The Home Page | Pool-side Pizza and Building with Bales

This edition of The Home Page was originally emailed to subscribers on August 27, 2023. To receive Sarah Sinclair’s real estate newsletter in your inbox each Sunday, sign up at independent.com/newsletters.

I was sitting at a stoplight behind a school bus this morning, which brought the back-to-school reality home for me. But never fear; we’ve got our almost-summer weather here in Santa Barbara nearly year-round. So this article from Houzz with 25 different outdoor bar and kitchen ideas is perfect anytime. The swim-up-style bar above is at a home on the island of Kauai, and here’s another option:

Pizza oven and putting green, poolside? Perfect! This one is in Texas, but I think it’d be even perfect-er right here.

Architectural Digest shone their spotlight on a local project this week in this article featuring a Montecito Colonial estate built in 1895. The home has been extensively remodeled, and AD’s photos provide a detailed tour, including really cool custom wallpaper in each room. Derek Shue of Giffin & Crane handled the construction, with a plethora of other local talent involved as well. Local woodworkers Architectural Millwork did the custom cabinetry shown above, while Starbuck Minikin made the kitchen island. The landscaping also had a local hand:

Arcadia Studio designed the Lotusland-inspired gardens, including this fountain, which was created using Italian stone shells from Eye of the Day in Carpinteria.

When Yvon Chouinard of Patagonia gave his company to a nonprofit holding company last year, we knew we hadn’t heard the last from him. One of his current passions is building houses using straw bales, as detailed in Home, Grown, a film created by Patagonia featuring local architect Dylan Johnson. Johnson explains in the film, “Buildings around the world account for one-third of greenhouse-gas emissions.” And Chouinard expands “The time has come to reimagine … not just housing, but everything else.” The home shown above is in the Bishop area, and another is currently under construction in Ventura. Learn more here.

Most clever local real-estate Instagram reel this week is this one by The Hall Team, postulating what open houses might look like if they were run by airlines. (Think priority “boarding” for potential buyers who are pre-approved, and an $800 charge for sitting on the couch.) I dare you not to crack a smile.

This week’s cover is also going to have you smiling: The Prime Time Band is featured in our annual Active Aging issue, and there are plenty of open houses and real estate info on the flip side. No matter how you spend it, enjoy your Sunday!