Jeff Doubét shares how Spanish corbels can greatly enhance the charm of your Spanish home interior design. With building costs rising, it can be very discouraging for those who want to create something really special.

With my book and this blog, I like to inform both the rich and the not so rich how to charm up Spanish-style homes in the Santa Barbara and Montecito, CA area.

Whatever socioeconomic group we’re in, we all strategize our design planning and find creative ways to save costs. The goal: to build (or remodel) a beautiful home we can be very proud of.

Ironically, some of the creative options for cost-effective decorative elements are often indistinguishable from those made with the most expensive construction methods. Each client chooses the type of construction they prefer.

Personally, I enjoy creating Spanish-style interiors with both expensive and affordable methods. The great thing is… once completed, it is often very difficult to tell the difference between the two.

THE EASY BUTTON TO VIEW ALL PROJECTS ON SITE

Why Do Santa Barbara Spanish Remodels Cost So Much?

There are many factors that influence the cost of your remodel. For one: the brands, and quality of products you choose will directly affect the final cost of the remodel.

This seems obvious, but if you have expensive taste- your remodel is going to cost a lot. Decisions on the basics: kitchen appliances, built-in cabinetry, high quality windows + doors, a classic Santa Barbara red tile roof, and high quality Spanish tile all can blow a budget.

Whether you are on a budget or not, each design decision you make will literally determine your cost per foot.

As a Santa Barbara Home Designer with a lot of construction experience- I enjoy being involved in projects whatever the budget.

I also like sharing resources clients can do more, with less- like this attractive Amazon star pendant lights collection.

As an Amazon Associate, I earn commissions from qualifying purchases. There is no extra cost to you.

Please scroll the page for ideas on how you can incorporate small, inexpensive details into your project.

When combined with top quality design elements, the outcome is a beautiful home with an overall higher perceived value.

I shoot a lot of photos on each jobsite because I never know what I will want to share on my next blog post. I captured this shot from one of the bedrooms of this Santa Barbara remodel.

The photo is out of focus, but it helps illustrate how inexpensive corbel details can improve your daily home life, each day.

Above: This small Santa Barbara Spanish-style kitchen has a bit of Tuscany infused in it. I like the finishes the designers chose for the cabinets and countertops.

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

Spanish Corbels: Affordable Interior Upgrades Worth Making

Spanish-style interior corbels are a simple way to upgrade your Spanish home remodel.

In this project overview, the use of architectural foam was incorporated into ceiling coving, as well as decorative corbels in key locations.

This home was a real estate flip, so architectural foam was chosen as the most cost effective way to produce something attractive.

In the photo above, I meet with a favorite General Contractor friend. We are strategizing how corbel details will improve hallway entrances in the home.

These images shows how the finished corbels turned out at the hallway to a guest suite.

As an Amazon Associate, I earn commissions from qualifying purchases. There is no extra cost to you.

Where to Buy Corbels for your Spanish Home Interior

Since my Spanish Home Design Book came out in 2018, there are now independent manufacturers who sell urethane corbels.

One company has designs very similar to these, and also offer multiple different sizes to best fit your specific project.

ABOVE: An impromptu design meeting we had on site. These were architectural foam pieces left over from another local Montecito project.

Here is how the small entry turned out after the foam components were coated with a thin cement layer, and finished with drywall mud to match the surrounding wall finishes.

Planning your Interior Design with Decorative Corbels

When planning your decorative corbel locations, consider key focal points that make your extra efforts worth it. Styrofoam and premade urethane corbels are easy to “glue and screw” into place.

But they will still require some effort to blend them into the surrounding wall and ceiling surfaces.

ABOVE: With one leftover remnant, we thought about how we could cut the piece in half and use it in this hallway entrance.

I am holding up the piece to show the crew how we could frame and drywall a non-structural “header” to create the corbel passage.

These photos show how the project turned out once the extra framing, drywall and corbels were added and finished out.

How-To Make Custom Corbels in a Spanish Interior

Once our Styrofoam components were cut to size, they were covered in Fiber Mesh and then coated with FoamBond. FoamBond is a special mortar for adhering stucco moldings to the exterior of a home.

In the interior of this home, we used FoamBond to develop a durable hard coating for the corbels. Once cured, the corbel and surrounding surfaces were coated with standard All Purpose Joint Compound.

These photos show how the corbel passageway looks from different vantage points.

Here’s looking through the corbel passageway, across the room to other corbel(s) installed at thick decorative columns that anchor the kitchen space.

Now, looking from the front corner of the kitchen across the great room to the master bedroom hall.

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

* You can also go to this Amazon Direct Link for premade urethane corbels similar in design to the custom project, directly below. A product you can buy now, and “glue and screw” into place.

Other Jeff Doubét Spanish Corbel Projects with Spanish Corbels

I hope you found this episode helpful. Learn about other ways to use corbels in your Spanish home in Episode 17.

There, you will find another showcase project in Santa Barbara. A Spanish interior design with interior corbels designed throughout it.

Well friend, this wraps another site visit episode in beautiful Montecito, CA. I hope you enjoyed learning how to infuse more Santa Barbara Style into your own Spanish home design project. Scroll to explore more helpful links and resources for designing and building your own Spanish-style home and landscape.