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When you think of indoor/outdoor living, you may think of a cozy outdoor fireplace or maybe an outdoor kitchen. The Allen Construction team took this concept to a whole new level for this new home built in Santa Barbara, California. The homeowners wanted a home that not only reflected their taste and lifestyle, but also a home that was functional and easy to maintain. “We wanted to create a home that was easy to live in, easy to clean and even easier to relax in.”
The entire home has an open, airy feel with vaulted ceilings and numerous floor to ceiling doors and windows. Not only do the retracting glass doors throughout the home provide a sense of openness, but also 180˚ views of the Pacific Ocean. In keeping with the homeowner’s style, the design is elegant and earthy with mahogany floors and ceilings in every room and solid mahogany cabinets in the kitchen.
One really impressive feature (contributed by the homeowners) is the “lazy river” that runs around the house. It starts at the infinity pool and ends next to a Koi pond that’s surrounded by gorgeous, tropical landscaping.
According to Bryan Henson, President, Allen Construction, “Four men worked eight months to install the Egyptian limestone marble found in the entry, on both interior and exterior walls, all of the fireplaces, all exterior columns, throughout the master bathroom, and even on the pool deck. Seamless connections between interior and exterior spaces abound, including a large pocket window that opens the kitchen to the outdoor barbecue area.”
The amount of detail and customizations required for this home made for a truly unique experience for the Allen Construction team. The project manager on this home build was a builder with 40 years of experience. He shared just how technically challenging this project was; “Pre-planning was the key for every element of this project. Here’s one example: Installing the large, glass, retracting pocket doors in the living room was a huge challenge. Their size and weight required eight men to carry them in (the doors weighed 700 lbs. and the entry window weighed 1,100 lbs.). Due to the size of the window openings in the living room, all we had was 3/16” clearance to hang the doors. The slab height and the exterior tile had to be perfect, as did the plywood and the electrical in the walls. There was no room for mistakes. As a result, we had to coordinate with the concrete and steel trades to anticipate all of the problems before they happened. As a result, the install went very smoothly.”
While there were many challenging elements to this project, the end result was exactly what the homeowners wanted. “We knew we were only going to build a house once in our lives and we wanted to get it right. As a result, we did not want to compromise on design or quality.”
For more information on Allen Construction, visit their member profile page.
Project Team: Architect – Edwards-Pitman Architects; General Contractor – Allen Construction; Photographer – Jim Bartsch.
