Here’s a fun game to play when you step into the Balsis family home: can you find a room that doesn’t feature jaw-dropping graphic tiles?

In the kitchen, there’s the bubbly, blush pink backsplash. In the laundry room, a hypnotic pattern of abstract shapes. Even the outdoor shower is kitted out with surf-cool blue and ivory panels. “It’s such a vibe,” says homeowner Kate Balsis.

But really, it comes as no surprise that she and husband Chad leaned into such playful finishes for the renovation of their circa-1970s, two-story California home: The two are the co-founders of architectural finishes brand Concrete Collaborative.

Kate and Chad share their 2,400-square-foot, four-bed, three-bath home with sons Will, Sam, and Charlie. The family had previously always rented, so home ownership—and the chance to go all-in on a renovation—was a new adventure. Chad is an architect by trade, and Kate, a designer, so the early ‘70s home in Dana Point, California, offered the perfect place to finally put into action all of their patterned dreams (along with a little elbow grease).

“We had a vision to lean into the original era of the home and keep the integrity of that but add color, warmth, character and personality through finishes,” Kate says. “Picture some throwback moments, like fully carpeted open-riser stairs and oak panels above the fireplace.”

The first priority was updating the floor. “The tile was so sad and we adore terrazzo—obviously—and knew that would form the basis for the whole design,” says Kate.

Then, the family worked from the outside in. “The outdoor design was very important to us; the shower and side yard were one of our first spaces to renovate and that set the tone for the rest of the house to carry the outside,” says Kate.

A pathway from the pool to the front yard is made from Concrete Collaborative’s pink terrazzo pavers, set in a field of local beach pebbles. A custom surfboard rack was designed to match the elevated outdoor shower deck at the end of the path. The shower also features the Dwell x Strands tiles, in Spa and Ivory, arranged in a circle-like pattern.

In the living room, terrazzo floor tiles wrap up to clad the fireplace and meet the original oak panelling halfway up the wall. That oak became the wood reference for the kitchen cabinets.

For the wet bar, Chad and Kate decided on a color palette of dark green and bright pink, accentuated by a vibrant palm wallpaper. Concrete Collaborative’s Pacifica Universal Green Verde Chip terrazzo countertops are paired with a fluted bar front, painted in a similar dark green. The interior of the bar features bright pink base cabinets and brushed brass hardware. On the back wall, a stacked diamond Solana Quietude tile in offers a midcentury nod. The floor is lined with green and ivory Dwell x Strands tiles.

It’s these playful moments—found inside and outside—that infuse the home with a spirit that perfectly reflects the family who lives here. “A typical scene is the doors all open, music playing, something cooking, kids playing outside and often entertaining friends and family,” says Kate. “We are a family with beach-loving surfers who are constantly dragging sand from the beach to our pool.”

For more information about the Dwell collection or to order samples, visit concrete-collaborative.com.

Project Credits:

Photography: Charlotte Lea Photography, @charlotteleaphotography

Styling: Jen Mac Beth, @californiacasa

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