Cardiff by the Sea design-build · Since 2005
Cardiff by the Sea home remodeling, designed and built by one team.
Accredited, certified and held to accountCalifornia contractor #922807, in business in San Diego for 21 years
Cardiff by the Sea · San Diego County
Whole home remodels, kitchens, bathrooms, additions and ADUs in Cardiff by the Sea.
Cardiff's Composer District and the streets above Restaurant Row hold beach cottages and view homes that families stay in for decades, remodeling as they go.
Kaminskiy Design and Remodeling was founded in San Diego by Sergei Kaminskiy in 2005 and is still founder-led. In Cardiff by the Sea our designers, architectural drafters and project managers take your home from the first sketch to the final walkthrough, on one contract, and we handle the plans and permits with the City of Encinitas, coastal zone included. No handoffs, no finger-pointing, no surprises.
Start with a complimentary consultationWhat to know first
Cardiff is the Composer District and the bluff above Restaurant Row. Here is what shapes a remodel.
Cardiff by the Sea is the southern end of Encinitas, a hillside of 1920s to 1960s cottages on streets named for composers, with the bluff-top homes above Cardiff State Beach and the newer houses up the hill toward Olivenhain. The City of Encinitas issues the permits and runs the coastal program, the two-story height limit applies, and the bluff gets the closest look of anything in the city. We have not yet published a Cardiff project; our nearest work is five minutes away in Encinitas and Solana Beach, and it is shown below, labelled as such.
Cardiff by the Sea, San Diego County. Our Design Center in Rancho Bernardo is about 30 minutes away off peak; the first meeting is at your home.
Cardiff is part of the City of Encinitas, so permits come from the City of Encinitas Development Services Department on Vulcan Avenue, not from the County or the City of San Diego. Interior remodels are a building permit; additions, second stories and bluff-top work need the Coastal Development Permit the City issues under its own program.
We prepare the drawings, submit them and attend the hearing if a project needs one.
The homes above Cardiff State Beach and along the bluff edge are the most reviewed in Encinitas: a geotechnical report on the bluff, a setback from its edge, the coastal permit and the California Coastal Commission's shoreline rules. The San Elijo Lagoon's edge brings its own buffers. Bluff-top work begins with the geotechnical engineer, not the designer.
Source: California Coastal Commission
Encinitas holds residential buildings to two stories and 30 feet citywide, a rule the voters set with Proposition A in 2013. On Cardiff's hillside the limit is measured from the existing grade, so a house that steps down the slope is designed to it from the first sketch, and the view uphill stays.
Between the Coast Highway and Birmingham Drive, the streets named for Mozart, Verdi and the rest hold cottages from the 1920s to the 1960s on small lots, many now past the City's historic review age when a permit changes the exterior. A remodel there opens a closed plan, adds a bath, replaces original systems and specifies for salt air.
Nothing in Cardiff is far from the water. Marine-grade stainless hardware, fiberglass or aluminum-clad windows and sealed trim last; the older framing often holds termite and dry rot repairs we expect and price for; bathrooms need ventilation sized for the marine layer.
California law gives every single-family lot the right to an accessory dwelling unit and a junior unit, and Encinitas's permit-ready ADU program can shorten the review for standard plans. In Cardiff the City reviews the unit against the coastal rules as well. A converted garage on a Composer District lot is the natural form; a detached unit fits the larger lots up the hill.
To orient yourself: Restaurant Row sits on the Coast Highway below the bluff, Cardiff State Beach and the San Elijo campground run south to the lagoon, Birmingham Drive climbs into the Composer District, and Encinitas proper begins at Swami's. Our nearest projects are in Encinitas and Solana Beach, a few minutes either way. Finishes are chosen at our Design Center in Rancho Bernardo, about 30 minutes away; the first appointment is a walk through your house with the designer.
What we design and build in Cardiff by the Sea
Cardiff by the Sea remodeling services: five ways to fall back in love with your home.
01 · Most requestedWhole Home Remodeling
Two rooms or the entire floor plan, designed as one cohesive home instead of a collection of projects.
Whole home remodels
02Kitchen Remodeling
Custom cabinetry, islands that work, lighting in layers. Designed around how you cook and gather.
Kitchens
03Bathroom Remodeling
Spa primaries, hall baths, universal design.
Bathrooms
04Room Additions
Build out or build up. Additions that look original.
Additions
05ADUs and Conversions
Detached casitas, attached suites, garage conversions.
