A Question of Style
The inspiration for the Delray Lifeguard Series—and really, for Coastal Cuckoo itself—began with a repair project that went sideways.
Years ago, my wife had a traditional German cuckoo clock that she loved, but it had fallen into disrepair. It was a beautiful, intricate piece of history, but as I looked into restoring it, I realized the cost was prohibitive. So, I bought her a modern replacement.
But as I watched that new clock on our wall, ticking away with its dark wood, carved leaves, and stag heads, I couldn’t help but ask a question:
“Why do they always have to look like this?”
The mechanism inside—the heartbeat of the clock—was perfect. It was reliable, cheerful, and precise. But the outside felt disconnected from our life here in Florida. We don’t have deep, dark forests; we have bright horizons and open water.
I started looking for shapes in my daily life in Delray Beach that echoed the structure of a cuckoo clock house. I realized that the iconic Lifeguard Stand is the perfect coastal parallel. It is a small, elevated structure. It watches over the rhythm of the day. It is architectural, yet whimsical.
I went to my studio with a goal: to keep the mechanical soul of the traditional cuckoo clock but transplant it into a body that feels like home.
The result is this series. It swaps dark walnut for vibrant teals and corals. It trades the stag head for a simple, clean roofline. It is a cuckoo clock, but it doesn’t belong in the Black Forest. It belongs at the beach.
The Colors of the Coast
Authenticity was the only option for this series. A generic “red” or “blue” wouldn’t capture the spirit of Delray Beach.
To ensure these miniatures were true to their full-sized counterparts, I didn’t just guess at the colors. I went to the beach to conduct “field research.” I painstakingly color-matched the paint used on the actual stands standing in the sand today.
When you choose a clock from the Delray Lifeguard Series, you aren’t just getting a blue clock; you are getting the exact teal that locals see every morning at sunrise. Whether it is the iconic Delray Red, the Safety Yellow, or the Ocean Teal, these colors are 100% faithful to the source.