Whole-Home Remodeling in Santa Monica
Serving 90401 · 90402 · 90403 · 90404 · 90405 and Venice, Brentwood, Pacific Palisades
Full-home remodels in Santa Monica have four different overlays that can hit the project depending on where the parcel sits: the CPCD permit process, Coastal Commission review west of 4th Street, RSO on pre-1979 rental units, and the design vocabulary of the specific style — Spanish colonial, craftsman bungalow, or contemporary. Design Onn Point runs the checks in that order.
What a Santa Monica full-home remodel actually looks like
The four-overlay intake
Before we scope, we confirm four things: parcel address relative to 4th Street, building age and RSO status, existing style and how much of it survives, and the CPCD permit history on the parcel. That intake shapes the entire project.
CPCD, not LADBS — plan accordingly
Everything in the 90401 through 90405 ZIPs permits through the City of Santa Monica. Timelines, forms, and plan-check comments are different from LA. We build the schedule around Santa Monica's actual review cadence.
Coastal review when it applies
West of 4th Street, a full-home remodel that changes exterior walls, adds height, or expands the footprint can pull in Coastal Commission review. We flag that at intake so the schedule reflects the added review window.
RSO on pre-1979 buildings
If your property is a pre-1979 multi-unit under rent stabilization, a full-home remodel plan has to account for the RSO framework. We do not scope past that check until we have it in writing.
Style-honest design across the ZIPs
Santa Monica's stock splits into Spanish colonial, craftsman bungalow, and contemporary. A full-home remodel that modernizes without erasing the original style ages better and holds value better. We design toward the house you have.
The +10-20% premium, unpacked
Santa Monica full-home remodels sit 10-20% (+10-20%) above our west-side baseline. The premium comes from the separate-city permit process, the coastal or RSO overlays when they apply, and the finish tier common in this market. We line-item all of it.
Written by Onn Cohen-Meguri, founder and designer at Design Onn Point. Onn has spent 20+ years designing and building in Los Angeles. CSLB #1133368.
What's different about whole-home remodeling in Santa Monica
Santa Monica full-home permits often involve Coastal Commission
Santa Monica full-home remodels west of Lincoln in the Coastal Zone routinely involve Coastal Development Permit review, particularly when scope includes additions, height changes, or significant envelope modifications. East of Lincoln, the standard Santa Monica B&S workflow applies without coastal review. We confirm coastal applicability against the parcel's exact location and the proposed scope before locking the design — the design path differs meaningfully between coastal and non-coastal Santa Monica parcels.
Many SM full-home projects preserve bungalow character
Santa Monica clients often prioritize preserving the home's original bungalow character — exterior siding, window proportions, front porches, original moldings — while fully modernizing systems, kitchens, baths, and floor plans. We design accordingly: preserve and restore the front-facing facade and primary interior architectural features; modernize everything that doesn't affect those character markers. The result is a home that reads as the bungalow it always was, with contemporary function inside.
Mello Act considerations apply on some SM parcels
Santa Monica parcels with existing rental units (duplexes, triplexes, small multi-family) in the Coastal Zone can trigger Mello Act review when a full-home remodel reduces or eliminates affordable housing units. The Mello Act requires either preservation or replacement of affordable housing in the coastal zone, and the rules are specific to the parcel and the unit count. We screen for Mello Act applicability during feasibility, not at permit submission.
Pricing in Santa Monica
From our completed projects.
Talk to Onn about your Santa Monica whole-home remodeling.
Free consult, no obligation. Onn reads every inquiry personally — and aims to reply within one business day.
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