The Cove Residences is the latest development from the team behind The Cove at Cerritos. This project features four luxury condos with amenities like private pools and terraces, ensuring complete privacy for residents. Located in a prime beachfront area of Cerritos, these condos offer a front-row seat to the Pacific Ocean. Being situated in such a highly coveted location enhances their potential for appreciation.
One of the key selling points of The Cove Residences is that OCHO+CO, a top interior design company with experience at notable locations like Chileno Bay and Palmilla, will furnish them. We had the opportunity to speak with Christian Minor, the owner of OCHO+CO, to discuss what they will bring to The Cove Residences, their design philosophy, and how they will collaborate with the owners.
A Design Philosophy Rooted in Collaboration
OCHO+CO is built on the idea that great design has a purpose. It’s not just about looks. It’s about craftsmanship, community, and working with the right people. The company’s name reflects this philosophy.
“We always design everything with a sole purpose to it,” says Christian Minor, the founder of OCHO+CO. “And we say ‘we’ because we have 117 vendors that custom build all over Mexico for us. It’s a beautiful collaboration that we work on.”
The “Ocho” comes from the eight core principles that guide their work. These include building intentionally, paying attention to every detail, and ensuring people feel connected to their space. The “Co.” represents the many hands that bring each project to life.
“There are so many of us,” Christian says. “The company is all the collective people—from the drivers to the artisans to the project managers, who save me from my horrible Spanish. And then ultimately the clients and the companies that we work with.”
This collaborative approach makes OCHO+CO an excellent fit for The Cove Residences. Skilled artisans across Mexico thoughtfully design every piece. The result is a space that feels connected to the region’s heritage while meeting the highest standards of luxury.
A Seamless, Custom-Tailored Design Experience
Furnishing a home in Baja isn’t always easy. Many buyers travel to Guadalajara, where high-quality furniture is undoubtedly available. However, they often realize it’s not that simple.
Christian knows this struggle well. “You go to Guadalajara, and they send you to three locations,” he says. “You find these pieces of furniture that they’re trying to sell you. But they are not exactly the right size for your Baja property. Not everything fits as it should or is the right color.”
That frustration led him to start OCHO+CO and take the guesswork out of furnishing a home. Instead of searching for the right pieces individually, buyers get a fully designed interior ready from day one. This assistance is invaluable at The Cove Residences, where the developers have chosen to provide buyers with a seamless, move-in-ready experience.
How Furnishing Your Luxury Condo with OCHO+CO Looks Like
“For The Cove, in particular, we’re offering three or four different custom sofas that we feel are the right size, the right look and feel, and are very high quality,” Christian says. “And then ultimately a set number of materials to go on that sofa. The same goes for nightstands, dining tables, dining chairs, bar stools, and more.”
The process is simple. Buyers start with 3D renderings of their space and choose from key furniture pieces and materials. If they can’t visit Cerritos, they receive a sample kit with flooring, countertop materials, wood finishes, and fabrics.
“We call them back again, we reselect if we need to, and then we check everything off,” Christian says. “It’s a straightforward and beautiful application.” Once the design team finalizes everything, buyers get a final 3D rendering of their interiors to know precisely how it will look before production begins.
The team carefully plans the furnishing alongside construction. “Our providers deliver over 1,500 custom-built furniture pieces to a warehouse in Cabo San Lucas, each labeled and tracked. The team just QR codes it, and it loads directly into each one of the rooms,” Christian explains. “Then everyone unwraps it, and hopefully everything looks beautiful and we get it set up, ready for the client.”
When homeowners arrive, everything is in place. No hassle, no unfinished spaces. Just a beautifully designed home, complete with a bottle of mezcal waiting to welcome them.
Balancing Personal Style with a Cohesive Design
Every homeowner has their style, and OCHO+CO knows how important it is to make a space feel personal. At The Cove Residences, Christian and his team give buyers the freedom to choose details while keeping the process simple and efficient.
“We understand that everyone has a certain style,” Christian says. “We keep it within parameters for each of the properties. It’s countless hours of work, and there’s a cost savings when building a selection of, say, 15 sofas or even four sofas, eight nightstands, 16 dining tables.”
By designing a collection of high-quality, handcrafted furniture, OCHO+CO ensures that every home looks cohesive and well thought out. But that doesn’t mean buyers can’t make it their own.
“There are times when a client has a particular look and feel for a dining table that they love,” Christian says. “We make sure that we go out of our way to provide that for them. And there’s generally no cost associated with that. That’s just making sure that everyone gets exactly what they want.”
OCHO+CO offers a separate program to create fully bespoke pieces for buyers who want even more customization. With access to skilled artisans across Mexico, the team works closely with homeowners to design one-of-a-kind furniture tailored to their space.
“We do keep it within parameters and don’t redesign the whole endeavor,” Christian says, “but for sure, we work with customization.”
This approach lets homeowners at The Cove Residences enjoy luxury and flexibility. They can select from the pre-curated designs or add their unique touches. The result is a personal, beautifully made space ready to live in.
Thoughtful Materials and Design for Beachfront Living
At The Cove Residences, design isn’t just about looks. The design team has chosen each piece to be beautiful, functional, and built to last. OCHO+CO understands the unique challenges of beachfront living, making sure materials and furniture can handle the elements without losing their style.
“Every property is completely different,” Christian says. “We work so much on usability versus design. Being down here for almost the last five years, we know exactly where the sun loads are, how close you are to the beach, how that encourages salt erosion, and what the winds look like. So for us, it’s essential that each property—both the interior and exterior—mimics and marries with the architectural design and location.”