ADUsRemodeling in Cardiff by the Sea
Every service. One local team.
Whole home remodels, kitchens, bathrooms, additions, ADUs and outdoor living, all designed and built by the same team, all in Cardiff by the Sea.
Nearby neighborhoods
We work in every neighborhood of San Diego County. See all thirty-seven neighborhood pages or schedule a consultation.
Recent work near Cardiff by the Sea
Recent remodels close to Cardiff by the Sea. Real homes. Real families.
Projects from Encinitas and Solana Beach, close to Cardiff by the Sea, designed and built by the same team that would work on your home. Every photo is a Kaminskiy project.
The Cardiff by the Sea remodeling guide
What we remodel in Cardiff by the Sea, room by room.
What Cardiff homeowners ask us for, room by room. Our Encinitas and Solana Beach projects, a few minutes away, are in the gallery below.
A Composer District cottage opened up and protected against salt air within its walls, so the coastal permit stays out of it; or a 1970s hillside house turned toward the view under the two-story limit.
Whole home remodelingSmall cottage kitchens opened to the living room, hardware chosen for salt, a 60- or 100-amp panel replaced. Three of our five Encinitas projects are kitchens, five minutes up the coast.
Kitchen remodelingWhat a kitchen costs in San Diego in 2026
The one-bath cottage gets a second from a closet; the hillside house trades a tub for a walk-in shower; every bath gets ventilation sized for the marine layer.
Bathroom remodelingThe two-story limit, the coastal permit and, on the bluff, the geotechnical report shape every Cardiff addition. Possible on most lots; slow on the bluff.
Room additionsA converted garage on a cottage lot, a detached unit up the hill, with Encinitas's permit-ready plans where one fits and the coastal review in every case.
ADUs and conversionsDecks and patios for salt air and the view, with the bluff setback on the coast and the lagoon buffers to the south. Our Encinitas outdoor fireplace in the gallery is the local wish.
Outdoor livingMany Cardiff owners have been in their cottages for decades. A curbless shower, a no-step entry and wider doors, designed in during a remodel, let them stay.
Universal designGood questions
Cardiff by the Sea remodeling FAQ: a few straight answers before you call.
Permits with the City of Encinitas, timelines, where you choose materials, and what the first meeting costs. More on the full FAQ page.
Read all FAQsOur gallery does not yet hold a project here. Our nearest work is in Encinitas and Solana Beach, five minutes either way, and it is in the gallery below. The same team, the same City of Encinitas permit counter, the same coastal rules.
The City of Encinitas Development Services Department. Cardiff is part of Encinitas, so the City issues the building permit and, under its own coastal program, the Coastal Development Permit when one is required.
Yes. Encinitas holds residential buildings to two stories and 30 feet citywide, measured from the existing grade, so a house that steps down the slope is designed to it from the first sketch.
Nothing. The in-home design consultation is complimentary anywhere in Cardiff by the Sea. A designer comes to your home, listens to what you want to change, takes measurements and photos, and tells you honestly whether we are the right fit for the project.
We do. Permits for Cardiff by the Sea homes are issued by the City of Encinitas. Our design and architectural team drafts the construction documents, a licensed structural engineer stamps them where the scope calls for it, and we submit them and manage the whole process for you. Parts of Cardiff by the Sea sit in the coastal zone, which adds a coastal development review to some projects; we plan for it from the first meeting.
All of Cardiff by the Sea, zip code 92007, and the neighborhoods around it: Solana Beach, Encinitas and Rancho Santa Fe. If your street is not on our list, call us anyway. We serve every city in San Diego County.
A kitchen remodel usually takes about 4 to 8 months from the first consultation to completion. A bathroom typically takes 3 to 5 months. The design and permit phases come first, and construction is the shorter part. Permit review times vary with the City of Encinitas, and we plan around them.
At the Kaminskiy Design Center, 12396 World Trade Dr, Suite 108, San Diego, CA 92128, with your designer. Most clients visit once or twice during the design phase. The first meeting, though, happens at your Cardiff by the Sea home.
Yes. Kaminskiy Design and Remodeling is a fully licensed and insured California contractor, license #922807, in business in San Diego since 2005.
Start here
Schedule your complimentary in-home design consultation anywhere in Cardiff by the Sea.
- A designer comes to you, measures, listens and shares first ideas.
- No pressure and no obligation. We tell you if we are not the right fit.
- Our Client Care team calls back during the time slot you choose.