Oxnard beach house, funky and fun

By Lisa Boone
It’s often called the “Hollywood Beach Shack,” a weathered residence set across the street from the ocean in an enclave that Clark Gable and Rudolph Valentino once called home. When the Wakemans bought the house a few years, it had been advertised as a tear-down. But inspired by Mark and Sally Bailey’s book “Restoration Home,” Szu Wakeman chose to make cosmetic fixes and use the art of salvage to remake the home. (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

March 17, 2014 10:55 AM PT

A hand-built mailbox mirrors the house’s quirky design. (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

The water wheel in front of the house still works. “It gets filled with sand,” Wakeman says. “So it is mostly decorative.” (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

This beach house bunk is outfitted with nautical lights. (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

Sunny Wakeman peeks down from her loft bed. The playful bunks came with the beach house, but mom Szu Wakeman freshened up the space with white paint, new mattresses and nautical lighting. (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

Hand brooms as wall decoration in the kitchen. For mom, it’s also a hint about cleaning up. “I figured if I hung those up, people might use them,” Szu Wakeman says with a laugh. A drawer from the “sold as is” section at IKEA was repurposed as shelving for glassware. (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

J.D. Wakeman and dog Kodi sit at the window with an ocean view. A salvaged window hangs on the wall. (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

A wall between the kitchen and the living area was removed to create a more open plan. The floor is ash and cleans up easily. Money was invested in a good refrigerator, but the dining table came from a Macys furniture outlet. (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

The Wakemans extended the home by converting the garage into a master bedroom. Salvaged windows and shutters were not touched up at all, Szu Wakeman said. “Scenic designers pay big money to get that look,” she says. “The patina on those doors was just fantastic, so we decided we had to showcase them.” (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

The original wood-burning stove remains in the living room. (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

A plaque tells the history of the house: “This house dates from the mid 1920s. It was designed and rebuilt by a 14 year old Rip Evans in the late ‘70s with a little help from his dad.” (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

The entrance to the house has a repurposed claw-foot tub turned planter. Wakeman removed the tub from the house to make room for a laundry room inside. (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

The beauty of repurposed décor? “There is nothing our houseguests can do to damage anything,” Wakeman says of her house, which stands out among the more modern homes along Hollywood Beach.

More beach houses: See galleries for a 1970s house made modern, Rachel Ashwell’s Shabby Shack and a family-friendly contemporary escape.

Home of the Times: California designs in pictures (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)