Do you seek a coach to help you design a quality small Spanish-style home and landscape in Montecito, California?
Jeff Doubet specializes in small house and landscape design throughout the local Santa Barbara area, including Montecito and Hope Ranch,CA.
Hi, my name is Jeff and I like working with homeowners who appreciate high quality details in their homes and surroundings.
Since 2003, I have been introducing clients to a wide range of talented independent trades who also share a passion for the art in creating beautiful places.
ABOVE: A small Montecito Spanish-style home and landscape nears completion.
Montecito and Santa Barbara has always been blessed with a quality selection of talented builders, developers and the artisan trades.
I enjoy working with this generation of independent teams as we create beautiful projects.
The team (pictured) have also enjoyed working together on trips to Mexico. Check out our 2014 and 2015 seasons as we help others in need.
If you are buying a home in Montecito in 2024, the first step is to secure a purchase. It has been a crazy real estate market for many years. Things have slowed down a little bit, and hopefully there will be more inventory coming on the market in the near future.
BEFORE PHOTO
Since 2003, I have been helping homeowners see the potential in properties like this one.
As you can see in this photo, the Montecito fixer upper had good bones.
My advice: in a perfect world, it is best to try to find a property that will greatly benefit from simple upgrading of the aesthetics of the home and landscape.
For example, in this concept rendering I sketched ideas for decorative upgrades to the chimney cap, a stucco cupola, thickened walls, carriage house garage doors, and an upgraded Spanish tile roof.
I also sketched in a pair of new olive trees, a subtle arch front door, a new wood arbor, Santa Barbara sandstone garden walls and steps.
The project was nearing completion in this photo, but the newly transplanted olive trees were still in a bit of shock and needed more time to establish themselves.
But the small Montecito Spanish home was beginning to take shape.
To this day I am amazed how God blessed the early vision. Compare the shape of these real olive trees with those in my sketch. We ordered the trees sight unseen- yet they really resemble the ones in my sketch (above).
I stopped by the project a few months later and the drought tolerant mediterranean-style landscape plants for this Spanish home were beginning to show signs of life.
Specifically, Sweet Lavender, white Iceberg roses, Mexican Sage and Rosemary. Jasmine vines were planted near the new arbor posts.
Everything was looking great with the Santa Barbara sandstone walls and steps built by local stone masons.
The newly built wood arbor frames the arched door entry.
Cherokee Creek flagstone was used for the walkways.
It will take a year or two before this new landscape begins to really mature.
If you are contemplating the redoing your own local landscape or re-designing your Spanish home, and looking for a coach...
Please contact me to schedule an affordable Initial Consultation
The local Montecito and Santa Barbara area is always a great area to invest in real estate.
Dramatic results can be accomplished with quality landscaping, and investing in the exterior of the home.
For this specific project, the investor was flipping the property, and indeed saw the value in purchasing and installing two mature olive trees.
SEE MY NEW SPANISH HOME DESIGN PHOTO BLOG where I post an entire episode (18 photos) of how these trees were installed in a Spanish garden landscaping project.
Here, one of the two olive trees arrived on a flatbed trailer. The other is being craned into place.
Olive trees like these will add an instant ambiance to your own landscape. Mature tree canopies provide a "coziness" to small courtyard landscapes.
If you are a local homeowner contemplating a quality remodel (home or landscape), please consider my design, coaching and consulting services.
I am well connected to a wide variety of talented independent builders, general contractors and trades with specialty backgrounds that can help you craft a high quality Montecito or Santa Barbara home.
Here, the General Contractor's painting crew begin a multi-step staining process on the new arbor recently built in front of the entry door.
It was designed and built to add more texture and charm to the front yard.
Eventually the new Jasmine vines will grow up and over the trellis structure.
To save approximately $10,000 on the re-roof of this Montecito Spanish-style home, an S-tile roof was installed.
To make it look and feel more like an authentic 2 piece mission style roof, the team added the 2 piece roof tiles in and amongst the S-tile roof.
Note how the roof tiles are staggered and occassionally have extra tiles added as "boost"?
These are the types of money saving tips are examples of how I can help guide you during your remodeling process.
A Spanish Colonial Revival-style plaster cupola with iron finial was custom designed for this project.
These types of small details can really add a lot of charm and value to a small home like this.
Check out my PHOTO BLOG where I share photos of a similar cupola being plastered for the Spanish-style Shed built on this same property.
The newly transplanted olive tree looks nice with the two car garage with plaster cupola on top.
With Spanish-style site walls like these, cobble driveways, and layers of new landscaping you can really transform a small home and make it something you are really proud of.
See the full episode on Spanish-style Garage Door Designs, and how this garage opening was Double Framed
The newly hand chiseled Santa Barbara sandstone garden walls and steps look great with the newly planted Mexican Sage (and the white iceberg roses in the background).
For those seeking affordable outdoor lighting for Spanish-style homes, consider Trans Globe products available on Amazon.
Click the above Amazon link to learn more about the unit we installed at this Montecito project.
*As an Amazon Associate, I earn commissions from qualifying purchases made through the links I provide on this page. There is never any added cost to you. Thank you for your support!
This project was a real estate flip, so money was saved by purchasing an off the shelf Trans Globe lantern.
Here, a gentle plaster arch was designed above a custom arch top wood entry door, custom made for the project.
We also added a small speakeasy door with iron grille.
Another custom home technique we incorporated was to frame a new wall 16 inches out from where the new door frame was installed.
This adds visual depth and elevates the perceived value of the overall approach to this quaint front door entry.
DURING CONSTRUCTION PHOTO
The front entry foyer area, soon to be embellished with new Spanish-style details.
AFTER PHOTO
Just inside the front door, additional interior architectural details were built.
A flared wall was framed above and around the front door and a shallow tray ceiling above it was added.
In the foreground, you can see the extra wide archway which mimics the details at the front door.
Above and below... a couple of on-site conceptual sketches I developed for the kitchen and great room remodel of this local Montecito Spanish-style home.
Here, the construction of the modern Spanish-style kitchen details were nearing completion.
The developer and his Interior Designer wife took my early design sketches and masterfully picked out cabinets, colors, granite, tile and appliances that were transitional modern in their aesthetic.
Another loose sketch, this one showing the design concept looking out toward the backyard.
The AFTER photo as the project team was finishing up the final details of construction.
The hands-on independent General Contractor is also a talented high-end painting contractor.
Wearing two hats, he and his crew did all of kitchen cabinet finishing, as well as a custom burnished nickel silver finish on the range hood.
They also did the cutom stain on the windows, doors and interior doors throughout.
These finishing touches and their extra attention to detailing really made this beautiful renovation come alive.
Another small Montecito Spanish-style home has new life.
A Spanish-style garden shed designed by Santa Barbara Home Designer Jeff Doubet.
This photo was taken while the shed was under construction, and near completion.
You can view the entire Episode 5, including 20 additional photos of the construction and finished photos of this Spanish shed HERE.
A Quick Flip SITE MAP for SantaBarbaraHomeDesigner.com
Click to navigate the most popular pages on the Santa Barbara Home Design site.
Informative pages with quality photos and designs for high quality Spanish style homes and landscapes!
Also be sure to check out my new
SPANISH HOME DESIGN PHOTO BLOG with dozens of new projects and hundreds of photos not on this website.
And the STORE + MORE page.