This 500-Square-Foot Trailer in Malibu Is a Warm and Woody Cocoon

Jason Osni, the founder of cannabis brand Old Pal, was never supposed to move into another trailer. The plan was to have his partner move into his old one, never for them both to move someplace new. “This is Jason’s third trailer in Paradise Cove, and he really only bought it because someone made an offer on his previous one,” says his partner, Amy Roberts, an editorial lead for a food and wellness company. Mind you, Jason didn’t initially take the offer seriously. “He told the realtor he’d only move if he could find him a new project in the same neighborhood. Lo and behold, this one became available a few months later.”

Wood panels warm the walls, floors, and ceilings of the main room, serving as a welcome backdrop for the owners’ collection of handmade and antique ceramics, surf books, and folk art. Because there’s no such thing as too much wood, Alana and Jason brought in even more in the way of beautiful oiled walnut millwork. A patchwork from Suay Sew Shop enlivens the sofa.

That the trailer wasn’t in great shape was altogether a different matter. “It was so old and cramped and tiny that I couldn’t imagine all of us surviving here,” Amy continues, the “all of us” in question being herself, Jason, and their two rambunctious pooches, Pippa and Mookie. But Jason could. Imagine all of them surviving here, that is. So he worked on making it possible, but not before enlisting neighbor and friend Alana Marie of Alana Marie Interiors and contractor Jeff Spiegel of Heartwood Construction & Design to help him bring it back to life.

As the first home they’ve ever shared, the home is a culmination of many shared interests for Amy and Jason. “When we started designing this space, we had just decided to move in together, so we were excited about bringing to life things we both love, including wood paneling, lots of shelves, and a calm, cozy feeling. I think we got pretty close to the original vision,” says Jason. The ceiling lights in the kitchen are the Alabax Large Surface Mount design by Schoolhouse Electric.

“Our favorite part is definitely the kitchen. We basically designed the entire space around it,” says Jason, who asked Alana to maximize the kitchen and add a huge island right in the center of the house. Some features of note include built-in shelves, retro-style appliances, and rows and rows of books and baubles that make for happy company. The refrigerator in yellow gray is from Big Chill. The range is a refurbished Viking design.

Given the 500-square-foot footprint, the home was always going to be cozy, but what kind of cozy was a question up for discussion. In Alana’s eyes, it was the kind that involved more light, better layouts, and functional, inviting spaces (the original layout was crowded and dark, with tiny rooms and a loft that extended all the way across the top floor, effectively blocking any light). “Jason and Amy love to cook and entertain at home, so it was essential to open up the unit’s cramped, dark spaces and create a more pleasing sense of flow,” she shares. Then came the question of which materials would help achieve that flow. For Jason, the answer was timber, or more specifically the timber architecture of Sea Ranch, California, and the wood-heavy works of sculptor JB Blunk.

Another corner of the main room basks in the afternoon afterglow. An Akari Light Sculpture by Noguchi floats overhead. The framed art is by Nathaniel Russell.

Alana took cues from both, but she and Jason put their own spin on things, opting for walnut wood for the kitchen countertops and cabinets; cedar for the walls, ceilings and floors; and handmade Moroccan zellige tiles for the bathroom. “Contrary to what most people would do in a small space, we maxed out the finishes, covering every wall, floor and ceiling with wood or tile,” she adds. The risk paid off because, as Jason puts a finer point on the subject, “you can really feel, see, and smell the effect that this beautiful wood has on the energy of the space. It seems to have a very warming effect on people.” How warm was too warm, though, was a puzzle for Alana, at least at first, given that the objective was to evoke the mood of a beach retreat rather than that of a mountain chalet.

Alana knocked down the laundry between the bathroom and living area to create a charming workstation that looks like it could have tumbled out of the 1950s. The lamp is a vintage novelty, while the ceramic rings are from Oatmeal Shop. Straight ahead is the bathroom, which gleams in zellige tile by Zia Tile in the shade Glazed Earth.

Bottles, tchotchkes, and a checkered vase by Fizzy Ceramics liven up the bathroom shelf.

Turns out, she had nothing to worry about. By treading lightly with finishes, summoning more light by opening up the loft area, and getting clever with storage, she harked to the unit’s coastal locale, conjuring up an aesthetic lexicon that suggests the interior of a boat with its clean, functional lines. She also eliminated the oddly situated laundry from between the bathroom and living area and turned the resultant “in-between” space into a chic open workstation. As for the furnishings and decor, she threw in a mix of colors, shapes, and textures—from an eye-popping blue denim patchwork on the sofa (Jason and Amy’s idea, which she helped bring to order) to a delicately curved Noguchi pendant lamp—to create a kaleidoscopic counterpoint to the woody cocoon. She didn’t forget about the exterior either, refreshing the siding in a sandy hue and the window and door trims in Douglas fir timber.

You’d never know that the wall in the bedroom isn’t actually a wall, but rather a closet in natural oiled walnut that camouflages into the shell.

The nightstand in the bedroom is a turned wood curiosity by Hanna Dausch.

Today, the home is a hat-tip to the original trailers of the site that capture the zeitgeist of the 1950s, but it is also, as Amy puts it, “a home that feels as good as it looks.” For Jason, of course, the process was as fulfilling as the end result. “It was fun to try to go from designing a house just for myself, like I’d done before, to designing a house for two people and two dogs, and make it work in 500 square feet. It was like putting together a big old puzzle,” he signs off.

Prior to the renovation, the loft was fully closed in, accessible only through a hole at the top of a ladder. Together, Alana and Jason decided to open up half the ceiling to brighten the space and to establish a visual connection to the main level.

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