Split-Level Tract Home Becomes Santa Barbara Spanish Dream

This split-level tract home in Santa Barbara transformed into a stunning Spanish home using architectural foam, tile roofing, custom ironwork, and drought-tolerant landscaping. The result? It sold for $2 million more than the original purchase price.

We re-plastered the exterior, built a cedar arbor, added a charming Spanish shed, and brought in mature olive trees for instant curb appeal. Scroll through to see the complete Before and After transformation.

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Listen as I share more details about how this Spanish split-level home design came about.

Split-level Spanish Home Remodels in Santa Barbara, CA

Split-level Spanish home remodels in Santa Barbara are rare, so I thought I would share this project with you. This modest split-level fixer upper tract home is located in an excellent neighborhood near upper State Street. The simple structure lacked character.

BEFORE Photo: The fixer home had an asphalt roof, and an odd mix of stucco and wood siding.

Here is the conceptual design rendering I presented to the homeowner a couple weeks after our Initial Consultation. Creative thoughts + ideas to transform their home and property.

AFTER Photo: I always pray for creative inspiration and the wonderful independent teams assembled to build these renovations. After completion, this home (literally) sold for $2 million dollars more than the owners had originally purchased it for.

Direct links to Spanish home and landscape product recommendations and installations.

Split-level Spanish home Renovation: Before and After Photos

See how a basic entry level home with an asphalt roof was modified into a beautiful Santa Barbara Spanish home. Scroll to learn how this Before and After transformation took place.

Here the creative process begins. Scaffolding has been installed and new windows are going in.

Here the creative process begins. Scaffolding has been installed and new windows are going in.

I proposed a splayed and arched decorative plaster surround to showcase a new Speakeasy door.

AFTER Photo: The front entry after the rustic Spanish-style pergola and front door were installed, and exterior stucco completed.

A Jeff Doubét recommended product for designing and building your charming, high-quality Spanish style home +landscape. A 240 page, full color Coffee Table Book.

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Building a Spanish Shed Attached to a Split-level Home

Part of the re-design and conversion to a Spanish house was to extend a portion of it. I proposed building a high quality Spanish shed addition to the home. It would be a way to balance the two story portion of the original split-level home.

Decorative wood knee braces were also being added to the roof eaves in the photo above.

Closely spaced thick wood rafter tails and clay vents were details designed and built into the small Spanish shed. With form and function in mind, the charming addition will also receive a decorative iron gate for security + privacy.

AFTER Photo: This is how the Spanish shed addition turned out. Scroll to see more photos of how it was built, and be sure to check out other Jeff Doubét Spanish Shed Designs.

Architectural Foam products for Spanish Homes

Cement coated architectural foam products can be used to transform a Spanish home. Customized components were designed and fabricated for this Santa Barbara renovation.

Here, the fabricator delivers the oversized foam component sections. This local shop has been making parts for architects and designers, building cement coated foam components for prestigious projects throughout Santa Barbara. Hotel and restaurant facades, as well as the Santa Barbara Museum of Art in downtown are just a few examples.

Architectural foam can be specified in different densities depending your application. The denser the foam, the stronger. Costs rise as density increases. Typically, high traffic areas prone to abuse will require higher density foam and a thicker cement coating.

Above: The cement coated sections of architectural foam are glued and bolted to the recently plastered exterior of the Spanish house. The seams are dressed with fiberglass mesh tape and plaster cement adhesive. All cement coated components get covered in standard stucco as the plastering team apply a final coat of plaster over all of the exterior surfaces of the home.

A quality Santa Barbara Spanish-style home design will often have layers of architectural details throughout. Wrought iron planter baskets, and a pendant light suspended by a heavy iron bracket are layered design elements in this particular design.

Split-Level Spanish Home Under Construction in Santa Barbara

One of the most recognizable design elements of a Santa Barbara Spanish home is the roof. Here the red tile roofing process is underway.

The structural engineer determined the existing roof framing was strong enough to carry the extra weight of S-Tile clay roofing. Learn more about the difference between S-Tile Roofing and the highly desired 2 Piece Mission Tile Roofing at these in-depth articles about each technique.

Three special techniques were used while installing this S-Tile roof. 1) Installation of 2 piece Mission tile on the first course (near gutters). 2) Occasional “boosters” placed throughout roof to create random shadow details. 3) S-Tiles were staggered more than is typical. These three techniques create an illusion of a higher-end 2 piece Mission Tile roof. SEE and Learn More.

Here, a rough coat of Santa Barbara Mission stucco texture is applied to a wall column. Once the plaster has set up to a certain consistency, the plasterer will sponge down the sharp edges to achieve the highly desired Santa Barbara Spanish plaster finish. See this talented Artisan featured in various Modern Masters Series posts, including Spanish Fireplaces and Spanish Address Tiles.

A close up image of the newly completed custom Santa Barbara Spanish-style chimney design. Often nicknamed “dog house chimney” because of the arched openings, and protective roof.

Building Spanish-style Arbors and Pergolas

Rustic wood arbors and pergolas are another way you can add architectural interest to your Spanish-style exterior renovation.

Above: This wood arbor was built using oversized, re-sawn redwood posts now being set on their foundations. When building your own pergola or Spanish-style shade structure, consider using oversized 8″ x 8″ or 10″ x 10″ posts for a quality appearance.

Right after the construction of the arbor details were completed, a crew of landscapers arrived to install mature olive trees.

Click link above to learn more about designing and building a Spanish-style pergolas

Installing Large Olive Trees in Santa Barbara, CA

Two large mature olive trees are transplanted in the front yard of this project. A large crane is used to offload them from the delivery truck. Instant, mature landscaping in the works!

These particular olive trees were trucked in from Northern California. SEE and learn more about installing large olive trees.

This is how the Spanish arbor turned out after it was stained a dark brown. Design features of this Santa Barbara drought tolerant landscape include sandstone boulders to retain the gentle slope. Stone steps were hand-hewn from local Santa Barbara sandstone boulders, and arranged as a meandering path up to the front door.

Here is the entry door with finished Spanish-style pergola in front of it. Also shown: 6″ half round gutters as another classic Santa Barbara Spanish home design element. You can also purchase this pair of wall lights directly from Amazon.

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A local blacksmith welded up these iron window baskets with classic scroll brackets.

The final home and landscape remodel is pleasing to the eye. How might you improve your own property? I hope you discovered some good ideas. Please visit often!