Jeff Doubét photographs the special finishes in a Santa Barbara Spanish-style home renovation, designed by the owner to be a fun-loving contrast to their sophisticated home in Los Altos, California.   

The property owners were excited about their vision for a casual second home designed around a beach lifestyle. The home sits just a block from all the action on Cabrillo Boulevard, Stearns Wharf, the Harbor and the newly revitalized Funk Zone.

Their vacation days would be spent surfing, jogging, biking, and enjoying lively funk zone eateries. It makes sense how they ended up decorating the place. Rich colors and textures in fabrics and furnishings.

I was impressed with their entrepreneurial instincts to mix fun and sophisticated elements througout the renovation. With R-4 zoning (Residential Multi-Unit and Hotel), the property can be registered as a upscale Santa Barbara vacation rental.

ABOVE: The extensive use of colorful Santa Barbara Spanish-style tile in all bathrooms and the kitchen truly sets the tone.

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Remodeling Small Santa Barbara Spanish-style Home Interiors

The beach town of Santa Barbara still has small Spanish-style homes that can be remodeled into sophisticated dwellings.

BEFORE Photo: My wife Lori loves touring the fixer upper project opportunities I get invited into. Here she studies the existing narrow “galley” kitchen. I can just hear the wheels turning… “Hmmm, what would Jeff and I do with this kitchen if we bought the place…”

BEFORE Photo: The living room had original fir wood floors. Also, simple white shaker style interior doors with thin trim. This early shot brings back memories of when I moved to Santa Barbara in early 1985. I would have easily been happy to live here, “As Is”.

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Spanish-style beach house Remodels

CONSTRUCTION Photo: It takes a lot of hard work to design and redevelop a piece of property in Santa Barbara, especially in the coastal zone. But your rewards can surprising, like on this particular demo day…

While walls were being opened up, the sound of sea gulls and the smell of the ocean wafted in. It just made a hard job seem a little more fun.

AFTER Photo: This is how the demo day turned out after a lot of careful planning and hard work. The general contractor reframed the ceiling as per architect + engineer specs. Removing the wall opened up the new eat-in kitchen floor plan.

When designing your own Santa Barbara Spanish-style home renovation, look for opportunities to double frame walls. The example above didn’t take much extra lumber and the new window looks great recessed in the wall.

Look for opportunities and key locations in your own home where this “thick wall aesthetic” will be most enjoyed.

The new floorplan configuration has a small dining space between the kitchen and the covered outdoor patio deck.

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Quality Construction upgrades for Small Spanish homes

Double framing walls in small Spanish home remodels costs extra in money and time, but will add a level of quality not found in standard 2 x 4 framed houses.

Here a skilled carpenter just finished double framing a living room wall. Now he begins weatherproofing a window opening. Many of the windows and doors were deeply recessed at the Exterior of this home. Also, learn how to do it for custom Garage Doors, as well.

ABOVE: A close up of the aluminum clad wood Quatrefoil window. You may recognize this type of special accent window in custom Spanish-style homes throughout CA, AZ, TX, and FL.

A close up of the quatrefoil window. The wood frame was ordered in a 3.5″ width so the 5/8″ drywall could bullnose into it. When you order your window, make sure to order the window frame with a “kerf” groove the bullnose will fit into.

The elliptical arch wood windows were also ordered with kerf grooves on the outer edge of the frame. The groove allows flexible vinyl bullnose archway bead to lock into the window (or door) frame and over the drywall sheet.

An extra wide arch was designed as an interesting passageway to the living room. From small beach homes to large estates, thick arched openings are a successful way to frame views, and make rooms feel more inviting.

Small Spanish Kitchen Design Details

The beauty of remodeling small Spanish-style homes is you can put a lot of thought and construction detail into the components. Larger homes can be daunting, but a quality project of any size entails attention to every square inch.

Here the talented Artisan works on the frame that the stainless steel hood insert (in foreground) will be mounted up in to.

Once the frame for the hood was done, the exterior was clad in HardieBacker cement board. This is a durable, stable product for the Spanish deco tiles being installed. The louvered wood door in the foreground is the soon to be installed pantry door.

When designing your own Spanish kitchen, a custom pantry closet door is a cost effective solution- as quality pantry cabinet units are expensive.

Pro Tip: Standard 6″ x 12″ terra cotta clay pipe can be a charming way to build and store a few bottles of wine, like above.

For this Santa Barbara remodel, the client specified tile countertops. Tile is a bit more old school, and does not require a stone fabricator for slab cutting. Installation is relatively easy and can often be accomplished by an enthusiastic homeowner.

Spanish-style products on Amazon, and my project overviews where they were installed.

Spanish Bathroom Renovation ideas

Scroll to see how this local fixer upper bathroom morphed into a beautiful Spanish-style project.

BEFORE Photo. If you have a Santa Barbara project but are on a tighter budget, this vanity cabinet could have been painted. A new undermount sink and countertop would work nicely. Other simple upgrades: walls repainted a soft white and a window covering installed.

AFTER Photo: The bathroom footprint was expanded into adjacent available space. The small master bath now has a jacuzzi tub, tile shower and double Talavera Sinks.

A Spanish-style jacuzzi tub rests under an oversized art niche with decorative tile insets that match the shower and backsplash.

The guest bath shower has a simple, elegant green field of tile. Up top, a focal point tile inset pattern that coordinates nicely with the terra cotta floor tiles and attractive window covering.

A 1.75″ thick rustic Knotty Alder round top door was specified for this bedroom entry. We also designed an arched hallway with an arch top niche built into the adjacent wall.

The guest room / kids room was furnished with double twin beds, and a desk nook with arched opening detail.

For another bedroom entrance, a rustic, distressed knotty alder wood door was installed. The homeowner brought in the bright colors of from the living room drapery into this bedroom just around the corner from it.

Well friend, this wraps another site visit episode in beautiful Santa Barbara, CA. If you have time, check out the Exterior Renovation of this home. ALSO, scroll to explore more helpful links and resources for designing and building your own Spanish-style home and landscape.