Houses along the coast.
Lived in slowly.
A small portfolio of California residences — Malibu, Big Sur, Pacific Palisades, Montecito, Carmel, and Santa Barbara. Designed for the long afternoon and the slow morning.
Each house is shown privately, often over an unhurried afternoon. What follows is a fraction of what we currently hold.
The Terrace
Big Sur, California
Pacific Palisades Villa
Pacific Palisades, California
Montecito Estate
Montecito, California
Carmel Stone House
Carmel-by-the-Sea, California
Santa Barbara Estate
Santa Barbara, California
Malibu Villa — at dusk
Malibu, California
A complete catalogue of current residences is sent privately on request.
Request the catalogue
Aurelia is an independent studio — eight architects, two writers, one photographer — devoted to the design and quiet placement of private residences along the California coast.
We don't build at scale. Each house is conceived for its site: how the morning light arrives, how the marine layer moves through the canyon at dusk, the particular grain of the land it stands on. Our portfolio grows by one or two houses a year.
We work along a single stretch of coast — Malibu and Pacific Palisades for the cliff edge, Big Sur for the canyon and the fog, Montecito and Santa Barbara for the slower hills, Carmel-by-the-Sea for the pines. Our studio is in Santa Monica, with a second room in Carmel.
“A house should hold its silence as carefully as its light.”
2018
Founded
Santa Monica + Carmel
Studio
37
Houses placed
11 months
Avg. tenure
Aurelia found a house we didn't know we were looking for. The process was unhurried, and the result is a residence we'll keep for the rest of our lives.
Madeleine R.Collector · Santa MonicaWe were shown three houses across two counties over four months. There was no salesmanship at any point — only good architecture, plainly explained.
Henry & Aiko T.PasadenaThe discretion was extraordinary. The photography never appeared online. We met the owners, the architect, and the gardener — in that order.
James W.Founder · Carmel-by-the-Sea
Each house is shown personally — usually over an afternoon, occasionally over two days. Tell us where to begin.