The architectural identity of the wealthy southern California town Santa Barbara is explored with emphasis on the architects who designed its major buildings, estates and historic homes. 200 illustrations.

Vivid colors, rustic simplicity, and the textural contrasts of wood, terra-cotta, and stucco are the hallmarks of the casual elegance of classic Spanish houses. The Spanish approach to residential style is a mixture of luxury and rusticity-wooden beams complement whitewashed ceilings, and worn leather furniture is set off against Moorish arches and wrought ironwork. The vibrant photos and detailed, practical text explore all the elements that become integral parts of a living space, from windows to doors, floors to ceilings, furniture to accessories and even gardens. From romantic homes in Spain's woodsy sierras to grand manors in the southern plains, many of these estates boast unusual features like hidden courtyard gardens or secluded balconies. None are ever open to the public.

The aura and romance of Old California lives on in this treasury of inviting homes. The California House presents the magic of the "golden state," that land of infinite promise and dreams, the most tangible expression of which can be found in the homes built by early California dreamers. Here domestic visions of tranquility and repose were inventively realized—in stucco or stone, wood and wrought iron, plaster, and glass and tile. Spanish Colonial Revival–style homes with elaborate wrought-iron window grilles, romantic, shadowy interiors, and lush courtyard gardens stand beside other particularly Californian architectural wonders such as the San Francisco Victorian Painted Lady, the Monterey Colonial, Eurekan Queen Anne, and the homey California Arts & Crafts. Including houses designed by luminaries George Washington Smith, Stanford White, Greene & Greene, and Reginald Johnson, this book will fascinate both the architecture aficionado and interior design enthusiasts, as well as the everyday lover of homes. Including, but going beyond, the much-adored Spanish style (in its many manifestations) and Mission Revival, the book features as well the Victorian of San Francisco's Painted Lady and Eureka's Queen Anne, Monterey Colonial, California Arts & Crafts, French Chateau, classic Colonial farm house, and more. All new color photography of 25 houses in California ranging in style from Spanish Colonial Revival, Mission, Victorian, Queen Anne, California Arts & Crafts, Monterey, French Chateau, Colonial Farm House. The book includes little known California work by well known architect Stanford White, known primarily for his East Coast work (designer of the original Penn Station with McKim, Mead & White, and original Madison Square Garden, and many others); as well as the Magdelena Zanone House (Queen Anne late Victorian style home in Eureka, CA); the Murphy House, San Francisco (Classic French Chateau); a Gothic Victorian 1860s home in Sonoma; Casa Amesti (Monterey style home); "El Cerrito" designed by Russel Ray and Winsor Soule and built in 1913 in Santa Barbara (an amalgam of Mission and Spanish Colonial Revival); the Frothingham House designed by George Washington Smith in 1922 (Spanish Colonial Rev.); Cuartro Ventos House by Reginald Johnson, 1929 in Santa Barbara; William Edwards House by Roland E. Coate, Sr. in San Marino, 1926; Robinson House by Greene and Greene in Pasadena, 1905; Sack House in Berkeley (California Arts & Crafts) Brune-Reutlinger House in San Francisco (classic Painted Lady Victorian); a colonial mid-19th cent farm house in Sonoma; "Mariposa," classic Spanish style in Montecito; The Marston House in San Diego (Arts & Crafts/Tudoresque); Rancho Los Alamos De Santa Elena in Los Alamos (Span. Col. Rev.); Pepper Hill Farm in Balard.

Domestic architecture and interior design.

An ode to the classic Spanish-style houses of Santa Barbara. Spanish Colonial Style celebrates an extraordinary tradition in architecture whose hallmarks include whitewashed stucco and plaster walls, wood-beamed ceilings, dramatic fireplaces, and, above all, mystery and romance. Homes in this much-loved style of architecture welcome the visitor and embrace the resident, and architects James Osborne Craig and Mary McLaughlin Craig, early proponents of the style and influential disseminators of it, were masters of the form. Their work, until now, has been largely underappreciated and little seen. The Craigs played pivotal roles in the development of the Spanish Colonial Revival and of other styles of architecture in Santa Barbara, and the influence of their work spread much beyond that. In addition to shining a long overdue spotlight on the rich career of these tremendously influential architects, Spanish Colonial Style also heralds Santa Barbara as the small city of international importance that it became in the first half of the twentieth century.

Originally published: New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, c1974.

More than 500 period photographs explore the Spanish Revival movement (1915-1940) in architecture. Original Spanish and Mediterranean buildings inspired partrons on "the grand tour" in Europe to build for themselves these sturdy homes in the 20th century that reflect a strong Mediterranean heritage. Tiled roofs and floors, arched windows and passageways, and stone walls and floors characterize the style. Exquisite details are explored, both inside and out, from residential, commercial, and public projects. Sections in the book focus on exterior details including outdoor rooms and staircases, verandahs, patios, and courtyards, pools, fountains, chimneys, and garden gates. Inside, revel in beamed ceilings, fireplaces, tile details, lighting and flooring. In addition to dozens of private residences, this book tours retail and commercial spaces, churches, schools, libraries, theaters, and private clubs. Work by celebrated architects who helped pioneer the Spanish Revival movement is featured, including George Washington Smith, Wallace Neff, Gordon Kauffman, Morgan, Walls and Clements, and many others. Also, some architectural renderings and floor plans are included. Architects, designers, and remodelers will find inspiration for today's structures on every page.

Dazzling beautiful, this new hardcover book is a tour de force of the latest European-inspired homes designed by Bassenian/Lagoni Architects of Newport Beach, California's premier residential architecture firm. Here the reader will discover ruggedly handsome exteriors reminiscent of the hill towns of Tuscany and richly appointed interiors that echo the great rooms of Andalusia--all with very modern floor plans and amenities. This milestone book will serve as a valuable resource for anyone seeking ideas for a home design, landscaping, interiors and furnishings in the Old World Style.

Invite the rich colors, natural textures, and romantic beauty of Mexico into your home. With a vast architectural legacy spanning four centuries, Mexican haciendas express a rugged romantic beauty and compelling sense of history. Today, the hacienda's graceful arcaded silhouette, grand-scale proportions, carved-stone ornament, rich colors and natural textures have become an ever-increasing influence for architects and designers worldwide. Hacienda Style invites you into Mexico's artful, hacienda havens resplendent with private collections of colonial and contemporary art, antiques and found relics. Witynski and Carr's antiques and accents have appeared in national magazines, television programs and feature films, including Architectural Digest, Western Interiors, HGTV's Takeover My Makeover, The Oprah Winfrey Show, and The Alamo. Other books by the same authors: Mexican Country Style, The New Hacienda, Casa Adobe, Adobe Details, Casa Yucatan, and Mexican Details.