SANTA BARBARA CHIC WITH ERINN V.
SANTA BARBARA CHIC WITH ERINN V.

Photography by Meghan Beierle-0’Brien

SANTA BARBARA CHIC WITH ERINN V.

Photography by Meghan Beierle-0’Brien

ON A VERDANT PROMONTORY OVERLOOKING THE OLD MISSION IN SANTA BARBARA, DESIGNER ERINN VALENCICH DESIGNS A DREAM HOME FOR HER FAMILY.

ON A VERDANT PROMONTORY OVERLOOKING THE OLD MISSION IN SANTA BARBARA, DESIGNER ERINN VALENCICH DESIGNS A DREAM HOME FOR HER FAMILY.

It all started with the view. When Erinn Valencich came across the funky flat-roofed midcentury house with a Spanish tile roof added some time in the 1980s, not even an aesthetic mash-up could detract from panoramic views of Santa Barbara’s Mission Canyon.
It all started with the view. When Erinn Valencich came across the funky flat-roofed midcentury house with a Spanish tile roof added some time in the 1980s, not even an aesthetic mash-up could detract from panoramic views of Santa Barbara’s Mission Canyon.
ON A VERDANT PROMONTORY OVERLOOKING THE OLD MISSION IN SANTA BARBARA, DESIGNER ERINN VALENCICH DESIGNS A DREAM HOME FOR HER FAMILY.

ON A VERDANT PROMONTORY OVERLOOKING THE OLD MISSION IN SANTA BARBARA, DESIGNER ERINN VALENCICH DESIGNS A DREAM HOME FOR HER FAMILY.

It all started with the view. When Erinn Valencich came across the funky flat-roofed midcentury house with a Spanish tile roof added some time in the 1980s, not even an aesthetic mash-up could detract from panoramic views of Santa Barbara’s Mission Canyon.
It all started with the view. When Erinn Valencich came across the funky flat-roofed midcentury house with a Spanish tile roof added some time in the 1980s, not even an aesthetic mash-up could detract from panoramic views of Santa Barbara’s Mission Canyon.
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“I wanted the house to be warm and textural,” she said, “with a nod to the California Spanish aesthetic of the architecture and the Mediterranean feel of Santa Barbara in general.”

ONCE THE OVERALL TONE WAS ESTABLISHED, VALENCICH SET HER SIGHTS ON THE UNDISPUTED HEART OF THE HOME:

ONCE THE OVERALL TONE WAS ESTABLISHED, VALENCICH SET HER SIGHTS ON THE UNDISPUTED HEART OF THE HOME:

A soulful kitchen with tumbled limestone floors, white oak cabinetry and a carefully calibrated assortment of fixtures and finishes. “When I’m designing a kitchen, it’s important to consider that it’s where everyone wants to be. Throughout my career, I’ve often worked from home, so I knew the breakfast bar, with its great views, would be the perfect place to set up my laptop.”
A soulful kitchen with tumbled limestone floors, white oak cabinetry and a carefully calibrated assortment of fixtures and finishes. “When I’m designing a kitchen, it’s important to consider that it’s where everyone wants to be. Throughout my career, I’ve often worked from home, so I knew the breakfast bar, with its great views, would be the perfect place to set up my laptop.”
ONCE THE OVERALL TONE WAS ESTABLISHED, VALENCICH SET HER SIGHTS ON THE UNDISPUTED HEART OF THE HOME:

ONCE THE OVERALL TONE WAS ESTABLISHED, VALENCICH SET HER SIGHTS ON THE UNDISPUTED HEART OF THE HOME:

A soulful kitchen with tumbled limestone floors, white oak cabinetry and a carefully calibrated assortment of fixtures and finishes. “When I’m designing a kitchen, it’s important to consider that it’s where everyone wants to be. Throughout my career, I’ve often worked from home, so I knew the breakfast bar, with its great views, would be the perfect place to set up my laptop.”
A soulful kitchen with tumbled limestone floors, white oak cabinetry and a carefully calibrated assortment of fixtures and finishes. “When I’m designing a kitchen, it’s important to consider that it’s where everyone wants to be. Throughout my career, I’ve often worked from home, so I knew the breakfast bar, with its great views, would be the perfect place to set up my laptop.”
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WHEN IT CAME TO LAYOUT, VALENCICH MADE THE DECISION TO POSITION HER SINK IN THE SPOT WITH THE BEST OCEAN VIEWS.

