There are no rules in Montecito, Southern California, architecturally speaking. It’s a region where shingled Victorian houses are situated next to modern white cubes and Craftsman bungalows. Georgian revivals and Spanish Colonial abodes are as much a part of the landscape as the palm trees, but are still very much open to unique interpretation.
When a family approached designer Betsy Burnham to reimagine their Montecito vacation home in a way that would honor its classic heritage, Burnham, who was raised on the East Coast but settled in the warmth of California’s embrace, was up for the job. “I once heard my style referred to as ‘a bit country club, a bit rock and roll,’ which I found amusing,” the designer says.
Both Burnham and the client were aligned in their vision: lighten up the floorplan and let the sunshine in. “I’m very true to the New England aesthetic; I still prefer classic to almost anything, but with a bit of modernity and a relaxed energy,” Burnham explains. “In Southern California, it’s good to bring in a bit of history.”
The home had been well-loved by the previous owners for some fifty years, but it was dark, outdated, and in need of structural intervention. So before any color palette was considered or piece of furniture commissioned, Burnham and her team got to work reconfiguring the space with consultation from an architecture firm. The existing ceiling heights were challenging to work with, so they installed massive steel windows on the ground floor to drench the space in sunlight and employed clever plaster arches and detailing throughout to add character and the appearance of elongated height, in a nod to architect George Washington Smith. “If you’re being strict about Montecito architecture or Spanish Colonial architecture, there are details in the house that you would never have,” the client explains. “There are a lot of different influences coming together, and somehow, Betsy and her team made them all work.”
The clients were very involved with the process. “Every now and then we would snap and send photos of elements that struck us, but the magic of Betsy is that she embraces our ideas and still has her particular expression. Every time we walk by the tiles in our entryway that Betsy found, we think fondly of our time in Spain.” It’s that sense that the house could be located in Southern California, sunny Spain, or somewhere else that the family loves. “There’s a plethora of influences coming together. We wanted a home that would transport us.”
Finding ways to add quirk and personality to a classic and dreamy home without overdoing it was one of the family’s primary goals. “I love color and pattern, but [since] the intention was for this to feel like a vacation home in the lightest, cleanest, most beach-adjacent way, we went for comfortable upholstery [and] more monochrome [styles],” the designer explains. “I was very well-behaved on this project,” she adds with a laugh.
All members of the family gave input, including the children, who helped select fabrics, flooring, and decorative accents for their own rooms. It was a means of encouraging their creative instincts, but it was also a clever way to ensure that the family will remain anchored by this Montecito home. “We were very purposeful about wanting this to be a place they would always want to come back to, when they’re grown and have families of their own,” the owners say with a grin. “Sitting at the head of the kitchen table, with all the steel doors open, looking out—it’s joyful.”
In the entryway, the Tabarka Studio tiles in charcoal, mocha, and off-white on the stairs call to mind one of the family’s trips to Spain and play nicely off the hexagonal terra-cotta floor tiles and star-shaped accents in the railings. “The shapes are in endless conversation with one another,” the client says.
The stairway’s handsome half-arch frames the entry hall. An O&G Studio Athenaeum Setee in Ash/Ebony can be seen by the wall, with a vintage Moroccan rug sourced from Mehraban underfoot.
The dramatic plaster half-arch of the staircase frames the sitting room, another clever intervention by Burnham and team to take advantage of as much of the existing height as was possible to create some drama.
Art: Maysey Craddock/Sears-Peyton Gallery
Installing the 400-pound custom travertine coffee table was no easy feat, one which required Burnham and her team to craft a replica of the Midlands chandelier by Gregorius Pineo out of cardboard to ensure the resulting placement was just right. A Lawson Fenning El Monte lamp in white washed oak stands at the base of the BassamFellows daybed. A pair of ottomans by Theodore Alexander face the coffee table.
In the sitting room, Burnham and team crafted bespoke plaster alcoves on either side of the steel windowed doors to give museum-level attention to family heirlooms, which are illuminated by custom cylinder extended downlights in blackened brass by Apparatus.
