Inside a Photographer’s Soulful California Beach House

 
     At heart, Daisy Johnson will always be a New Yorker. But being born and raised in the city, while creatively invigorating, also meant she was forced to live life in the fast lane. “ New York City is such a vibrant—at times chaotic—place to live, but as I got older, I found myself craving a life that felt more connected to nature,” says the Malibu-based photographer , whose days are now often spent shooting in remote landscapes. But it wasn’t until her family started moving west that she felt inspired to follow—setting her sights on Malibu’s famed Paradise Cove mobile home community. “My sister had just had her baby, and I was visiting more often. Every time I came to Paradise Cove, I was struck by its sense of community. Walking through the streets, it felt like everyone knew each other, and heading to the beach, I was blown away by the cliffs and solitude—you could walk for an hour without seeing another person.” Soon after, when she chanced upon a beach cottage in the same neighborhood, she could almost feel the stars align.

    “As soon as I saw it, I knew it was where I needed to be,” Johnson recalls, “but it felt more like a blank gallery space than a sanctuary.” But she was certain she could bring it to life with the help of interior designer Lauren Garrett of the bicoastal interior design studio and AD PRO Directory member LP Creative . “Her work felt layered, inviting, and full of character—exactly what I wanted for this space: a surf cabin that felt grounded without being overly designed or precious. I wanted it to feel truly lived-in, embracing the little imperfections that make a home a home—glass rings on tables, marks on walls, chips in the wood, sand on the floors.”

    Anyone who knows Johnson knows her home is an ever-evolving cabinet of curiosities, a shrine to keepsakes from happy moments gone by. “I love picking up little treasures when I travel, whether it’s the beautiful ceramic mug I brought back from India or the vintage Playboy magazine I found on a road trip in Utah, featuring Bo Derek and an orangutan on the cover,” she muses. There are other novelties, too, like the small silver box she picked up in Colorado, filled with photographs from her first road trip with her partner, which sits on the coffee table next to a book by Duane Michals—an artist she credits with sparking her love of photography.

    On the shelf beside her records are delicate white shells, salvaged from the beach by her partner’s mother. “There’s also the collection of drawings by my best friend, Katie Schecter , an incredibly talented artist and musician. I convinced her to sell me a few of her personal drawings, and now they hang in my hallway, where I pass them every morning,” Johnson says with a smile. All in all, the home is a collection of memories that reflect the contours of her life. As she puts it: “I’ve always believed a house is just a structure until you fill it with pieces of yourself.”