The Hollywood Reporter's 25 Most Influential Interior Designers in L.A.

Few interior designers are more associated than Tim Clarke with the beach house, that sun-kissed aesthetic that’s a favorite on both coasts. In the hands of Clarke (he named his Tower 20 store in Santa Monica after a nearby lifeguard shack), “the beach house is decorating on a higher level,” says the designer, who scatters his interiors with surf and sand signifiers, from collectible surfboards that hang like Warhols to slices of ancient tree trunks that stand as sculpture. In his THR showhouse living room, Clarke — who came out with his first book, Coastal Modern, this summer design issue — blended sandy neutrals with an ornate mirror that suggested bronze driftwood.

The designer acknowledges his clients’ cravings for casual yet well-curated spaces that are “comfortable and easy to take care of — the materials are honest,” he says. Lately, Clarke is deep in construction remodeling the house he shares with garden designer/hair stylist Art Luna, which is 11 blocks from the Santa Monica beach. “Our house burned down,” he says, “and the only things we had left were each other and our dogs. That led me to think all that stuff is just stuff.” Said like a true beach philosopher.

Pet peeve: “Edison bulbs! Man, that hanging bare bulb is everywhere now.”