Jeff Doubét showcases how simple changes to a one-level tract house can completely transform the look of a home. Scroll photos + helpful tips to learn more.

For discouraged homeowners who don’t know what to do with their fixer upper homes, this episode helps illustrate processes that can be implemented.

1, 2, 3… let’s go!

1 ) The BEFORE Photo: Agreed, Santa Barbara real estate is really expensive. Even the simple one-level tract homes like the one above. But there is hope!

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Spanish home design in Santa Barbara

2 ) The INSPIRATION: Your Santa Barbara tract home can be transformed. Seek a designer and/or architect you connect with. The right vision for your project also starts with your motivation (and trust) to step out and be open minded to professional design ideas for your home.

When I designed this home, I knew the budget would not allow me to move the driveway. But, I could design a modest entry tower that would bring emphasis and excitement to a new Spanish front entry door.

3 ) The AFTER Photo: The modest Santa Barbara entry level tract home was indeed transformed. A local architect converted my design concept into a set of complete working drawings. She was great. The general contractor and builder is also amazing.

I receive a lot of local interest for this unique design/build combination. Concept Designer | Architect | Builder.

Here are some tips and tricks to consider when you are designing and building your own Spanish style remodel. For a relatively modest exterior renovation project, long roof eaves can be cut back.

Many Spanish style homes in Santa Barbara have modest overhangs. Those are perfectly normal. Extra long eaves are what you want to modify.

Here is a close up of the front entry during demo. As you can see, it is hard to even know where the front door is. The Spanish style entry tower concept set out to fix this.

As more demo was taking place, our team interest increased. The homeowner, builder, crew and I were excited to see how the home would change. At the end of the day, we put up a temporary makeshift 2 x 4 “mock up”. Cool, this is going to work!

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Santa Barbara Spanish house construction

For well over 100 years, Spanish house construction in Santa Barbara has been considered an art form.

Classic elements like arches, corbels, plaster coving details, specialty windows and iron work are just scraping the surface of the traditional basics local home designers, architects and builders have been riffing on ever since.

As the framing crew works on structural framing and sheer walls, I brought my roll of template paper to hand cut a paper mock up for an arch. A flat 2D drawing on a set of architects plans can be hard for a homeowner to “visualize” in 3D.

This mock up was a recommended final height for the arched opening. Now confident about scale and proportion, the client gave the go ahead for the more expensive actual framing.

As an aside, I am a Santa Barbara Home Designer with a construction background. Often, clients pay me to weigh in on the design details as a home is being built by the independent General Contractor.

Above, a framer builds the arch. Above him, a paper mock up I made to suggest the position for a cement medallion.

Things are starting to shape up! Here, the framing crew works on jig saw cutting plywood with the corbel shape I designed (and paper templated) for the garage opening.

When budget allows, this is a very easy way to work with a homeowner, builder and designer. The homeowner is paying a little extra for me, but they also get to see their design details to scale (and in real time, before they are built).

Another image of the final result, so you don’t scroll too fast to the bottom of the episode:)

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

Architectural details for Spanish House Building

There are so many different wonderful design elements you can incorporate into a Santa Barbara Spanish house build. When a special client is bent on creating something timeless… magic happens.

It’s really not magic. Rather, it is the extra time you invest in your project. Whether it is you personally, or the talent you surround yourself with- it will take a concerted effort to make something special.

For example, when I designed the above composition, I turned the owner on to a relatively affordable, beautiful Spanish arch top door with speakeasy grille. And then proceeded to design a fancy layering of plaster work to make it pop.

This is how it turned out. We also used scrap pieces of flagstone to create an attractive stone landing. With some ingenuity, you will be able to keep some of your costs down.

Or a better way to look at it is pay a little more for the creativity and save money here and there with that periphery advice and experience.

And make sure to honor the Artisans and trades who also bring a lot of expertise to the table. Many are wonderful people you will grow to become friends with. Here the GC’s plaster crew begin to install the 8 foot lengths of cement coated architectural foam coving.

The Artisan applies a first coat of exterior plaster to the cement coated foam coving.

Another photo, different angle.

Remember that garage door opening I mentioned earlier? The paper template became plywood and Doug Fir framing, then scratch and brown coat stucco. Above is the coving, and the entire composition just before the final integral color coat of plaster.

More Ways to Improve a Tract House in Santa Barbara

Please continue scrolling additional photos and info about this Santa Barbara Tract house conversion. If you like what you are learning, be sure to check out ALL of the Before and After Spanish home projects on Creating Spanish Style Homes Photo Blog.

In the meantime, local Santa Barbara sandstone boulders were brought to the site. Local stone masons hand chiseled this custom mailbox, as well as the sandstone garden walls seen in the background (and on my original design drawing).

creating a Custom Spanish-style Home from a Basic Tract house will be rewarding

There are so many different ways to look at the rewards you will receive for having tenacity and sticking with the difficult task at hand. Creating a work of art within the Santa Barbara community is not easy (otherwise everyone would do it, as the saying goes).

I have enjoyed helping clients with projects like this, since 2003. Lots of blood, sweat and tears- but as Spanish home lover enthusiasts… we endure hard days, and are proud of what we accomplish together.

This is how the garage door opening turned out. Note the original coving design accounted for the 6″ half round gutter that would be placed in front of it. Little details like this will be handled by the team you invest in.

A good Home Designer, Project Manager, Architect or Builder will be able to help you (if you don’t have the time).

A photo showing the custom plaster detail designed for the two round top windows in the garage.

A design trick you can consider for Spanish garages is to add venting as details. I picked up these redwood arched top vents at Hayward Lumber in downtown Santa Barbara. An item they had in stock at the time (and maybe still do). Amazon has a few to choose from, as well.

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Another photo of the garage elevation with the newly completed Santa Barbara sandstone garden walls. A glimpse of the entry tower, in the background.

A close up of the round cement decorative medallion. It was adhered to the scratch coat of the exterior stucco and finish coat was floated up to it. A nice custom touch.

Santa Barbara sandstone was also hand chiseled as curbing / short planter border.

Well friend, this wraps another site visit episode in beautiful Santa Barbara, 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.