Worldly Influence: Custom Homebuilding with Cultural Flair

A lot of people who live in Santa Barbara have been fortunate enough to explore cultures around the world. Some are inspired to such a degree that they return home deeply influenced by worldly food, art, dress, music, and architecture. 

It takes a special combination of hand and eye to pull off a custom home that brings in an outside style but at the same time fits the feel of that certain Santa Barbara aesthetic found between the mountains and the sea. Over the decades, Giffin & Crane has been fortunate enough to team up with homeowners and architects to make it happen. Here are a few of our favorites.

BERMUDA IN MONTECITO:  Centered on the great room — an emerging layout preference in 1990s high-end residential construction — this all-new home unified sightlines and conversations between the open kitchen and fireside family room, with design details and color patterns reminiscent of a tropical estate. Heart pine flooring planks salvaged from a South Carolina plantation add warmth and history across 3,000 square feet, with three bedrooms and three-and-a-half baths. Architecture by Ketzel & Goodman. 

TUSCAN FARMHOUSE:  Limestone fireplace surrounds, hand-hewn oak beams from the 1800s, and an upstairs suite highlight this four-bed, four-bath French Italian farmhouse designed by architect Chris Dentzel, with interiors by Penny Bianchi. Following building codes for foothill neighborhoods prone to wildfire, the home also features sprinklers and tempered glass. Poolside landscape design by Katie O’Reilly Rogers. 

CONTEMPORARY ASIAN CRAFTSMAN:  With close direction from his client, architect Donald Peterson blended Asian themes with the layout, color palette, and intricate workmanship classic to the American Craftsman style. Built on expansive soil on a steep parcel — with a view of the city’s waterfront — this all-new foothill home is protected and reinforced by tall retaining walls and a deep foundation. It features four bedrooms, four-and-a-half baths, open living spaces, and interior ambiance informed by the natural stone exterior. 

Giffin & Crane has been building custom homes in Santa Barbara since 1986.