Just steps from the ocean in La Jolla, California, the home of artist and interior designer Lori Brunner feels less like a conventional beach house and more like a private art retreat. Flooded with Southern California light, the two-storey contemporary home blurs the line between living space and gallery, with paintings and collected sculptures creating moments of discovery at every turn. It is refined, calm and quietly expressive — a year-round escape that carries the spirit of holiday living even into winter.
Brunner, the founder of Lori Brunner Art, brings a deeply considered approach to the way art and interiors interact. An interior designer, artist, teacher and former professor of design, she believes that original art is the emotional anchor of any space. “As I paint, I continuously think about the interaction and effect between a person, the artwork, and a space,” Lori says. That philosophy underpins every room in the home, which functions as both family residence and evolving exhibition.
The redesign began when the family moved in during August 2022 and was completed in summer 2025. “Since this house acts as our holiday home, we took our time renovating and designing it. We wanted to live in it for a while, to get to know how we would want to use it, to observe the natural lighting, the volumes, and to be patient in our choices,” Lori explains. The aim was also to create something distinctly different from their Arizona home, which she describes as “dark and moody”.
A soft, neutral palette of wood, stone, leather, glass and steel forms the backdrop, allowing the artwork to take centre stage. These materials are durable enough for beach life and family living, yet rich in texture and quietly elegant. In the twin bedrooms, subtle injections of colour echo the landscape outside, while throughout the house, paintings and sculptures shift and evolve.
Lori’s studio overlooks the pool and patio, filling the creative space with natural light. “I love to create paintings and then bring them into other rooms of the house to see how they perform in situ,” she says. “This house, in a way, functions like my experimental gallery. We live with the paintings for a while before they find their permanent homes.”
The double-volume living room is the most formal space in the home, yet it remains light, minimal and art-driven. “Some of the first paintings we purchased for the house are displayed in the living and dining rooms,” Lori says. “Four paintings by Amy VanWinkle, a painting by Paul Pagk, and a painting by me above the mantel set the tone for the rest of the interior design.”
Throughout the home, flexibility was key. The layout had to “expand and contract to be a serene sanctuary and expand to welcome a large gathering or overnight guests”. High-traffic spaces such as the kitchen nook and family room balance performance fabrics and durable surfaces with elegant lines and carefully curated art. In the family room, a challenging angled fireplace was resolved through furniture placement rather than structural change. “This house has no other diagonals, so it seemed out of place,” Lori says. “However, we didn’t want to add the extra cost of renovating a fireplace. So, the right furniture layout here solved our fireplace dilemma.”
For Brunner, this La Jolla home is not just a place to live, but a living canvas — one that reflects light, landscape, creativity and family life in equal measure. “We think of our home as an elevated beach house that gives the feeling of living in an art gallery but is designed for the demands of family,” she says, “where it can expand and contract to soothe the soul of an individual and easily be a stage for parties and special occasions.”
Credits
Interior design by Lori Brunner, Instagram: @loribrunnerart
Photos: Douglas Friedman, Instagram: @douglasfriedman
Lighting Tech by Kit Sinclair, Instagram: @kitsinclair_
Stylist: Anita Sarsidi, Instagram @anitasarsidi
