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	Photo: Lisa Sze

A Bit of Paradise

Loving the Lagoon Life

    Eula and Mike Dean were not house hunting when they found a fixer-upper on the lagoon in Alameda’s South Shore neighborhood. Fresh from completely renovating their Waterfall Isle home, they were helping friends find a lagoon home in the same area.
    But the amount of waterfront frontage on a Pond Isle home piqued their interest, and the Deans bought the house in January 2006, selling the Waterfall home to their friends.
    “Two things convinced us to buy this place—its location at the end of a cul de sac and the size and configuration of the lot with the large lagoon frontage,” Mike Dean says.
    “It’s paradise,” he says when asked how he likes lagoon living. “It’s wonderful,” echoes Eula Dean.
South Shore is a landfill area where homes were built in the 1960s and ’70s, and many residents are the original owners of those houses, but Mike Dean has noticed recent turnover and more renovation in the neighborhood.
    The Deans’ renovation project has added new life to their ranch-style home, a 2,400-square-foot house with three bedrooms, an office and two baths. The couple, working with Eula Dean’s designs, made few structural changes but expanded the open layout with the goal of bringing the outside indoors.
Overgrown trees and foliage in the backyard blocked the water view, so the Deans immediately removed the debris, creating a light-filled, airy feel with lagoon vistas from nearly every room. Solar tube lighting in high-traffic areas, like the hallways and the bathrooms, also add extra light.
    “No matter what room you are in,  you have a view to the outside,” Eula Dean says. The Deans tackled the kitchen with the most vigor, converting the space from a galley layout with view-blocking hanging cabinets to a lovely spacious room painted in rich, warm colors. The centerpiece is a 10-foot-long, oval-shaped, bi-level island with high seating for dining on one side and low buffet-level counter space on the other. Weighted light fixtures with Milano glass hang over the island, and those lights can be adjusted for atmosphere. The counter offers prime viewing of the widescreen TV in the adjoining family room.
    “We entertain almost every night, and everyone always ends up in the kitchen. We wanted to accommodate that,” Eula Dean says.  Brushed stainless-steel appliances and dual multiple-format ovens line the room, and a large stove sports a handy grill for making pancakes and burgers for the Dean grandchildren, who live close by and visit often. Special refrigerated drawers offer easy access to drinks and snacks.
    The home’s inside color scheme—rich cream and yellow throughout the living areas, dark green and shades of red and gold in the kitchen—also complements the Deans’ extensive art collection.
While the interior is beautiful, the Deans have devoted an equal amount of energy to their yards, establishing an outdoor space that’s a world of its own.
    “We are outdoor people,” Eula explains. “It’s like being on vacation all the time.  We eat outside, read the newspaper, entertain here and spend most of our time  right here.”
    To reflect the couple’s outdoor infatuation, Eula Dean has created a front-yard oasis with a small garden, flowing waterfall and replenishing pond. But the backyard is the home’s pièce de résistance: It wraps around the house, stretching fully from one side to the other. Meanwhile, the side carport has been transformed into a cozy covered seating area with whimsical hanging art, and a four-hole putting green abuts the patio. A second patio adjoins a picturesque dock appointed with two Adirondack chairs, and a paddleboat is moored, nearby ready for action. Another interesting feature, and a definite source of pride for Mike Dean, is an authentic bocce ball court of layers of oyster shells and oyster shell powder. A flying pig weather vane rises over the yard to keep a watchful eye on things. Two additional patios and a gazebo round off the idyllic outdoor paradise, where the Deans eat breakfast every morning.
    The Deans love that they’ve been able to integrate their love for the outdoors with their at-home lifestyle. From their perspective, this Pond Isle existence represents the best in lagoon living. One thing’s for certain—they wouldn’t have it any other way.