Keeping it simple: interior designer Michael Lee finds an overdesigned Malibu house and creates a serene, comfortable home using natural materials and neutral colors.

House Beautiful, July, 2005 by Sulcas, Roslyn

INTERIOR DESIGNER Michael Lee loved the Malibu beach house the minute he saw it.

"It's one of the last houses built on the street," he says, "at a point where it curves, so you have city lights at night instead of a beach view that disappears in the dark." The house stood fifteen feet above the water, clad in white porcelain tile with terraces on both sides and a great deal of architect-designed detail inside.

"That was the problem," says Lee. "It was a good-looking house, but it was overthought. Everything had curves--even the ...