Spanish balconies are a favorite architectural design element to study and admire. Whether it’s wandering the historic streets of downtown Santa Barbara or admiring them in cities and towns throughout Spain—the details always capture my full attention and imagination.
And I’m not alone! Did you know that historic Cordoba, Spain has had a Balconies and Window Grille competition for nearly 100 years?
Listen to Jeff Doubét Share More
Listen as I walk you through the day I was inspired, as you scroll through these photos
CLICK [+] to Read Transcript & Translate
“Hey guys, today my featured blog post is about Spanish balconies in beautiful downtown Santa Barbara, California. This one I’ve noticed for several years… but I took these pictures on the day that my wife Lori and I were at Olio e Limone Ristorante (at 11 West Victoria Street, Santa Barbara, CA) I hope I pronounce that correctly (chuckles).
It’s a favorite restaurant of her parents and so we were there getting some gift cards for Christmas, 2025. And of course, that takes a little bit of time and Lori was dealing with that. And I was just kind of looking outside, and noticed that the lighting was just perfect on this set of balconies.
And thought I would go over and just snap a few shots with my iPhone. And it just, you know… the tiles… the Spanish decorative tiles that are mounted up underneath is just such a classic of Spain look.
Spanish Balconies as an Art Form in Spain
Reminded me of a trip I took once, a few years back to Spain… and just walked the narrow streets of Seville and Barcelona and you know, some of the surrounding communities. And you’d see these balconies two and three stories up, and you know they are private residences. These are places that people are living in, and in dense downtown historic regions of these towns.
A lot of times they have the clay pots with succulent plants and bougainvillea vines growing up and over them. Sometimes even laundry (chuckles), seems like it’d be embarrassing to me if I hung my underwear out on a balcony, but that’s sometimes what some of those people do.
But anyway, the balconies have been, you know Spanish iron, wrought iron balconies have been considered architectural jewelry for a couple of centuries, at least.
In fact, in Cordoba Spain, they actually have an annual “Balconies and Window Grille Contest”, held annually. This coming year, it’s May 4 through the 17th, 2026, and it runs for two weeks long, and it’s in the historic center of Cordoba.
That’s a town in the Andalusia and Andalusian region of Spain (chuckles)…trying to be fancy here, but that contest actually informally began in 1927 which is basically 100 years ago. So 20, 19… or sorry (chuckles) It’s 2026 in a couple of days, and in 1927 they actually started this contest.
In fact, if you wanna look it up, you can just type “Cordoba Grilles and Balconies Contest” into a web browser and you’d find a few articles on it, and also more information.
Award-winning Architects in Santa Barbara, CA
But of course, I want to give credit, you know this is a Spanish style website Creating Spanish Style Homes, but I want to give credit where credit is due… and so I did a little bit of research. This project is actually called Alma Del Pueblo. I hope I’m pronouncing that correct, as well. That translates to “Soul of the Town or Soul of the Village” and Jeff Hornbuckle Architect and partner with Cearnal Collective architectural firm came up when I researched this.
So Jeff, if you ever stumble upon this, congratulations for such a beautiful and remarkable structure. All the architectural details are amazing and just fun to spend time staring at all of them. So, my name is Jeff too, so if you ever wanna have coffee sometime (chuckles), look me up in my contact page, and it would be fun to chat.
So that’s it for today’s blog post. Please come back. I’m just wandering through the streets of historic downtown Santa Barbara collecting inspirational Modern Master type photography that can inspire me, and anybody that tunes in. And definitely check out my other blog posts, as I do have at least one other blog post about Spanish balconies and I talk about how they can be fabricated and stuff like that, so… Thanks again!”—Jeff Doubét, December 22, 2025
Spanish Balconies in Santa Barbara: A Photo Gallery
There are many different ways to create Spanish balconies in Santa Barbara, but a guaranteed way to achieve a classic look is to include wrought iron as the major design element within it.
Adding decorative Spanish tiles to the underside of an iron balcony is an over-the-top detail that will surely be a hit with family, friends and colleagues.
Close-up of the corner, wrap around style wrought iron Spanish balcony and the ceramic pots that decorate it.
Look at the artistry in the fabrication of this corner, wrap around style balcony. Heavy wrought iron brackets are strategically mounted for structural support, but they also add interest and texture to the entire composition.
Spanish Balconies Designed by Award-winning Santa Barbara Architects
As mentioned in my audio and transcript above, award-winning Santa Barbara architect Jeff Hornbuckle is the creative force behind these beautiful Spanish balconies incorporated into the Alma Del Pueblo project in downtown historic Santa Barbara.
As of this post, Cearnal Collective Architectural Group has been honored with 6 awards to date for the Alma Del Pueblo project. There, you can see more beautiful photos for the entire project. Check it out, it’s worth the visit!
I thought the shadow of the Spanish roof tiles on this white stucco wall was cool, and the handmade Spanish lantern is also a classic look for beautiful downtown Santa Barbara architecture.
One last image to share.