About Jeff Doubet: Founder of Santa Barbara Home Design
Hi, my name is Jeff Doubét - the founder of Santa Barbara Home Design and Creating Spanish Style Homes.
Thank You for spending your valuable time on my websites. I hope you find them inspiring and will return often!
I am an author and a 5X national award-winning home designer specializing in Spanish-style homes and landscapes.
SEE MORE photos of this Montecito, CA interior.
NEW for 2024!
Jeff Doubet PORTFOLIOS. Spanish home design and construction projects organized in easy-to-understand categories. Discover helpful resources while planning, designing and building your own custom Spanish home and landscape project.
Jeff Doubet SPANISH HOME DESIGN PHOTO BLOG. Your direct access to DOZENS of new client projects. Hundreds new photos not seen on this website.
The STORE + MORE page. Quality Spanish home products you can purchase on Amazon. I show many "in context" at custom Spanish homes being designed and built in beautiful Santa Barbara and Montecito, CA
My Early Years in California
My life in Santa Barbara started on a cold winter night back in 1985. That's when I had packed my ’56 Ford and left my hometown of Minneapolis and migrated to the warm and sunny American Riviera.
At 22, I basically had had my fill of below zero winters and was looking for a new adventure. I didn't have a job prospect- or even a place to stay.
Enthusiastic, and a little naive... I arrived in Santa Barbara with $200 in my pocket.
First stop: The Westmont College "roomates wanted" board, where I noticed a unique job post.
Within 48 hours- I got that job as a live-in Butler / Chauffer for a prominent Television Writer + Producer.
Destiny or Luck... in retrospect, I believe it was God's will that I found myself moving into that magnificent 1930s Spanish Colonial Revival Montecito estate.
The oceanview home sat on 3.5 acres of lush landscaping, and it instantly became an inspirational setting for my creative mind.
I lived and worked there for many years, and it was there that my interest in Spanish home design was formed.
A Bit about my Art, Design and Construction background
Ever since I was young I have been involved in artistic endeavors.
I married my beautiful Lori in 1989, and for awhile tried my luck at fine art. I sold large oil paintings out of a local Santa Barbara art gallery down by Stearns Wharf.
I eventually morphed my sculpting and art skills into a long career chapter in product development. I eventually climbed the corporate ladder to become a Product Designer and Program Manager at a local Architectural Products Manufacturer (Forms + Surfaces).
All the while, Lori and I moonlighted on various home renovations- and for about 10 years I also maintained a California General Contractor license.
As a home designer, I bring this valuable construction knowledge to my client consultations.
But ever since I can remember I have always loved to draw. Now I combine this variety of skills in the design and consultant business I now run.
Self-employed since 2003, I have helped hundreds of clients with their unique project needs.
LEFT: A custom Spanish Revival mailbox I designed for Casa Corazon, a local Santa Barbara project.
It's just a simple example of combining home design, product design and building knowledge and help guide my clients in how they can create special projects.
I feel very fortunate to live and work in beautiful Santa Barbara. Historically it has always been a quintessential town for designers, architects and homeowners to collaborate.
I am very grateful for the many homeowners who invest their time and money into these creative projects.
My design business has really flourished since launching it in 2003.
By 2015, I had been involved in a wide variety of interesting design work and projects.
I began thinking it would be cool to compile my favorites into a coffee table book.
Creating Spanish Style Homes took over 3 years to complete. I wanted to make something I would be proud of for the rest of my life. On October 15, 2018, Lori and I published it- and we are grateful that it began to sell right away.
*As an Amazon Associate, I earn commissions from qualifying purchases. There is no extra cost to you.
1,000 True Fans
Since launching my book a few years ago, Lori and I have sold over 1,767 copies (as of 3/2/24). It is an expensive book , but thanks to Amazon, it has sold all around the world.
A few random photos to share:
A custom Spanish style chicken coop with white plaster walls, vent grilles and a red tile roof.
It was a "prototype" for the materials, paint colors and finishes that would be used on a large remodel and addition to a Park Lane project in Montecito, CA I showcase on several pages in my book.
For the Casa Corazon project:
I carved a small apple to help a client and their specialty framer visualize a 3 dimensional medallion I wanted to incorporate into the custom Spanish-style home we were collaborating on.
This photo was taken during the great recession in the US economy.
Work was slow for me at the time, and once the framer had got the basic structure in place, I wanted to spend some time sculpting the drywall mud to the vision I had in my head.
Check out my STORE + MORE page where I feature Spanish-style products my clients have purchased on Amazon.
There, I include full-length client projects showing how they were used in the Design + Build projects.
SITE Menu for SantaBarbaraHomeDesigner.com
Click to navigate the most popular pages on the Santa Barbara Home Design site.
Informative pages with quality photos and designs for high quality Spanish style homes and landscapes!
Also be sure to check out my new
SPANISH HOME DESIGN PHOTO BLOG with dozens of new projects and hundreds of photos not on this website.
And the STORE + MORE page.