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Welcome to Cove House, and to our first major renovation and design project—Casa Vista. We purchased Casa Vista in November 2021 in the quaint town of Santa Barbara, just 100 miles north of Los Angeles. Our goal was simple: use our love for design and restoration to update and bring back to life this 85 year old Spanish bungalow.
We began construction on our newly purchased, two bedroom, two bathroom, 1945 Spanish home (also known as Casa Vista) in January of 2022. The home was completely down to the studs, with zero electrical, plumbing, and walls for that matter. The first step of our new project was to figure out the new floorplan of the home. The previous owners converted the original garage into an entertainment room but we decided to convert the space into a primary suite. The new primary suite includes an en suite bathroom, walk-in closet, and exposed beams that were original to the home.
We then moved on to design. Coming from a creative and artistic background, we wanted to make sure we honored the integrity of the home by bringing in both new and vintage pieces, and keeping the old-world charm. We wanted the home to feel simple yet elevated. For the exterior of the home we chose a smooth stucco finish, copper gutters, a Pinky’s Iron door for the entryway, and a custom front gate hand-made by Chase. In the backyard, we completely leveled the yard, added an expansive grass lawn and Handley Gold gravel to frame out an entertainment space for dining and lounging. A bi-fold door was added in the living room to create a truly Californian indoor, outdoor living space.
For the interior of the home, we used veneer plaster instead of paint. This plaster felt so European and old-world and really brought the space to life. In the kitchen, we used Elephant’s Breath by Farrow and Ball for the cabinets, Carrera marble for the countertops, custom made sconces from London, England, complemented by aged-brass fixtures from Inside East in Morocco.
The bathrooms in the home were one of the most fun aspects of the entire project. We used Zia cement tiles for the primary and guest bathroom showers, Cle slate tile for the primary bathroom floor, and for the powder room we did a playful checkerboard marble floor sourced from a local shop here in Santa Barbara, Buena Tile. During construction, Chase decided to design and hand-craft all of the vanities for the home using solid white oak. The custom vanities are the focal point of all of the bathrooms and provide a warm tone to the space. We are thrilled to now sell our vanities on the Cove House shop.
We are over the moon with the results of Casa Vista and are happy to be able to share our journey with you. Follow along for more project and design updates from Cove House.