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The Guide: Santa Barbara

July 1, 2005

Just 90 miles north of Los Angeles is the quaint seaside community of Santa Barbara. Nestled between sandy beaches and mammoth mountains, the city extends for 25 miles on a coastal curve from Carpinteria to Goleta. Santa Barbara has a population of 400,000 and still feels much like a small town, despite the surge of Hollywood moguls and movie stars seeking refuge amongst the behemoth estates. And although it is close to San Francisco and Los Angeles, the city boasts its own world-class design and architecture–and offers a wealth of opportunities for residents and visitors to shop for home furnishings, accessories and decor. Following is a guide to everything home, Santa Barbara—style.

Getting There
By Car: Highway 101 runs directly through the city, connecting to both Los Angeles and San Francisco. Highway 154 runs through the mountains and leads to the wine country in the northeast. By Plane: The Santa Barbara Airport is located about 10 miles from downtown and services private planes and five commercial airlines. Its voluntary curfew is from 11:00 pm to 6:00 am. By Boat: Dock space can be rented through the Santa Barbara Harbor for $.60 per foot, per night. However, there is a 20-year waiting list to rent a space permanently. When to Go: Santa Barbara is at its best during the summer, when temperatures rarely reach above 75 degrees.

Layout
Most of the architecture reflects the influences of Native American, Mexican and Spanish cultures. Some of the city’s most coveted homes were built in the 1920s by architects like George Washington Smith and Reginald Johnson. Nearly every home is a 10-minute drive from the beach and property values have increased an average of 17 percent since 1997. Anything oceanfront does not stay on the market for long, even when the asking price exceeds $25 million. Traditionally, Montecito has the most exclusive properties, with its modest population and large lot sizes. The best beachfront homes with large lots will typically fetch upwards of $20 million; mountain homes are closer to $5 million. The Riviera and Mesa sections near downtown afford ocean views on smaller pieces of land for around $4 million. Near the north end of the city, Hope Ranch is often unjustly overlooked, as several of its multiacre ranches are oceanfront with even bigger lots. While the homes are typically less architecturally commanding than those in Montecito, you can still expect to pay $7 million for two acres.

Realtor
Harry Kolb of Sotheby’s International Realty has several historic Smith listings, as well as the 17.9-acre Reginald Johnson estate, Heavenly Oaks, which has a landscape plan created by Lockwood De Forest and is on the market for $25.9 million. Also with Sotheby’s, Vivienne Leebosh, a former film producer turned realtor, has listings for architects’ own homes ($2.55 million to $5.65 million) and is known for finding clients their dream house, regardless of whether or not it is on the market. Rebecca Riskin of Village Properties, a Christie’s Great Estates affiliate, specializes in Montecito. Coldwell Banker realtors Randy Solakian and Susan Burns have a French-style mansion listed for $20 million. Bob Lamborn of Pitts & Bachmann has a Henry Lenny—designed home on the market for $6.75 million.

Architects
When it comes to the traditional Spanish- and Mediterranean-style homes that define Santa Barbara, nobody does it better than architects Thomas Bollay and Henry Lenny. Bollay’s revivals perfectly capture the look of the 1920s, with indoor and outdoor spaces reflecting the lifestyles of modern families. His 2002 expansion to the 1920s-era Four Seasons Resort is seamless. Lenny has built everything from hotels to wineries during his 32-year career, but his subtle updates of historical public buildings downtown, such as the Santa Barbara Courthouse, are what have prompted locals to commission him to build their dream homes. It is hard to drive through the city’s best neighborhoods and not stumble across the work of the Warner Group. Its wide array of architectural styles–from contemporary to English Tudor–extends to projects like the Montecito Country Club, as well as some of the largest estates in Montecito. Modernists call Shubin + Donaldson, which opened a Santa Barbara office when its Los Angeles office became overwhelmed with commissions farther north (its Hope Ranch project appeared on the cover of Robb Report’s April 2004 Ultimate Home Tour issue). Also located in L.A. and Santa Barbara, Appleton & Associates is known for its subtle reinterpretations of vernacular architecture and its ability to reinterpret designs from the past.

Projects from Top photo: interior designer Corinna Gordon; Photograph by Larry Dale Gordon. Bottom photo: interior designer Frank Pennino; Photograph by Roland Bishop. (Click images to enlarge)

Interior Designers
Architects will frequently finish and furnish interiors, but it often takes an interior designer to bring together the final details of a project. John Maienza’s background extends to every aspect of home renovation, including architecture and landscape design, and his interiors often incorporate the ­latest technology. His style is influenced by the Frank Lloyd Wright and Mies van der Rohe designs of his native Chicago, but has been infused with the traditional Spanish style prevalent in California. Transplanted from England, Corinna Gordon often gives her projects a sophisticated country feel, using natural woods and antiques. Frank Pennino has been coming to Santa Barbara for the past 20 years, dividing time between his West Hollywood and Montecito of­fices. Not only are his interiors a perfect reflection of classic Santa Barbara, but he is a good source for the area’s best boutiques, as well. Korpinen-Erickson does not have a signature style, but clients appreciate the firm’s ability to combine a homeowner’s taste with the city’s aesthetic sensibilities. However, those who are not fan­atics of the understated appreciate Sue Firestone’s ability to make eye-catching design comfortable.

Landscape designs from Top photo: Arcadia Studio; Photograph ©2005 Arcadia Studio, Inc. Bottom photo: Isabelle Green. (Click images to enlarge)

Landscape Architects
With more landscapes than landscape architects, the only thing these designers seem to compete for is free time. We can only imagine how hard it is to get onto Sydney Baumgartner’s waiting list, let alone to get off of it. Her 30 years of experience have made her one of the area’s leading authorities on beach gardens and California ranches. Robert Truskow­ski, Robb Report’s 2005 Best of the Best winner for landscape architecture, has one of his four offices in the area and is known for his large-scale gardens and water features. As one of the founders of the Green Building Alliance, Isabelle Greene takes a sustainable approach to her landscapes, frequently incorporating dry creek beds and using a minimal amount of chemical pesticides. Also specializing in environmentally appropriate landscapes, Susan Van Atta has been working in the Santa Barbara area since 1975. One of her recent commercial projects is the 22-acre Four Seasons Resort. Eric Nagelmann’s work includes the cactus garden at Lotusland, as well as projects for residential clients who prefer more minimalist and low-maintenance landscapes. If you find yourself wandering down State Street and wondering where the charming tree planters and sandstone sidewalks came from, then look to Arcadia Studio, which derives inspiration from the city’s historical architecture. A specialist in estate gardens and historic restorations, Katie O’Reilly Rogers takes an engineer’s approach to her designs and is currently working on the much-anticipated El En­canto Hotel renovation.

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