Jeff Doubet shares design tips for creating modern Spanish interiors in California. These Before + After photos show how remarkable Spanish interior styling can be built into your own custom home project. This blog is where I share my professional design insights, and how I design Spanish interior styling into my client homes.
Spanish Interior Designs Before and After
Everyone loves a Before and After photo comparison. Here at the Creating Spanish Style Homes blog I continually add home renovations to the Spanish homes Before and After category. Please visit often!
BEFORE Photo 1: This home sits in a very desirable neighborhood, but the interior spaces were very outdated. As you can see, the home had a Colonial vibe to it. Painted white railing balusters, leaded glass front door, etc.
AFTER Photo: In the completed redesign, we removed the railing completely. We accomplished this by building the wrap around steps. The long steps eliminated the need for a railing overlooking the living room.
The homeowner also desired a new opening that would connect the family room to a new, open concept floor plan. A thick arched passageway was designed and built. A new Spanish bar area, front door, wood and terra cotta clay floors were also major upgrades.
BEFORE Photo 2: Here is how the outdated entry foyer, staircase and view to the family room looked like. As I have written in my book on Spanish home design- You can do a lot with your remodel just by upgrading the surfaces of the interior (and exterior).
AFTER Photo: The entry foyer was transformed with new finishes to the walls, stairs and flooring. Spanish deco tiles were incorporated into the staircase rebuilt with dark hardwood. A new iron railing, Old World skim coat on the drywall… and a terra cotta floor.
I often incorporate special clay floor borders and design layouts as way to bring the charm of early California Spanish home interior design into new remodels.
Spanish Interior Designs by Jeff Doubet
I like to create fresh and unique interpretations of Old World features that were incorporated into the historic Spanish homes of the 1920s and 1930s.
These special Spanish interior design elements include: fireplaces with decorative hoods, kitchen range hoods, art niches, archways into other rooms. All examples are illustrated within this build.
ABOVE: It’s really cool when I visit a construction site and see a beat up copy of my book Creating Spanish Style Homes. I’ve been collecting photos of Post-it note earmarked copies like this one.
Construction Photo 1: On this day I was visiting the job site to help the homeowners and their General Contractor walk through a wide variety of Spanish interior design upgrades they could make to their ongoing construction project, now in the works.
Planning Spanish Interior Designs
Planning Spanish interior designs for rooms and entire floorplans often include upgrades to fireplaces, kitchen range hoods, wall niches and ceiling beams. Paint colors, flooring, cabinetry, tiles, windows and doors are also things that can get overwhelming.
My key recommendation is to take your time and enjoy the process. With countless decisions to make, it is not easy. But you will appreciate all you have accomplished once your project is completed (to the best of your abilities).
Construction Photo 2: A couple of weeks after my site visit, the project was progressing nicely. Rough electrical, wall insulation and a new Spanish hearth were under way. The homeowner shared photos as he inched up on the overall design for the fireplace.
Per examples in my book, he had used blue tape to plan out the Spanish fireplace Mantel/Hood combo, and now sought my design input.
Construction Photo 3: I thought his initial fireplace mock up was a little bit “wide” for the space. He had a specific flat screen TV planned, so I used those dimensions as I sketched a few suggestions for refining his early mantel layout.
AFTER Photo: This is how the Spanish fireplace mantel with hood turned out. The pair of plaster corbels make the mantel shelf feasible. Note how the flat TV floats off the plaster hood. I thought it turned out really cool.
Other Spanish interior design elements you can incorporate include things like this custom fabricated wrought fireplace screen. This design is permanently mounted, and has hinged doors for easy access to stoke the crackling oak fire you enjoy often.
Jeff Doubet Custom Spanish Interior Designs
Jeff Doubét custom Spanish interior designs typically include special upgrades to walls. Existing walls are often double framed in key locations. With an investment in planning, you will find important spots to build in niches, thick passageways and hidden spaces.
The extra effort and cost will also produce a higher perceived value to your home. I designed the double framed wall (above) to enable proposed built-in niches and the extra thick arched passageway leading to the living room, beyond.
Construction Photo 4: Building out the Spanish style bar in the living room is an example of the aforementioned framed double walls. You can see how the new wall accommodates bar sink plumbing. The extra thick wall also provide the space for a built in, oversized wall niche.
AFTER Photo: This is how the Spanish bar turned out. Note the custom fabricated mirror with floating wood shelves.
A close up photo of the custom cut arched top mirror, installed in the oversized wall niche. Once the mirror was in place, the dark stained wood shelves were installed. Make sure to stain the backside of your shelves- as they too, reflect in the mirror!