“People tend to want to give the primary bedroom the best views, but most of the time you’re in there, you’re asleep! I always start with: where do you spend the most time during the day?” With brass cabinetry hardware and black lighting fixtures, the Juxtapose Collection in mixed brass-and-black finish was a natural choice. “The faucet was one of the first selections I made, and I built the rest of the room around it,” she says. “When it comes to getting dressed and choosing jewelry, I’ll wear black and silver and gold all together, and I love mixing finishes in a room, too.”

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“When people come into your home, they’re probably going to turn on the water at some point. It matters whether those things are quality, and with Kallista, you can actually feel the difference.”

DRAWING INSPIRATION FROM HIGH END HOTELS, VALENCICH SOUGHT TO ELEVATE A CLASSIC PALETTE WITH DISTINCTIVE FIXTURES.
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DRAWING INSPIRATION FROM HIGH END HOTELS, VALENCICH SOUGHT TO ELEVATE A CLASSIC PALETTE WITH DISTINCTIVE FIXTURES.
“I love black in my plumbing, but when the whole house is the same, it starts to look boring.” For a main bathroom like this one, Valencich prefers the low One Collection faucet not only for its practicality, but also for its character – a word that comes up often in her discussions about the meaning of home. “I never want my bathrooms to feel like a wet room where the goal is to get out and get out. When you’re dealing with a space that predominantly features hard surfaces, your choices need to balance all of those hard elements and bring the warmth and charm in.”
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UPON ENTERING THE PRIMARY SUITE, THE VIEW PAST THE FIREPLACE INTO THE BATHROOM CREATES AN IMMEDIATE ATMOSPHERE OF SERENE SOPHISTICATION.

Built to house a single sink with the Central Park West faucet, the vanity is a custom designed floating piece meant to look like furniture, while the wraparound windows are dressed in top-down, bottom-up roman shades (from Valencich’s line with Hartmann & Forbes) that lend privacy without obstructing sightlines of the canyon.

THE GUTSY CENTRAL PARK WEST HANDLE ON THE SHOWER DOOR IS AN OBJECT LESSON IN VALENCICH’S DESIGN PHILOSOPHY.
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THE GUTSY CENTRAL PARK WEST HANDLE ON THE SHOWER DOOR IS AN OBJECT LESSON IN VALENCICH’S DESIGN PHILOSOPHY.
“The Central Park West handle helps the shower entrance to read as a door, which I loved,” she says. “I prefer things to look contemporary from a distance, and then as you get closer to them, you notice more details.”
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THROUGHOUT THE ROOM, THIS AIRINESS IS GROUNDED BY STRONG CHOICES IN THE HARDWARE AND ACCENTS.

Central Park West fixtures in Unlacquered Brass temper the black shower enclosure, bringing patina and tactility to the space, while a black marble bowl and wooden stool offer the subtle punctuation that every room needs.

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“IF YOU HAVE AN ENDLESS AMOUNT OF SPACE AND CAN DO ANYTHING YOU WANT, YOU OFTEN END UP WITH SOMETHING BORING,” VALENCICH SAYS. “WHEN YOU’RE CHALLENGED ARCHITECTURALLY, IT OFTEN BREEDS THE BEST DESIGN.”

Though Valencich and her family have recently moved on from this home, she remembers it fondly as the first space she ever designed expressly to suit their needs. “It’s important to think about your daily path,” the designer says. “If you were to watch yourself day after day, where are you walking? Where are you going? And how are you using your home? When a home flows really seamlessly like this, those daily rituals are easy to carry out.”