SOUTH BAY DIGS | Digital Edition Online

S W E E T D I G S | 4 4 S E A C O V E T he sun-cast curves of Palos Verdes Peninsula and the rich depths of the Pacific Ocean visually take over when standing on the bluffs along Sea Cove Drive. So does the silhou- ette of Catalina Island—and a sweep of soft hues from the untouched panorama of sea and sky stretching north to the Channel Islands. The location is a quiet cul-de-sac tucked into a lowkey neighborhood located along Palos Verdes Drive South, just east of Terrenea Resort. It's a special community of 83 homes where families regularly gather for holiday events and children's birthday parties. "The community of Abalone Cove is really special," says real estate agent Lisa Poach. "Not many people are familiar with it." Tucked neatly between Terranea Resort and Abalone Cove Shoreline Park Trail (part of a 64-acre ecological preserve), this is a neighbor- hood of broad streets, wafting palm trees and rich green landscaping. At 44 Sea Cove Drive, for the past 20 years the homeowners have, like many of their neighbors, enjoyed the welcoming atmosphere, utilizing their radiant 1-plus-acre blufftop property as a sweet home base for big and small life events. "They just loved raising their kids there," says Poach. Parties and weddings, ranging from a few of their closest friends to attendees in the hundreds, were not uncommon. "With the property being over an acre of mostly all-usable land, they would have 200 to 400 guests," she describes. Then there's the home. In late 2022 the homeowners completed a down-to-the-studs remodel that turned the 4-bedroom, 5-bath- room home of approximately 4,509 square feet into an architectural eye-opener of natu- ral light, streamlined angles and fine materials. The architect is Luis de Moraes, whose Enviro- Techno Architecture firm is responsible for a portfolio of notable local residences from the Westside and the South Bay to Palos Verdes, where he calls home. In addition to his residential work, de Moraes is an accomplished designer of luxury hospi- tality spots and an interior designer. He's also a master of shaping homes into elementally elegant residences with barely perceptible lines between indoors and outdoors. Every bedroom is en-suite, and the primary suite connects directly to the outdoors. The floor- plan is skillful, with every corner considered and transformed. Poach points out that many of the items in the home were custom designed, created solely to suit specific spaces. That said, the home is being offered with the option to keep all furnishings and decor intact. "It can be purchased completely turnkey and walk-in ready," she shares. In the home, floors are clad in rich hardwood and a selection of exotic stone dresses rooms in just the right dose of texture. After all, the ocean A R C H I T E C T U R E + D E S I G N 52 DIGS.NET | 5.31.24

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