For outdoor spaces, durability comes first. “We use a lot of teak. It holds up very well,” Christian says. “We use Mexican teak. Also African teak, which is more common in the U.S., and some Indonesian teak. But predominantly, we try to find these key pieces that look really good for outdoor spaces.”
“The biggest thing we see is whether you’re going to oil your wood or polyurethane it,” Christian says. “We talk to each client and ask them how often they will be here and the look and feel they want, particularly with their teak or exterior wood.” Oiling gives the wood a natural, weathered look, while polyurethane provides a more durable, low-maintenance finish.
Choosing Metals, Fabrics, and Ensuring the Right Upkeep
Beyond the wood, OCHO+CO carefully selects materials that can handle the Baja climate. Exterior fabrics like Sunbrella resist fading, moisture, and stains. Metals are just as important. “We use a lot of aluminum for our exterior because steel tends to rust down here. Everything is powder-coated aluminum for durability.”
Inside, the same attention to detail applies. “Everything is generally performance-grade or above,” Christian says. “You can spill red wine on it. Many of these properties like to Airbnb. So we ensure that everything is sunproof, suntan lotion proof, red wine proof.”
OCHO+CO also offers ongoing maintenance to keep outdoor furniture in top shape. “We have a gentleman now that goes around every quarter and completely sands everyone’s furniture as a client request—for a very low price—and re-oils everything.”
Material choice matters just as much as upkeep. “Metal versus aluminum, powder-coated versus painted—it all matters,” Christian says. Sun exposure is another key factor. Many people don’t realize how much moisture builds up near the ocean, so OCHO+CO makes sure every material is suited for its environment, whether in full sun or a shaded space.
But durability isn’t the only focus. Each piece has a story. “Everything we do is really about the statement piece,” Christian says. “We often say you’re only three degrees from the craftsman who built it. It’s beautiful to see pictures of small shops in Oaxaca, Michoacan, Puebla, and Guadalajara. Traveling all over, seeing these weavers designing custom chairs for us, and knowing this is your bar stool.”
Protecting Artwork in a Beachfront Home
Art adds personality to a home, but on a beachfront property, it needs extra protection. Humidity, salt air, and direct sunlight can cause damage over time, so OCHO+CO carefully considers how to keep artwork looking its best.
“Art is so personal to everyone, and we offer an incredible selection of artists that work locally and throughout Mexico,” Christian says. “But because most of our projects are close to the beach, we take great care in protecting art.”
The team looks at everything, from whether a piece is on paper or cloth to what kind of glass should cover it. “We use UV-rated glass if a piece is going to have sun exposure, whether south-facing or west-facing,” Christian explains.
OCHO+CO is working on a new solution to take protection even further. “We’re working on a clear film right now—it’s basically like a matte clear coat. You don’t see it, but it’s a spray that goes over some paper-based pieces to mitigate damage. So far, we’ve had incredible success.”
The Balance of Luxury and Functionality
Luxury should feel effortless, not delicate. At OCHO+CO, every piece of furniture is designed to look beautiful and stand up to real life.
“Many people, as we said, do Airbnb out their property,” Christian says. “And so to have a beautiful piece of furniture that holds up to the strenuous exercise—even coffee tables that get danced on, and we’ve seen it more times than we care to admit—is important.”
The details that make a piece elegant are what people notice first, but the strength behind it is just as important. “We can build something so delicate and beautiful,” Christian says, “but the structural engineering behind it—that’s where we ensure it lasts.”
Before anything goes into a home, OCHO+CO stress-tests it to handle wear and tear. “We look at everything we design and build with the intent that somebody is going to abuse it,” Christian says. “But that doesn’t take away from its luxury or beauty.”
For homeowners at The Cove Residences, this means high-end interiors that aren’t just for show. Whether it’s a personal retreat or a vacation rental, the team has ensured the design is suitable to be lived in. It is elegant, durable, and built to last.
Emerging Trends in High-End Interior Design
Interior design in Mexico is known for its light, open spaces with pops of color, potted plants, and bold artwork. OCHO+CO builds on that foundation, blending local style with global influences to create rich, modern coastal interiors.
“What we’re finding as an overall trend—and what we’re doing too—is incorporating a bit of mid-century modern with a Mexican twist,” Christian says. “We call it Mexi-mod down here, where we get to bring in dark green velvet sofas or burnt orange accents. We’re also introducing beautiful blacks and browns that marry well with the somewhat brutalist feeling of Baja’s architecture.”
Builders construct most homes in Baja with concrete blocks, which gives them a clean, minimalist look. OCHO+CO softens that by adding carefully sourced hardwoods from places like Guatemala, bringing warmth and texture to each space.
“We were just looking at these beautiful hardwoods in Guatemala that we’re starting to work with,” Christian says. “And we’re leaving for Turkey in a month to look at new fabrics. For us, it’s always about traveling and finding beautiful colors, fabrics, ideas, and concepts.”
Deeper, richer tones are also becoming more popular in luxury design. “Darker, warmer colors are starting to have a play here for sure,” Christian says. “It’s happening throughout the United States and the world at large. We’ve picked some gorgeous cabinet colors for anyone wanting them—some new shades we haven’t touched on before, pushing the boundaries slightly.”
At The Cove Residences, these influences combine to create fresh, modern, yet timeless spaces. They’re rooted in Baja’s natural beauty but shaped by design ideas worldwide.
