Go behind-the-scenes and see a Spanish Colonial Revival fireplace being built in Montecito, CA. An expert plasterer applies a top coat of veneer plaster to the new design.
Santa Barbara Spanish fireplace designs often have a hood section above the mantel and firebox. This custom fireplace design mixes both a modern and classic aesthetic.
Listen to Jeff Doubét Share More
Listen as I talk about how this Spanish fireplace design came about.
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“Hey guys, I thought I would share another behind-the-scenes look at creating Spanish style fireplaces. I also wanted to talk about how unique, custom designs actually come about.
As you know, I love to showcase the Artisan trades… and these are the talented men and women who actually make things happen. As a designer and my enthusiastic clients always lean on these experts to accomplish a vision we have in our minds, and also early concept drawings.
This project is being built in Montecito and in the master suite… there was an existing fire box. It was a whole different design before we started to remodel it, but as you can see the firebox is pretty small and so- the homeowners thought about, you know… we actually talked about how could we make this opening feel larger and so this chamfered opening with the flared corbeled details, you know in the upper left and right corners. Those were kind of a spin-off of something that I designed earlier, and they had liked the design of that.
And, so sometimes fireplaces the custom designs that we’re working on kind of morph from you know… things that I’ve done in the past, or even looking at things that have been done in historical homes. Clearly hoods are popular, but as you notice in this project, it’s just a flat surface and so this fireplace is kind of unique because it’s just, kind of… a cross between a modern variation of a Spanish fireplace and a traditional Spanish fireplace and so you got the highly recognizable hood design as a swoop up to the beamed ceilings, and then just the proportions and everything were worked out so that it would look right in the room.
I have a multitude of other blog posts and images that you can study other fireplaces in the makings, and I will provide that link in this blog post. So enjoy, and please keep coming back. I’m just randomly uploading stuff that I think you will find interesting”—Jeff Doubet, August 28, 2025
Photographing a Spanish Fireplace Under Construction
A rare glimpse at how Spanish fireplaces are built in the traditional Spanish Colonial Revival style.
The talented artisan and plastering expert is accustomed to balancing on scaffolds. Here he applies a coat of veneer plaster to the bullnose edges of the upper hood portion of the fireplace.
During the major remodel planning for this home, it was decided to utilize the existing fireplace. But how to change the appearance without changing the original dimensions of the masonry firebox?
The design solution was to come up with a new design that incorporated a technique of chamfering the sides and top of the firebox opening.
If you look closely, the technique provides the illusion of a taller firebox opening, which helps balance the scale and proportion of the new fireplace within the room. If we hadn’t done this, the fireplace would look like it had too small of a firebox (for the overall size).
