Jeff Doubet shares how an exterior Spanish staircase was remodeled using inexpensive Spanish-style deco tiles and handmade Tecate clay stair tiles. Go behind-the-scenes to see a beautiful project in Santa Barbara that included a much larger whole house and landscape renovation.
BEFORE Photo: Old concrete steps surrounded by historic sandstone walls were what we were starting with. The first impression from the street was dark, narrow and needed re-imagining.
AFTER Photo: This is how the steps turned out. Scroll to learn how we did it. Here, a Santa Barbara painter balances on the staircase, applying a coat of black paint to the iron railings he is restoring.
DEMO Day: We removed outdated tiles that were glued onto the staircase near the front entry stoop. Painted concrete steps emerged. Perhaps painting the concrete in a terra cotta color was the fashion back then. Or, maybe an inexpensive way to finish the staircase many decades ago.
Spanish Staircase Material Options
The design dilemma: What material options are available for an existing concrete staircase. On this day the project owner and I met on site to discuss the various material options we could consider for the staircase re-design.
ABOVE: We looked at thin and thick terra cotta clay tiles as options for the stair treads. We also discussed the possibility of rebuilding the entire staircase in local Santa Barbara sandstone.
We ultimately chose these 6″ x 12″ handmade Tecate clay tiles as stair treads. The homeowner sourced inexpensive ceramic Spanish deco tiles for the decorative risers.
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Creating a Spanish-style staircase
AFTER Photo: Here is a close up of the completed staircase. A composition of the rich materials. You can also see how the 6″ x 12″ clay tiles were taper cut for the subtle arc in the stairs.
The stained, rustic Tecate clay floor tiles as stair treads look great with the inexpensive ceramic Spanish deco tiles as risers. Combined with the Crystal White integral color on the adjacent plaster wall, everything turned out perfect. When designing your own project: Consider mixing rustic handmade clay tiles with refined, inexpensive ceramic tiles. It is an excellent way to create an Old World look, while keeping within a semi-modest budget.
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The handmade Tecate clay tiles are made in Baja, Mexico. Naturally, they are terra cotta red color. With brown concrete stain, the tile setters were able to tone down the red. You can see the difference between the stained and unstained tiles, above.
Above: A mixed stack of stained and unstained 6″ x 12″ clay floor tiles. The installed patio tiles in the foreground are not yet stained.
Landscaping Around A Spanish Staircase
One of my favorite things is arriving at a project site where a busy stone mason crew is hard at work. The rhythmic sounds of steel to stone as a group of guys chisel away. Dodging stray chips of stone as they fly through the air is a bit dangerous, making the experience interactive and fun.
Here, a stone mason chisels and shapes sandstone boulders into a Santa Barbara sandstone garden wall. Stone garden walls are an excellent way to tie Santa Barbara into your own home.
While grading land in the foothill neighborhoods of Santa Barbara and Montecito- sandstone rocks are often unearthed. Historically, rather than paying to have them removed- garden walls, firepits, mailboxes and curbing were built with the stone boulders and rocks.
This Spanish staircase starts down at the street, and works it’s way up through sandstone walls and all the way to the front door.
Meanwhile, after sanding and priming the iron in red, the painter continues rolling black paint on the Spanish railing.
Beautiful Spanish Tile Staircase in Santa Barbara
Here are a few more of my favorite photos of this completed Santa Barbara Spanish staircase.
Here is the view after entering from the street. Climbing the stairs and looking up to a large picture window at the eat-in kitchen. In an upcoming post, I will share how the second story deck was redesigned with an open railing and the decorative plaster shelf.
A view from the lower patio looking up at the newly completed stairs. You can see how a narrow row of Tecate clay tiles were incorporated behind the first course of tiles. This was our way of creating deeper step landings in this section of the staircase.
Santa Barbara Style Materials and Finishes
When creating your own Santa Barbara style home and landscape try to include as many of the materials and finishes Santa Barbara is famous for. These include sandstone garden walls, gravel pathways and planting a red bougainvillea vines.
The late afternoon sun catches the custom wrought iron railing and casts shadows onto the stairs. The California Gold gravel in the foreground was selected as a complimentary material to the sandstone walls, and beige gray color in the deco tiles.
I’m always surprised by who will be most impressed with a high quality Spanish staircase design.
The details of the newly designed and fabricated custom Spanish railing casts identical shadows on to the clay tile stairs. Another fond memory of a favorite Santa Barbara client, and project!
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