Cottage Industry: Meet the designer jolting Bird Rock’s design scene into a fresh new era

Don’t let the white picket fences and matching dutch doors fool you. A design revolution is happening in Bird Rock with interior designer Suzanne Mariucci jolting the scene one renovation at a time. “There’s finally momentum here,” says Mariucci, who moved to La Jolla 20 years ago. “I can feel it.” 

With 14 years in the design industry, Mariucci is known for creating homes that are warm, interesting, and collected. Key word: Custom. Kryptonite: Trends. “I scour consignment and antique stores so my projects are difficult to duplicate,” she says. “Very rarely will I repeat an item, so clients are proud to show a home that is unique to them.”

For a cottage on Waverly, Mariucci sought a coastal English vibe through a 21st century lens. Her client, a UK native, wanted to transform this once compartmentalized three-bedroom, three-bathroom home into something inviting and bright. Classic yet  modern. Central to the floor plan were heroic antique barn doors inlaid with mirrors. “It’s the wow factor when you see these two spectacular doors leading to this sweet English sitting room,” Mariucci says.

Nearby on Beaumont, for a client’s second home, the goal was to create a layered, whimsical backdrop to display a vast art collection. Inside, visual curiosity is rewarded at every turn from wallpaper and rich dark cabinets to reupholstered everything. The drop-dead design moment can be found in the pool house bathroom, decked out in striped swimsuit wallpaper by Katie Kime. “I ended up finding this piece of art with a woman in a vintage swimsuit,” says Mariucci. “I just about died.”