Carpinteria Foothills Residence

Description by Neumann Mendro Andrulaitis

This contemporary residence is designed to seamlessly open unto the panoramic coastal ridge-top site via expansive operable glazed walls. The glazed transparency is balanced and the home is anchored in place by substantial cut native sandstone walls. The architectural design evolved from our client’s desire for a home that is a tranquil place for living, art and retreat.

The project site is located on a ridge in the foothills of Carpinteria, ten miles down the coast from Santa Barbara. The program asked for a master suite, one guest room, a study for two, a more contained den and an informal open living space they could share with their children and grand children. The site strategy was to separate the guesthouse, pool and pool house from the main house, by locating them amongst the oaks on a lower terrace. The smaller structures were easier to place around the mature oak trees without disturbing their root systems. Each structure has its own orientation and privacy.

How to develop a strategy with dramatic 360-degree views was a challenge for laying out the main house. Placing the main living space and study further away from the edge was determined to be quieter from the distant freeway noise. A courtyard created an inward oriented counterpoint to the distant vistas. A flat roof modernist scheme complemented the couples taste for modern art and furniture. Designers in their own right, they were the driving force in the overall design team. The design was limited to a simple palette of materials and forms. A European window and sliding door system was used to minimize the frames and optimize the glass. These glass walls were framed between large stonewalls constructed of the local Santa Barbara Sandstone, and volumes contained in plaster walls with an integral color (pantry, guest room, master bath and closet, storage area). The flat roofs were supported by steel columns separated from the curtain walls.

The landscape design became a hobby of the owner who studied local native plantings that were both fire resistant and drought tolerant. Some large oak trees were brought in to augment the existing oak grove, further nestle the house into the site, and create a foreground to help frame the spectacular views.

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Sun Rooms

This is totally my style.





Winter is setting in, these are great sun room ideas for you to consider and don't forget to accessorize .
























Love the carved wood chairs. Also, love this particular design.

We are personally adding a sun room and just had fun looking at all of my decorating options.

No explanations needed for this post, I hope you enjoyed the experience of imagining bathing in these lovely settings and designs.

Patios/Garden Escapes

The owners of this Venice, California, home needed places to eat and to relax in their renovated yard. A floating bench and a fire bowl, created from a colored concrete planter, make up the new living space. Blue bamboo helps screen the dining area.

A nap on this ship-shaped daybed, inspired by a Chinese boat, may just feel like a journey across the ocean. It turns a simple backyard corner into a perfect lounging spot.



This traditional porch near Palmetto Beach, South Carolina, employs coastal-style architecture to give this new home old Southern charm with shutters that reach all the way to the ceiling. The folding shutters can be opened to let in light and air or closed for more privacy. The slats can be adjusted to let air circulate.



A large stone fireplace is the centerpiece to this screened porch that sits in a wood cabin along Lake Michigan. Fire logs are nestled in a silver drink tub next to a slipcovered ottoman with a floral and fruity pattern.



Two lounge chairs and a fountain make this patio a great place to hang out with friends or take a nap. The lounge chairs are upholstered with chocolate brown fabric, which can stand up to outdoor conditions and easily hide stains.



Just outside this home's kitchen is a patio for casual meals. Paved with saltillo tile, it overlooks the courtyard, with its cooling custom-designed fountain

Ambiance Lighting

Back to art deco and again with musical inspiration, this time through the dramatic pipe organ. Brubeck fixture is an instant classic sculptural design.

Merely mention the name Coltrane and you will feel a deep connection with innovation and the expressive music in Jazz. Taking these powerful connections created by John Coltrane our designers have created a monumental design that will withstand time. With 3 iron tubes, it makes a magical and smooth lighting effect for architectural environments as well as home environments.


To illuminate a space can create atmosphere or ruin the whole interior decoration, no matter how carefully color, style and furniture are chosen; lighting can bring a room together or make a room uninviting, unappealing and non-functional. There are three categories of lighting: General, Task, and Accent or Ambient, a room should blend all types of lighting for optimal use and style.
Accent lighting, as the one above serve to bring attention to a particular object, highlighting a collection, art and architecture and in this particular case the color for the shade of the lamp was also chosen to relate to a beautiful bunch of violets, below the explosion of mimosa; this type of illumination can soften the mood or brighten dark corners. 

Luxury Decor

If you enjoyed looking at this preview of luxury home decor items more can be found at this link

Open and Airy Rooms

In Venice, Calif., this living and dining area opens up on three sides: to the lap pool on the west with sliding glass doors; to the north courtyard with pocketing glass doors and to the south garden and guest house through pivoting metal doors.



Architect Scott Joyce designs a chic Hollywood Hills home with an entire rear facade consisting of glass walls that accordion open to create seamless outdoor/indoor living room.



A unique Palm Springs home features a white living room designed by Luis Ortega. The interior contains a mix of contemporary materials and natural elements, playing homage to American modernism.



Architect Max Strang designs an outdoor living room with a panoramic 360-degree view. Featuring "ipe" wood floors, an amazing ceiling of rusted industrial steel and furnishings from Bali, the space feels like a high-style tree house.



This Malibu great room with its eye-catching smooth stucco fireplace has a wall of bi-fold doors, which open to make the indoor and outdoor spaces feel like one. The glass-tiled pool is surrounded by a teak deck featuring a concrete BBQ and Viking appliances.



In Newport Beach, designer Mark Cutler creates a room that was designed to make the most of its waterfront location and enjoy a cottage-like feeling with a European flair.



Architect David Hertz designs an amazing glass-walled beachfront home in Venice, Calif., with an incredible roll-down window that opens the living room completely up to the outdoors.



Designer Mark Cutler creates a loggia at a Beverly Hills estate featuring an outdoor living and dining area in yellows and greens inspired by a Tuscan villa.