A charming Spanish tile archway was designed to bring beauty and attention to the garden path leading friends and visitors to the front door of this Santa Barbara home.
The project was originally a tract house nestled in a small gated community of 18 homes. For years, the neighboring properties had been upgrading with high-quality renovations.
The homeowners had a goal of designing their exterior remodel with classic Santa Barbara Spanish-style elements. They used the best materials to blend in and accentuate the overall aesthetic of the group of homes in the enclave.
Listen to Jeff Doubét Share More
Listen to the many thoughts that went into designing this tiled passage way. Various design elements are shared, as well as how they came about.
CLICK [+] to Read Transcript & Translate
“Hi guys, today I wanted to share this charming Spanish tile archway. I designed it as a major upgrade element to transform a Santa Barbara tract house into a classic Santa Barbara Spanish home.
And, I will be uploading a lot more photos of the entire project. It was a whole house remodel, meaning… we completely transformed the exterior, as well as the interior. Wanted to show one of the Artisans installing the tiles…
If you imagine the top image, this was… there was part of a structure that existed. It was basically a column, with a header across the top of it. And it was a much wider opening. SEE BEFORE AND AFTER IMAGES OF THIS HOME, HERE.
And when I did the sketch for the client, I proposed narrowing up the wide entrance to make it a small pedestrian entrance, so that we could put an iron gate on this. And it’s a second home for the client, so they kind of wanted to lockdown situation so they could, you know… leave for several months, and then come back and everything would be safe!
So, what I thought about was taking that wide opening and splitting it with this little arch pass-through arch with the planter iron work there. And I’ll be sharing in the future, the final, final end product which included a handmade iron gate. But I also wanted to showcase this Artisan that had done a ton of tilework inside and out of the house.
And I think what’s special about this project… and I’ve done a few others like this, where we’re actually using Spanish tiles, decorative Spanish tiles on the outside of the building. Of course, everybody puts Spanish tile as a kitchen backsplash, or in the bathroom, etc. But, very few people have had the guts to (chuckles) install tile on the exterior façade of a building. So, in this photo post, I wanted to share that aspect.
And, part of transforming this very basic entrance of a house included envisioning a Spanish tile roof, up above. So, I created in the sketch, this little column “element” up on the right-hand side above the tiled archway. As sort of an endpoint- so that the tile roof… the new tile roof, could you know, end there.
We also put these beautiful awnings on the second story windows, and we had an ironworker make those, as well. The supports for that, and of course… handmade lighting.
You can see the Artisan is standing below a handmade outdoor light made by Steve Handelman Studios… Steven Handelman Studios, a good friend of mine.
And then above the Artisans face, there’s a little iron nubby there, and that is actually for the iron gate- so the gate hinges will be hung on those.
So, as I have time- I’m gonna be uploading a lot more on this project, but I just wanted to give you a quick “looksie” : )
And by all means, you can type into the search bar other things like tile and such, and find my other blog posts with beautiful Spanish tile”—Jeff Doubet, September 12, 2025
Tiled Spanish Garden Archway in Santa Barbara: Photos
Installing decorative tiles on the exterior walls of a Spanish home is a unique way to embellish a special entrance. Plus, it’s one of those remodeling costs you don’t mind paying for. Visual treats like this can be enjoyed now, and for generations to come.
After photo: Decorative Spanish tiles frame and wrap a thick wall passageway leading to an inner courtyard and pathway to the homes front door. A wrought iron planter basket is mounted in front of an oversized see-through niche.
An expert Artisan tile setter finishes up with the last rows of decorative Spanish tiles he is installing on a thick wall garden passageway. The iron nub is an iron gate hinge. Something that had to be planned so the sturdy bracket is hidden behind the tiles.
So be encouraged. Take chances, and you will achieve something remarkable! Projects like these can also be accomplished with very subtle patterns and colors. You know what will fit best for your life and Spanish home design aesthetic.