Jeff Doubet Ranks Best Spanish-style Home Design Books
Jeff Doubet of Santa Barbara Home Design ranks best selling Architecture and Interior Design Books for designing Spanish style homes.
Please scroll down to see some of the long-standing favorites that I have personally promoted on my website for many years. These are book titles my clients have purchased, as well as books I have personally collected. As a working home designer in Santa Barbara, I enjoy, and draw inspiration from these listed below.
*As an Amazon Associate, I earn commissions from qualifying purchases made through the links below.
First: a direct link to my own Design Book.
Creating Spanish Style Homes: Before and After, Techniques, Designs, Insights by Jeff Doubet
My goal with this book was to create a unique Design Consult in a Book. Something to augment my one-on-one design consultation services I provide (since 2003). I wanted to make a book that would be a timeless resource for those designing Spanish style homes.
The book was published in the Fall of 2018 and Thanks to Amazon, it has sold all over the world.
Disclosure: This page contains direct links to Amazon products. As an Amazon Associate, I earn commissions from qualifying purchases made through these links. There is never any added cost to you. Thank you for your support!
Books About Santa Barbara Style Architecture
One of the more popular Santa Barbara style Architecture design books I have promoted for several years on this Santa Barbara Home Design website is:
I personally purchased this book in the fall of 2015. There are only a few books on the market today that cover the history of how our local Santa Barbara Spanish style of architecture came into fashion.
This book does a nice job of highlighting the early creative minds and designers that were influential in developing the Santa Barbara look, starting back in the 1920s and 30s.
For those seeking more information about the traditions and local history of early designers and architects in Santa Barbara, I think would enjoy this book. Santa Barbara Historical Museum has also published the 2nd Edition, also available on Amazon.
Please note: I will be adding additional photographs and drawings to this page (in the future).
In the meantime, this is a "Cutting Room Floor" sample (it did not make it into my new design book), but is an example of the hundreds of hand-drawn Spanish style architectural renderings I have created since 2003.
Many of my Spanish style home design hand-drawn sketches and renderings are for local Montecito and Santa Barbara clients. I also have clients throughout California, as well as in parts of Arizona, Texas and Florida.
For years I have drawn inspiration from classic books that have been published about the Architects and Building Designers that practiced their craft a hundred years ago.
George Washington Smith: Architect of the Spanish-Colonial Revival
George Washington Smith is well known in Santa Barbara for being a design leader and promoter of the local Spanish style architecture back in the 1920s and 30s. I purchased this book back in 2007 to add to my design book collection.
George Washington Smith: An Architect's Scrapbook
Another George Washington Smith book I purchased in 2007. Although I am glad to have the book in my collection. I am have been collecting books for my design studio, particularly the ones that highlight the history of our local Santa Barbara architectural heritage for those that designed Spanish style homes and landscapes back in the day.
Mediterranean Architecture: A Sourcebook of Architectural Elements
A very good book I frequently recommend to local Santa Barbara clients is this 432 page, 6.5 lb. Coffee Table Book. I met the author ( Santa Barbara architect Jock Sewall) years ago, after I had purchased a copy for my design studio.
There is a wide variety of photos to peruse for ideas on how the historic styling and architectural details were designed and implemented by Early Masters, which is particularly good for Architects and Building Designers as a reference guide for historic detailing.
An easy access design tool and resource.
Santa Barbara Home and Landscape Design Book Resources and Recommendations
Professional Santa Barbara Home Designer Jeff Doubet is the author of Creating Spanish Style Homes: Before & After - Techniques - Designs - Insights a Design Reference Book made for those seeking information on how to design a quality Spanish style home.
When making this book, I really wanted to create something different from all of the other great books on the market. I include hundreds of photos... behind-the-scenes images of how my hand-drawn sketches, renderings and drawings go from my imagination to a built project. If you are at all intrigued with how quality Spanish style homes are built, I think you will enjoy my book.
The Spanish-style House: From Enchanted Andalusia to the California Dream
Three years after I published my book, this book came out. When meeting clients, it is a book I commonly see sitting next to mine. It is small in size, but very inspirational for those seeking to build out their design library of books on the subject. Definitely worth the price.
Private Gardens of Santa Barbara: The Art of Outdoor Living
She's a local favorite Santa Barbara Landscape Designer, and her projects are pasted all over Pinterest. Margie Grace came out with her own Coffee Table Book in 2020 and this book is great for all those who seek to design a classic Santa Barbara garden and outdoor "rooms".
Other Design Book Resources + Recommendations for those seeking Top Picks
The California Casa is a book I have recommended on this website for many years. A local Montecito, California client introduced it to me way back when- and she and I used it for many inspirational ideas within her home. She had tagged dozens of pages to discuss.
I started to see it in a lot of client homes after that, so in 2020 I purchased a copy for own design library.
Casa California: Spanish-style Houses from Santa Barbara to San Clemente
I have been gifted this book, twice. Clients I have worked with on local Santa Barbara Spanish style home designs. I will be honest, it is not my favorite book- but sometimes we collect books just to have every tool available for the project planning we are working on. This would not be my first book to purchase or recommend, but if you have the extra money to buy it, why not?
Haciendas: Spanish Colonial Houses in the U.S. and Mexico
When I was beginning to create Hacienda style hand-drawn design renderings for a local Santa Barbara client, I was introduced to this beautiful book. My clients had earmarked numerous pages within it for the inspirational design details they wanted to create for the interior, as well as the exterior design. They wanted to make an authentic Hacienda style home.
I love the cover art and think it makes for a cool coffee table book display. I would like to have it for my own design collection one day. An additional memory for the custom oceanfront home that indeed got built here in Santa Barbara.
Red Tile Style: America's Spanish Revival Architecture
A former client of mine gifted me a copy of this book. It has a lot of nice interior and exterior photos of Old World Spanish homes throughout California and including a few in Santa Barbara.
Again, when considering the cost of actually designing, building or remodeling a Spanish style home... books are an inexpensive way to get caught up on how others like yourself have proceeded with projects.
By no means would this be the first book I would recommend to my clients, but it is generally available at a very low cost, so why not pick up a copy as you educate yourself for your upcoming next steps?
Wallace Neff 1895-1982 The Romance of Regional Architecture
Probably not for everyone, but I personally own these Wallace Neff design books, and love collectible books on the Early Masters.
Wallace Neff is one of my all time favorite architects that I admire, and with each generation we look back at the inspirational leaders in the craft. I enjoy the art of hand drawing concepts for my clients and I would like to think I am keeping that tradition alive for our generation.
Wallace Neff: Architect of California's Golden Age (California Architecture & Architects)
Wallace Neff and the Grand Houses of the Golden State
Disclosure: This page contains direct links to Amazon products. As an Amazon Associate, I earn commissions from qualifying purchases made through these links. There is never any added cost to you. Thank you for your support!
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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.