$2.1M for a House With Ocean Views. In Malibu? In a Trailer Park?

A beachfront home in California is always going to come at a price. For this renovated double-wide in Point Dume Club, it might be less (or a lot more) than you’d imagined.

The couple updated the exterior with Benjamin Moore's Green Black. "It's easier and more complicated to renovate a mobile home,
The couple updated the exterior with Benjamin Moore's Green Black. "It's easier and more complicated to renovate a mobile home,

Cándida and Jeff Wohlgemuth hadn’t expected to buy in Malibu, and a mobile home was never on their radar. But when their housing search turned up few options they liked, Jeff expanded their parameters. A 1970s-vintage double-wide trailer at Point Dume Club popped up.

The couple retained the peaked ceilings in the main space, while reorganizing the rooms to open up what was once a galley kitchen.
The couple retained the peaked ceilings in the main space, while reorganizing the rooms to open up what was once a galley kitchen.

Designers and founders of WHLF Studio, Cándida and Jeff, who had sold their house in Venice, fell in love with the family- and kid-friendly community. "Malibu was a pipe dream, but the first time we went through the gates and saw how beautiful the homes were and how friendly the community was, it made us realize it was a very special, unexpected place," Cándida remembers. "And it overlooks one of the most beautiful stretches of beach."

She and Jeff also loved that the trailer had undergone only modest updates since it was built 50-odd years ago. "It wasn’t so much love at first sight, but love at what it could be. There’d been some deterioration over the years, but we saw glimpses of something really special," Cándida says. Less special were the popcorn ceilings, closed-off galley kitchen, layers of wallpaper and laminate flooring, and an oddly situated bathroom that contained the only door to the backyard. Other than the large front windows and vaulted ceilings, there wasn’t a lot to preserve, they thought.

Dating from the early 1970s, the existing mobile home was a double-wide that hadn't been modernized when Jeff and Cándida bought it.
Dating from the early 1970s, the existing mobile home was a double-wide that hadn't been modernized when Jeff and Cándida bought it.
Faced with laminate floors and a poorly organized floor plan, the couple decided to reconfigure the interior.
Faced with laminate floors and a poorly organized floor plan, the couple decided to reconfigure the interior.

See the full story on Dwell.com: $2.1M for a House With Ocean Views. In Malibu? In a Trailer Park?
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