MODERN GLAM

THE SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNECoastal San Diego Homes & Estates

hen Theresa Yousey

moved to San Diego from

Manhattan Beach in 2018

to take a job with Cubic Corpora-

tion, she wanted a place down-

town. She spent about six

months doing month-to-month

leases in different neighborhoods

to determine what best suited

her.

One of the bui ldings she sam-

pled was Trellis Fifth Avenue, a

mid-rise condominium complex

in the Gaslamp Quar ter built in

2005. She fell in love with the

building, the location, even the

parking. And she even found the

right unit for sale: 920 square feet,

two bedrooms, two baths with a

balcony on the 10th floor and a

view of Petco Park.

But it was also bland, so it was

basically a clean slate.

“It was really dated,” Yousey

MODERN GLAM

DESIGNER TRANSFORMS CONDO INTO COLORFUL, SPARKLING RETREAT

BY CARON GOLDEN

SEE GASLAMP • 8

GAIL OWENS PHOTOGRAPHY

The peninsula bar separating the living area from the kitchen is covered with iridescent

mother-of-pearl penny tiles to add sparkle to Theresa Yousey’s Gaslamp Quarter condo.

EDIT ORIAL

Martina Schimitschek

Editor

Roger Wilson

Photo Editor

Catherine Gaugh, Caron Golden,

Nicole Sours Larson, Rose Wojnar

Contributing Writers

Rose Wojnar

Contributing Copy Editor

Gail Owens, Thom Vollenweider

Contributing Photographer s

Mark Opriska

Designer

Veronica Worrells

Cover Design

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Product Manager

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STAFF

The San Diego Union-Tr ibune, P. O. Box 120191,

PAINTING A GARDEN

Texture, color used to creat e a bright, living

canvas with plants.

PAGE 22

BEYOND COLOR

Paint mixes designed to help kill germs and

mold without harmful odors.

PAGE 28

HOME MATTERS

A monthly calendar of events, tours and

classes for the homeowner.

PAGE 32

COASTAL SAN DIE GO HOMES & ES TATES

THE SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNECoastal San Diego Homes & Estates

recalled. “White walls, tan car-

peting, dated bathrooms, very

monochrome.”

The entrance had a miniwall

that blocked off the kitchen, cre-

ating an unnecessarily small and

ungainly space dominated by the

refrigerator. She was also un-

happy that the peninsula was too

high to use as a bar.

Awork colleague referred her

to interior designer Megan Sia-

son of M Studio Interior Design.

The two hit it off, and Siason

launched into learning about

Yousey’s personality and her day-

to-day life, as well as her goals and

wish list for her new home. Sia-

son’s usual approach of having a

new client complete a survey that

would address these issues was

complicated by Yousey ’s busy

schedule, because she had taken

anew project management posi-

tion with Microsoft that sent her

traveling. The two overcame that

with phone calls.

“The first thing Theresa told

me was ‘I love color. I love color

and sparkly objects,’ ” Siason

said. “And she wanted it to look

and feel like she was coming

home to something that was

hers.”

Because Yousey was keeping

her Manhattan Beach condo with

its furnishings, Siason would

truly be starting from scratch.

Siason learned that Yousey

had developed a love for the styles

of the Hard Rock Hotels and the

WHotels from her travels and

that her favorit e color is blue. She

also discovered that Yousey likes

alittle bling and that she enjoyed

eating out often — this was in

2018, of course — but also liked

making cocktails at home.

Once Siason developed a de-

sign and got feedback from

Yousey, the two went to lighting

stores to choose fixtures and

lamps, they picked out applianc-

es andbathroom hardware, along

with tile and wood flooring.

“It was very collaborative,”

Yousey said.

The result was what Siason

describes as urban modern glam.

“It was definitely 10 0 percent

curated to fit Theresa,” Siason

said. “It’s everything she de-

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Abstract tiles line the back of the two open kitchen shelves, where homeowner Theresa Yousey

stores her bar tools and glasses. The countertops are quartz.

GAIL OWENS PHOTOGRAPHY

THE SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNECoastal San Diego Homes & Estates

scribed and in keeping with that

downtown vibe, but I brought in

sparkly, shiny objects and lots of

color — while still keeping it taste-

ful. For me, that’s urban modern

glam.”

The home is grounded in blues

and grays with pops of color and

texture.

The bland carpeting and tile

flooring were replaced with engi-

neered oak hardwood from Prov-

enza Floors’ Heirloom Collection.

That annoying wall at the en-

trance was taken out, and Siason

reconfigured the kitchen.

The open U-shaped space now

has a mix of cabinetry with iron-

ore colored wood cabinets under-

neath the white quartz counter-

tops and trough sink, and white

acrylic cabinets on the wall by the

refrigerat or near the entrance. In

anovel move, Siason framed two

abstract-looking tiles of irides-

cent and blue splatters with two

open Tuscan cypress-wood cabi-

nets by Cleaf on either side of the

oven fan. Yousey uses the open

shelving to show off her bar tools

and glasses. Alloy-colored por-

celain tiles from Arizona Tile

make up the backsplash.

