Tour NFL Star Ryan Kalil’s Modernist Family Home in California
The former NFL star Ryan Kalil is nothing if not humble. “In many ways, I was an accidental professional athlete,” says Kalil, a two-time NCAA all-American and five-time NFL Pro Bowler. “I played 13 years in the NFL, but since retiring [in 2019], I’ve been a little busy with a life outside of football.” Again, like most things Kalil says, there’s a strong undercurrent of modesty. Since leaving the league, the 36 year old has become a film and television producer, co-founded his own company ( Mortal Media ), started a foundation with his wife, Natalie, for lupus research and for combating homelessness, while also becoming minority owners of a women’s professional soccer team ( Angel City FC ). And, the couple has done all of this while managing a cross-country move into a stunning new home in Manhattan Beach, California.
“We lived in Charlotte for a long time,” says Ryan Kalil of his time in North Carolina during his 12 seasons with the Carolina Panthers. “Over there, all of the homes were big and the yards had so much open space. And then we came to this small beach community where [the] land is sparse. From the ground up, we were just looking for something totally different to what we had in Charlotte.”
To get their new home exactly how they wanted it, Ryan and Natalie enlisted talent from both coasts. From North Carolina, Pursley Dixon Architecture designed the exterior of the home while L.A.–based Joe Lucas of Lucas Studios, Inc. fitted the interiors. (Chris Lombardi of Lombardi Construction built the home.) The Kalils wanted to be good neighbors by creating something compatible to the rest of the surrounding homes. Yet, they also wanted to own something unique to the area, something special they could call home. So they tasked the architects with the challenge of designing a structure both striking and unassuming. “We chose materials that are not uncommon in the area, yet employed them in unexpected ways,” explains Craig Dixon, a founding partner at Pursley Dixon (and lead on the Kalil project). His partner Ken Pursley adds, “We tried to minimize [the size of the home] from the street by tucking the second floor within the roof line, yet create a moment of drama with a gracious bay window to bring light and views to the interior spaces.”
The results speak for themselves in that the home doesn’t attract unwanted attention, yet still distinguishes itself. “I think some homes fall into the trap of blindly trying to build a box so the square footage is maximized,” Ryan Kalil says. “And for us, it felt more important to not do that. We wanted the outdoor space to be in concert with the interiors, and if that meant smaller square footage than we were on board. The architects did a fantastic job with our vision.”
But a beautifully designed home without matching interiors is about as charming as a wrapped gift with nothing inside. Luckily, the Kalil’s formed a great relationship with their interior designer to custom-fit the space for a husband and wife with four young children. “[They] asked me to really take them out of their box of grays and blues and whites,” designer Joe Lucas explains. “So we worked together to find colors and patterns that felt fun and interesting, but timeless too. It was my job to avoid the trends of the moment, to create something that in five years time wouldn’t feel dated.”
Walking through the Kalil’s home is a wonderful combination of style and purpose. Little details such as a laundry room with matching wallpaper on the sides and ceiling make for spaces that are at once chic and functional. In a stunning butler’s pantry (just off the kitchen), teal-colored drawers stand in playful contrast to the room’s window shades. “We didn’t want to live in a museum,” says Natalie Kalil. “We have four kids, a lot of cousins, a lot of neighbors with kids. So we decided everything had to look nice, yet be able to withstand wear and tear.”
Similar to others, the pandemic focused the Kalils to adopt a new work-from-home rhythm. “Like anybody during these tough times, I didn’t realize how important a home office was going to be,” says Ryan Kalil. “The team did an unbelievable job with this space because it’s both separated from everything yet through these arched windows, I have the ability to keep tabs on my kids whenever I need.” But it’s not just a home office with a desk; in his new line of work, the former NFL star needs quick access to a large screen. “The home theater in the basement is an obvious hit with our kids, or whenever we want to entertain for friends and family. But it’s also been very important for me during production.”
The Kalils moved into the home in 2021, and like any new homeowners, are still getting their bearings on the space. Yet if they have come to understand anything about their new home, it’s that they’re loving it more with each passing day. “Natalie and I always joke that we are still discovering new details,” says Ryan Kalil. “Everywhere you turn, there’s this bespoke feel that presents itself, and it leaves me in awe with how it’s all come together.”