A mirrored wall niche is a nice Spanish interior decor idea for expanding a room. They will reflect a beautiful landscape, outdoor patio and the other design elements you have invested in while creating the room.
Jeff Doubet Spanish Interior Design Styling
Jeff Doubet Spanish interior design styling includes small and simple upgrade details such as decorative vent covers and register grilles you can purchase directly on Amazon.
*As an Amazon Associate, I earn commissions from qualifying purchases, at no extra cost to you. I appreciate your support!
There are many readily available Spanish interior design decor products you can incorporate into your home design. Arch top mirror designs available on Amazon are affordable, and a complimentary way to tie in your Spanish interior design theme.
*As an Amazon Associate, I earn commissions from qualifying purchases, at no extra cost to you. I appreciate your support!
Spanish Interior Designs For Luxury Kitchens
I like to showcase my clients who have excellent taste in materials, and have chosen to be uniquely different in creating their beautiful projects.
AFTER Photo: This Southern California Spanish style kitchen incorporates unique material combinations to create a special high end look. Reclaimed brick was purchased out of Europe, and was used on the walls- creating a perfect backdrop for the plaster hood.
A close up of the Old World plaster finish that was applied to this handcrafted Spanish range hood. The design of your range hood can be an understated design element, surrounded by other finishes that make a warm and inviting space to work in.
AFTER Photo: This image showcases the brilliant choices the homeowners made for their truly special Spanish-style kitchen. Note how the colors and veining in the granite countertops compliment the reclaimed brick backsplash, and the red knobs on the 48″ Wolf range.
AFTER Photo: Another image showing how the imported European brick installed as a backsplash coordinates with the terra cotta flooring. Also, with the richness of the dark stained cabinets with wrought iron handles.
AFTER Photo: The eat-in kitchen has a long wood table with bench style seating and Spanish-style upholstered chairs on the ends. A flat TV is wall mounted in between the wine bar cabinetry. A great gathering spot for entertaining guests as they mingle in the large kitchen.
A close up of the refrigerated wine storage in a custom dark wood cabinet and refrigerator drawers underneath it. Oversized wrought iron drawer and door handles coordinate beautifully with the handcrafted iron chandelier, above.
Spanish Interior Design: Lighting
Lighting in a Spanish style interior design is very important when building out a high end renovation. The homeowners invested a lot of time picking out the styles for Spanish lighting for their home. Their choices paid off with a stunning result throughout their home.
A pair of handmade ceiling mounted iron lights with seeded glass were installed in the entry foyer. Ceiling mount lights are a nice choice when you have standard 8 ft walls, or a tight space where you cannot use pendant lights or chandeliers.
In the living room a grand, 2 tier chandelier and three tall wall sconces were hand fabricated by a local lighting expert. A 3 tier wrought iron chandelier can be fabricated for larger rooms and taller ceilings. The 3rd bottom ring would be even wider yet.
This photo further showcases the quality of the handmade two tier iron chandelier and the dark stained ridge beam it is mounted to.
Spanish Interior Design Style – Flooring Combinations
When creating your own Spanish interior design style, you will have many different options in materials and combinations of them.
Generally, I prefer to keep the combinations of materials to a minimum, as a home design can start to feel schizophrenic if too many are used. That said, there are good reasons to change things up now and then.
A terra cotta floor was the premiere choice for the eat-in kitchen and the entry foyer. The material flows nicely from the front door and right into the entertaining kitchen area. Terra cotta flooring was chosen for it’s durability and easy cleaning in these areas.
Spanish Flooring Combinations: Building the Look
Construction Photo 5: On this day, we met to discuss the layout options for the transitions between kitchen, foyer and living room.
A quick mock up of the Spanish tiles leaned on the stair risers, and viewed with terra cotta floor tile above, and hardwood sample below.
This image helps illustrate the floor design. Large square terra cotta clay floor tiles set on the diagonal, and the way we addressed room borders. Large clay rectangular tiles were installed to create borders, as well as baseboards.
In the photo above you can see how wide plank oak flooring was installed in the family room, living room and bedrooms in the lower level of the home. Hardwood steps paired with a row of Spanish deco tiles makes for an attractive transition between the two floor materials.
A choice of subtle color combinations in the Spanish deco tiles blend elegantly with the oak staircase, flooring in the family room and the terra cotta floors in the entry foyer. A job well done by the talented homeowners who made wonderful choices throughout their project.
Well friend, this wraps another site visit episode in beautiful Southern, California. I hope you enjoyed learning how to infuse more Santa Barbara Style into your own Spanish interior design project. Scroll to explore more helpful links and resources for designing and building your own Spanish-style home and landscape.
