This mid-century beach villa in Montecito, California was originally constructed in 1952, receiving a complete overhaul by the team of Neumann Mendro Andrulaitis Architects. The home is ideally positioned on a quite, private drive in the Butterfly Beach neighborhood, surrounded by lush landscaping. The home began with numerous small rooms that felt confined and not very spacious. The architects renovated the spaces to create an open layout, linking the kitchen to the dining and living rooms. There is now a more seamless transition between indoor and outdoor spaces. Two old bedrooms, one of which was the original garage, were transformed in a master bedroom with an en-suite bathroom.

With a new floor plan of 1,627 square feet, along with custom windows and French doors, light finishes and new fixtures, the home now feels open and airy, exuding a casual elegance. Interior living spaces transition smoothly to extensive outdoor patios, water features, a walled private garden and verdant tropical landscaping. The front entryway features a mahogany door with vertical slats that is in keeping with the home’s tropical ambiance. A coral stone sourced from the Dominican Republic was used on the outdoor patios, walkway leading up to the front door and as the stone veneer siding on the front of the exterior facade.

When faced with the re-design of this project, the architects were presented with the challenge of preserving the old character of the structure, while at the same time creating a modern home that is more livable by today’s standards. This home is the perfect example of a compact home that was adapted to meet the lifestyle needs of its inhabitants without having to overly expand its footprint, instead focusing on higher quality.

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What We Love: This mid-century beach villa was beautifully re-designed, with understated elegance and simplicity. A wonderful indoor-outdoor connection was made to the spacious exterior courtyard that the architects designed for the homeowner to enjoy in quite solitude. Overall there is much to love about this home, it feels very spacious despite its compact size, the architects did a great job on creating bright, open living spaces. Readers, what do you think, anything in particular you like about this classic bungalow re-design?

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In the kitchen, limestone countertops and mahogany cabinets adds to the sophistication of this home re-design. Custom designed mahogany bi-fold doors helps to completely open this space up to the outdoors, bringing in natural ventilation and offering boundless entertaining possibilites.

This light-filled hallway passes a stylish guest bedroom with an en-suite bathroom before leading to the master bedroom suite. Through double doors you will find a spacious bedroom with an ultra-luxe spa bath and its own private terrace.

Photos: Ciro Coelho