Barker Residence | Luxe Magazine Feature of Montecito “European Hill Town”

The Barker Residence, located in Montecito, California is an 11,500 sq ft vision-made-reality by Trevor Abramson and David Pascu (architects of Abramson Architects), Scott Menzel (the landscape architect), DKB Designs (interior designers), and our engineering team at California Energy Designs (mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems).

This Spanish-style hilltop abode features a collection of buildings (main house, garage, workshop, and guest house) that seamlessly merge to create a small, old-world-style village with all the advantages of modern technology.

Nestled between the roaring ocean and sprawling mountains of California, the Barker Residence required a complete redesign for all-season enjoyment of the home. Some distinctive design aspects of the home include floor-to-ceiling corner windows, low-beam wooden ceilings, a glass pivot door, and a deep-covered patio.

Montecito’s winter temperatures (averaging around 40°F), posed a unique challenge for our team to ensure the patio was a comfortable and functional space year-round. Deep coverage would provide cool shade for the residents in warmer weather, but in the winter, without our help, they would be unable to use the patio. Our CED engineers came up with the solution to integrate heat lamps as well as an outdoor fireplace near the patio to allow the family to dine or lounge outside on even the briskest of winter days.

High ceilings, exposed wooden beams, and an open floorplan required our team to devise a novel solution to keep the house’s ductwork hidden and efficient, all while maintaining the desired rustic look. Our team was able to work around the issue by concealing the heating and cooling pumps/ducts within the walls and floors to provide maximum comfort without any eyesores.

Floor-to-ceiling corner windows required our engineers to devise a solution on how to maintain an equilibrium of temperature inside the home, no matter the strength or location of the sun each individual day. The seamless HVAC systems that our team installed make the humidity control and thermal comfort of each section of the village as easy as the click of a button.