But what swept Yousey away

is the front of the peninsula bar

facing the living room, which Sia-

son covered in iridescent mother-

of-pearl penny tiles.

“The punch of color is artful,”

Siason said. “It’s such a great lo-

cation for it. It ties in a lot of the

colors, and with its iridescence, it

marries so nicely to all of the

other elements in the space.”

In the living room, Siason cre-

ated a fun mix of textures with a

75-inch tufted leather sofa in na-

tural-wash camel from Four

Hands. In front of it is a 36-inch

round coffee table with a bright

white quartz top and a steel base

from Room & Board. There’s a

midcentury wing chair near the

bar, and by the window, a belly

bar table with high stools for din-

ing or working.

Two of the room’s walls are

gray. A dramatic blue wall oppo-

site the couch holds a flat-screen

TV with a sleek, four-door ash en-

tertainment console by Claren-

don beneath. But the most de-

lightful pieces may be the silver

fuzzy Audrey storage ottomans

from Z Gallerie.

Because the ceilings are con-

crete, Siason relied on wall

sconces and used conduits for

overhead lighting, which she

didn’t see as an aesthetic issu e,

given the downtown vibe she was

creating. Over the belly table, she

hung a midcentury-style Astro

chandelier by Kuzco with 32

pieces of acrylic bubble formi ng

an exploding star.

And in the master bedroom

A bold, blue accent wall in the master bedroom brings in the color Theresa Yo usey wanted for her home. Interior designer

Megan Siason added a Raef chandelier to help create a “modern, urban glam” look in the 920-square-foot condo.

GAIL OWENS PHOTOGRAPHY

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SEE GASLAMP • 16

THE SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNECoastal San Diego Homes & Estates

with its gray and blue walls, she

hung a Raef chandelier from Troy

Lighting, a textured black-and-

polished-nickel fixture with six

metal and glass arms. The blue

wall behind the bed shows off a

grouping of three bronze-fin-

ished starbursts that Siason

found online.

Yousey also got herglam in the

master bathroom — a marvel of

blue and gold. The blue vanity is a

piece Siason had custom made

after a similar one the two had

liked turned out to be unavail-

able. Above the counter, Siason

ran a glass mirror up to the ceil-

ing, with the middle an artfully

hidden medicine cabinet. On ei-

ther side of the mirror are 15.25-

inch-high brass wall sconces and

afun cluster ofgold sunlike circles

that Siason found at Z Gallerie.

Siason installed a walk-in

shower with pearl wave tiles in a

subway pattern and a vertical

strip of smoky blue squares be-

SEE GASLAMP • 20

The master bathroom, with

its bold combination of blue

and gold, including a custom-

made vanity, is one of

Yousey’s favorite spaces in

the home.

GAIL OWENS PHOTOGRAPHY PHOTOS

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THE SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNECoastal San Diego Homes & Estates

hind the shower fixt ures.

The guest bedroom and bath-

room have a completely different

color palette, with wine and gray

walls setting acozy tone. To break

up the darkness, Siason selected

alight cream-colored Four

Hands headboard for the queen

bed. The cotton-linen tufted up-

holstered piece features nail

heads on the wings. Two Cora

pendants — each a cluster of

three distressed mercury glass

and iron lamps — are on either

side of the bed. Opposite the bed

is a strip of the maroon paint with

aCatori console cabinet in front,

with honeycomb striped doors in

asmoked ivory finished mahoga-

ny. Above is “Wilderness Heart 1,”

alarge, color-packed framed

print of a woman’s silhouette by

Andreas Lie that Yousey found

online.

That piece is one of three

Yousey picked out that provide

some of the biggest punches of

color and drama in the home. Sia-

son was tickled by them and fig-

ured out where the y would have

the most impact. At the entrance

of the condo is the bold pop art

piece “Love is the Answer,” a 79-

by-47-inch print of Alber t Ein-

stein holding a sign in front of

graffiti filled with Andy Warhol

tomato soup cans. Over the

couch is “Windswept” by Linzi

Lynn, a 48-by-48-inch canvas

print of a woman’s profile with

hair in a rainbow of colors flowing

over her head.

It took Siason about eight

months to complete the project.

Yousey caught glimpses of it dur-

ing theprocess, andwhen she saw

her new space fully done, she said

she was in love.

“Love, love, love! It was unreal.

I’ve never had a place designed

specifically for me and my taste.

In the past, I made compro-

mises,” she said. “It ’s very comfy. I

use every bit of the space. The

master bathroom with blue and

gold is a favorite of mine.”

For Siason, the project was

fun, she said, because she had

such a fun client.

“Theresa was such a great cli-

ent to work with,” Siason said.

“Her requests were so minimal.

My design process was just

understanding what solutions to

come up with, whether functional

or aesthetic.”

Caron Golden is a San Diego freelance

writer.

“Windswept” by Linzi Lynn is one of three art prints Yousey

acquired for punches of color thoughout the home.

GAIL OWENS PHOTOGRAPHY

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