Kitchen remodeling in Santa Monica can mean a landmark bungalow, a family home on a deep North of Montana lot or a unit in one of the city's many apartment and condo buildings. Each comes with its own limits, from Landmarks Commission review to shared plumbing.
We are Best Top Kitchen, a Santa Clarita remodeler that works on kitchens and no other rooms. We take on complete remodels under one contract and file with the city's own Building and Safety Division.
Bungalows, Apartments and Deep Lots: Santa Monica's Housing
Of Santa Monica's 53,274 housing units, only 19.3% are detached houses and 66.0% sit in buildings of five or more units. The median build year is 1968, and 13.5% of units date from 1939 or earlier.
The older single-family streets hold Craftsman bungalows, Victorians and Spanish Colonial Revival homes, and the city's landmark list includes many Craftsman bungalows from 1911 to 1923. Northeast Neighbors has smaller bungalows on Idaho, Washington and California avenues, Ocean Park mixes Craftsman and Victorian houses with mid-century apartments, and Sunset Park is mostly small one-story houses built in the 1940s for aircraft workers.
The 1994 Northridge earthquake caused extensive damage here, and the city's 2017 Seismic Retrofit Ordinance identified over 2,000 commercial and multifamily buildings, mostly soft-story apartments with tuck-under parking, as potentially vulnerable. The coast sets the climate, with morning fog common from May into early August and the beach 5 to 10 degrees cooler than inland on summer days.
North of Montana, Ocean Park and Mid-City
North of Montana has larger family homes of varying styles and ages, mostly on 50 by 150 foot lots, while lots west of 7th Street run 100 by 220 feet and hold many of the city's historic homes. North of San Vicente along La Mesa Drive are some of the largest lots in the city, with views over Santa Monica Canyon.
In Mid-City, early Craftsman and Victorian houses were largely replaced, first by small bungalows in the early 1940s and then by four- and five-unit buildings in the 1960s. A North of Montana remodel may add an island and a pantry, while a Mid-City kitchen often has to work along one wall.
Kitchen Remodeling in Santa Monica, From Bungalow to Condo
Each subsection below is one stage of a complete kitchen remodel, never a separate job. What matters most depends on the house.
Craftsman Bungalows in the 11th Street and Bay Street Districts
The 11th Street Bungalow district covers the east side of 11th Street between Wilshire and Arizona plus 1107 to 1115 Arizona, and the Bay Street Craftsman Cluster protects another group of bungalows. Kitchens in these small houses need built-in storage, period-appropriate doors and trim that matches the rest of the house. Our historic kitchen remodeling also updates old wiring and pipes while walls are open.
Historic District Reviews and Certificates of Appropriateness
The Landmarks Commission regulates alterations to landmarks, and staff review Certificates of Appropriateness, Administrative Approvals and Exemptions. If your house is a landmark or sits in a historic district, a kitchen plan that changes a window or the exterior will likely need one of those approvals. Our kitchen design drawings and 3D renderings give staff a clear picture of what changes.
North of Montana Homes With Room for an Island
On 50 by 150 foot lots and larger, North of Montana houses can have the floor area for a full island with seating and a prep sink. We size kitchen islands for clear aisles, plan power and plumbing in the floor and match the island to the perimeter cabinetry. On the big La Mesa Drive lots, an island can anchor a kitchen that opens to the garden.
Custom Cabinetry for Compact Kitchens and Condo Units
Small 1940s houses in Sunset Park, older Craftsman houses in Ocean Park and units in multifamily buildings all need storage that works hard in a tight footprint. We build custom kitchen cabinets to the inch, with tall pantry pullouts, drawer stacks in place of base doors and uppers that reach the ceiling. They are built only as part of the full kitchen.
Quartz Countertops, Quartzite and Marble
Quartz is the low-upkeep choice for many condo and family kitchens, while quartzite and honed marble suit a landmark bungalow or a large North of Montana house. We help pick slabs and template after the cabinets are set, and kitchen countertops go in as one stage of the remodel. Edge profiles and backsplash heights are settled in the 3D model first.
Santa Monica Permits, Landmarks and Coastal Rules
Santa Monica issues its own permits, not LADBS. Building permit applications go online through the Electronic Plan Review System before any visit to the Permit Services Center at 1685 Main Street.
The city's August 2025 list names five historic districts: Third Street Neighborhood, Bay Street Craftsman Cluster, San Vicente Boulevard Courtyard Apartments, 11th Street Bungalow and 4th Street Corner. Landmark, Structure of Merit and Historic Resources Inventory status must be disclosed at sale.
In the coastal zone, the Coastal Commission still issues Coastal Development Permits, because the city has no adopted Implementation Plan. In mapped fire zones, the Wildland-Urban Interface Code (Title 24, Part 7), which replaced CBC Chapter 7A on January 1, 2026, covers exterior work, and the city recommends ember-resistant vents with 1/8 inch mesh.
