps with Jamb lampshades stand on bedside tables from Lucca Antiques. Armadillo’s Agra collection rug in Artichoke sets a subtle green foundation.

The guest bathroom continues Solis’s favored material palette, with a marble-topped vanity, vintage Italian mirror and sconces, Waterworks plumbing fixtures, and reclaimed Belgian brick flooring.

Textured zellige tile sourced from Riad Tile clads the walk-in shower in the downstairs guest bathroom. Steam shower is Mr. Steam.

“She’s really creative,” Solis says of her daughter, Josephine, whose bedroom is swathed in dusty rose tones, with a custom bed canopy made by Wovn Home surrounding a Beautiful Bed Company bed frame. Bedding is from Cultiver.

The powder room is enrobed in white oak paneling with a wall-mounted block of salvaged antique Belgian bluestone carved into a sink basin. “I’m obsessed with anything vintage Italian,” Solis proclaims, especially mid-20th-century lighting, such as the 1960s Lumfardo sconces. The faucet is the Waterworks Henry collection with lever handles.

Solis revamped the pool, which is surrounded by wild grasses and mature olive trees the family has dubbed “Ma” and “Pa.”

Galerie Solis outdoor seating and coffee tables with Italian terra-cotta planters from Eye of the Day help carve out an intimate gathering spot in the expansive yard.

A grove of eucalyptus trees helps shade the bocce court in the front yard.

Solis believes “that I do my best work out of doing nothing—or doing something that is not related to work, like in the garden.” She handled landscape design duties for the project too.