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George Washington Smith, widely regarded as the founder of the Spanish Colonial Revival style, designed scores of houses in and around Santa Barbara during an architectural career that lasted only a dozen years before his death in 1930.
Today those houses, with their signature mix of whitewashed walls, red-tiled roofs, balconies, courtyards, fountains, elaborate carved woodwork and wrought iron, are keenly sought after, according to area real estate agents.
Smith designed this home for his cousin James Canby in 1922. However, it was sold three years later to a widow from Boston, Edith Cunningham, who hired Smith to extensively enlarge the property, adding the library, a new dining room, a bedroom with bathroom and dressing room, and maids' rooms.
Current owners Stuart and Deborah Fuss bought the house 80 years later and embarked on their own restoration and renovation. They brought in materials from as far afield as Morocco, Argentina and Nicaragua to restore historical features or create handcrafted duplicates true to Smith's original designs.
After much painstaking research and almost two years of construction, the former Bay Area couple have a historic, handcrafted property with all the benefits of an ultra-modern home. The architect for this project was Steve Geiszler of San Francisco.
The improvements include new wiring and plumbing, under-floor radiant heating, wireless computer and phone networks, and high-tech automated control of lights, heating, sound systems and security. "They've brought a 1920s G.W. Smith into the 21st century," says listing agent Harry Kolb.
Kolb believes the "G.W." cachet adds a premium to the value of a home. He says in the course of his 30-year career in Santa Barbara real estate, he's sold 25 to 30 such homes -- "some of them more than once."
real.estate@latimes.com
To submit a candidate for Home of the Week, send high-resolution color photos with caption and credit information on a CD and a detailed description of the house to Lauren Beale, Real Estate, Los Angeles Times, 202 W. 1st St., L.A., CA 90012. Questions may be sent to homeoftheweek @latimes.com.
Today those houses, with their signature mix of whitewashed walls, red-tiled roofs, balconies, courtyards, fountains, elaborate carved woodwork and wrought iron, are keenly sought after, according to area real estate agents.
Smith designed this home for his cousin James Canby in 1922. However, it was sold three years later to a widow from Boston, Edith Cunningham, who hired Smith to extensively enlarge the property, adding the library, a new dining room, a bedroom with bathroom and dressing room, and maids' rooms.
Current owners Stuart and Deborah Fuss bought the house 80 years later and embarked on their own restoration and renovation. They brought in materials from as far afield as Morocco, Argentina and Nicaragua to restore historical features or create handcrafted duplicates true to Smith's original designs.
After much painstaking research and almost two years of construction, the former Bay Area couple have a historic, handcrafted property with all the benefits of an ultra-modern home. The architect for this project was Steve Geiszler of San Francisco.
The improvements include new wiring and plumbing, under-floor radiant heating, wireless computer and phone networks, and high-tech automated control of lights, heating, sound systems and security. "They've brought a 1920s G.W. Smith into the 21st century," says listing agent Harry Kolb.
Kolb believes the "G.W." cachet adds a premium to the value of a home. He says in the course of his 30-year career in Santa Barbara real estate, he's sold 25 to 30 such homes -- "some of them more than once."
real.estate@latimes.com
To submit a candidate for Home of the Week, send high-resolution color photos with caption and credit information on a CD and a detailed description of the house to Lauren Beale, Real Estate, Los Angeles Times, 202 W. 1st St., L.A., CA 90012. Questions may be sent to homeoftheweek @latimes.com.
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