Textures dominate the breezeway off the dining room, with vintage Moroccan rugs sourced from Mehraban rugs, which are placed atop of Levantine tile by Tabarka Studio. Rose Tarlow Pudgin sconces in Dark Rusty hang above a vintage bench found on 1stDibs.
The family knew they wanted their kitchen space to be significant, with room to cook and entertain. “We were really enamored with English kitchens,” Burnham explains, “We contacted deVOL and said, ‘We love your Sebastian Cox kitchen, can we do this in a Southern Californian home?’ We worked with them to get the drawings and measurements just right.”
The great dining area, which the clients cite as one of their favorite spots in the house, offers an expansive view of the patio and the lush green landscape. Fiddle Back chairs by Sawkille in ebonized white oak gather on either side of the Harvest Oval dining table in reclaimed yellow pine by Nickey Kehoe, while Sawkille’s Rainbow armchairs, also in ebonized white, sit at each end. An eight-pointed side chandelier in rubbed black finish by Mulligans watches over the room, its shape echoing other geometrical patterns found elsewhere throughout the house.
An outdoor dining room and lounge area just off the kitchen allow for quintessential California indoor-outdoor living. Kingsley Bate dining chairs from their Sag Harbor collection gather around an RH Aegean dining table in Slate.
Lush blossoms brighten up the laundry room.
Simple geometric shapes make a big statement in the back spiral staircase. 10×10 terra-cotta tiling by Ticsa Gredos runs throughout the first floor, with Vintage Timberworks French White Oak wide plank flooring in Loba/satin seen elsewhere.
Though none of the walls are painted in color, Burnham Design used Los Alamos wallpaper by Fromental to add personality to the bathroom, and a vintage 1950s brass wall mirror sourced on 1stDibs and overhead Lex lighting fixture from Urban Electric Co. invite contrasting geometry.
“In the primary bedroom, you really get the feel of being able to smell the sea air, to let your hair down a little,” Burnham says. Williams Sonoma Home’s Mallory Woven Seagrass bed is covered in RH’s Italian Tipped set in Dune, flanked by natural oak nightstands by Nickey Kehoe and a pair of bedside lamps from Mt Washington Pottery. A folded linen saucer pendant from California Workshop hangs gracefully overhead.
In the primary bathroom, a limestone mosaic by Country Floors gives the room a muted pop of color beneath a leather woven bench. A freestanding Laura Kirar bathtub by Kallista anchors the room, while additional square footage for the standing steam shower was found by drastically reducing closet space in the primary bedroom. Custom bleached white oak cabinetry designed by Burnham Design runs along the wall.
Outside the primary suite, a custom cedar daybed from Magnolia Porch Swings provides a place for quiet contemplation or curling up with a good book. Above, a custom Oregna pendant light from Santa Barbara Lighting in SBLC Brown illuminates the space.
The palm tree’s fronds mimic the curvature found in the steel windows on the second floor, continuing the geometrical symmetry seen throughout the home.
The sun begins to set on the lawn and pool, while an oversized palm tree provides cool shade.
“This is not a primary residence. They’re city people, and they wanted an escape,” explains the designer.
“The house is very uncluttered; we wanted it to feel like somewhere we could have a couple of T-shirts, a bathing suit, and some flip flops and just be away,” says the client.
Art: Isabel Bigelow/Sears-Peyton Gallery
“The clients wanted somewhere that felt like a getaway; the phrase ‘adult barefoot’ was thrown around a lot,” Burnham explains in reference to the main home’s relaxed elegance. That same spirit is explored in the guesthouse, where in the kitchen a natural fiber pendant from Serena and Lily hangs over a Crate and Barrel dining table, surrounded by black chairs with woven cord seating.
Art: Maysey Craddock/Sears-Peyton Gallery
Art: Maysey Craddock/Sears-Peyton Gallery
Art: Maysey Craddock/Sears-Peyton Gallery
Art: Lourdes Sanchez/Sears-Peyton Gallery
Art: Lourdes Sanchez/Sears-Peyton Gallery
Art: Isabel Bigelow/Sears-Peyton Gallery
Art: Isabel Bigelow/Sears-Peyton Gallery
