Beachside Build Out - Part 2

Sep 9

Inside the finished By The Sea in Coronado, where every handcrafted detail, material, selection, and local maker comes together.

Skylit atrium dining room at By The Sea with flowering vine over reclaimed trusses and curved banquette

A Year in the Making

It’s hard to believe it’s been almost a year since we shared Part 1, and the story goes back further than that. The initial concept for By The Sea was developed about three years ago by Solstice Interiors. From there the design evolved considerably under our team, shaped in large part by the client, whose taste and direction guided much of what the space became.

Back when we shared Part 1, the restaurant was still under construction on Orange Avenue - concepts on the wall, renderings guiding the way, and a whole lot of anticipation. Now the doors are open, and we finally get to walk through the finished space.

Sourcing the FF&E in Person

The bones of a space come together long before it feels finished. The last mile - the furniture, the lighting, transitions, finishes - that’s really where a room comes to life, and where the work gets most demanding. Renderings and cut sheets only take you so far. The client needed to see each piece in the space, in the actual light, against the actual materials. So our team and theirs got onto the purchasing process together: tracking furniture and lighting, comparing them side by side, and making sure every one belonged.

A fringed velvet swivel chair and sculptural oak stool in the window corner at B The Sea, Coronado

Woven-seat oak chairs set against the plaster banquette while scaffolding is still up at By The Sea

Man lifting a woven dome pendant into place above the banquette at By The Sea in Coronado

A folded linen sample on a marble side table beside the olive velvet lounge chairs at By The Sea

A beehive that settled inside one of the scalloped rattan patio pendant at By The Sea in Coronado

Attention to the Small Things

In our weekly meetings we spent a lot of time on the details most people never consciously notice but always feel, specifically transitions. Where one material meets another, where a floor meets a wall, where a finish changes, those seams are where craftsmanship shows itself, and we sweated every one of them.

The upholstery was a great example. Our upholsterer brought us several samples, and choosing the right one was a process on its own: texture, tone, durability, the way each caught the light, all weigh against the whole room. It took time, but we found the one that felt right.

Sourcing Material the Right Way

For the tile we worked with Tile Collective up in Solana Beach. Rather than choosing off a screen, we drove up to their shop to see and handle the options in person, and that turned out to be one of the best moves we made. Their selection is beautiful, and being in the room with the material is what got us to a tile that truly hit the spot for this restaurant.

When a Beehive Moves In

Not every install goes according to plan. Partway through, we discovered we had a guest: a beehive had taken up residence in one of the pendant fixtures. A little unexpected wildlife comes with a building this open to the coast, and it made for a great story once everything was resolved.

Leaning on Local Makers

One of our favorite parts of this project was how many local hands came together to build it. When the powder-coated handrail didn’t come back the way we envisioned, we brought in a local finisher who hand-painted a patina onto the rail. He was such a great find, and the result had exactly the character we were after. Getting to work with makers like him is one of the real joys of this kind of project.

That spirit ran through the whole build. Tecture handled the more complex pieces with our in-house fabrication, while simpler items like the tables and shelves came from local San Diego fabricators, work we helped coordinate. The client team brought real design expertise of their own, and their eye made a difference when it came to dialing in the FF&E.

What’s Next

To bring the experience full circle, Tecture also took on the branding for the restaurant. From the menu, the online presentation, the imagery, to the custom leather menu book made by a local craftsman. There’s a whole story behind that concept, but we’ll save that story for part 3.

This was a labor of love from everyone involved, and we’re proud to have been part of it. By The Sea is now live on our projects page, alongside the rest of our hospitality interior design work, so be sure to check it out in full!

The arched mosaic tile panel going in above the patio booth seating at By The Sea, Coronado

The arched mosaic tile panel with oak wood shelving going in above the bar cabinetry at By The Sea, Coronado

First fit and color selection of the banquette cushions at By The Sea, pendant fixtures still bagged overhead

Terracotta vessels waiting to be placed in front of the tiled arched niches at By The Sea

Close detail of the cerused oak edge and rounded corner on a custom table at By The Sea, Coronado

Wrapped seat cushions stacked under lit rattan pendants during the final install at By The Sea

Trying a woven-back oak dining chair in place at By The Sea, tables still under protective plastic

The cobblestone entry stair and dark handrail against white plaster at By The Sea, Coronado

Comparing upholstery fabric against color and tile swatch boards in a By The Sea selections meeting

Furniture cartons and a ladder sitting under the willow reed ceiling at By The Sea in Coronado

Velvet armchairs and cerused oak tables at the window overlooking Orange Avenue at By The Sea

Fitting a striped cushion to the concrete patio banquette at By The Sea

Finished patio nook at By The Sea with scalloped rattan pendants and the arched mosaic tile panel

A potted tree beside a plaster table and lit rattan pendant in a booth at By The Sea

Setting the imported cobblestone by hand along a drain channel at By The Sea

A site walk in the arched dinning room at By The Sea while the flagstone floor was still bare

The design and construction team on a walkthrough at the terrace doors at By The Sea, Coronado

A site walkthrough at the entry of By The Sea in Coronado, samples in hand

Oak wood tables and raffia dome pendants along the streetside windows at By The Sea in Coronado

Where flagstone meets cobblestone at By The Sea, with pendants and planting waiting to be set

A sculptural woven sconce mounted on a reclaimed timber post at By The Sea

FAQ

Both! For By The Sea our team, the client, and the client’s team worked through purchasing together, comparing furniture and lighting in person rather than off of a cut sheet.
We sure can. By The Sea began as a schematic concept from another studio, and the design evolved considerably from there through design development, construction documentation, and construction administration.
It depends on the piece, and the budget. The booth tables, the thatch ceiling, and the reclaimed posts and beams were built with our in-house fabrication team Tecture AF. Other items were given to other local San Diego fabricators that we created the detail shop drawings for, and then coordinated.
Yes we do. On this project, we designed the identity alongside the space - menus, online presentation, imagery, and a leather menu book made by a local craftsman.
By The Sea is on Orange Avenue in Coronado, California. Tecture Studio led the interiors, FF&E, and branding. It’s an incredible space, with incredible food and drinks - a definite must see and try if you are in the area!