James Andrew – Casa del Herrero
Yet another stellar suggestion by our dear friend Philip Bewley: Casa del Herrero – definitely a must see when one is in the Santa Barbara/Montecito area. It’s the legendary estate that once belonged to George Fox Steedman, and it happily remains very much intact. Considered one of the finest examples of Spanish Colonial Revival architecture in America, it is the result of a marvelous collaboration between Steedman and Santa Barbara architect, George Washington Smith.
Casa del Herrero
Like Hearst and Morgan at Hearst Castle, Steedman and Smith incorporated many architectural fragments into their Casa del Herrero design—in fact, Steedman actually purchased many of said fragments from the same dealers that Hearst utilized. Certainly it was a labor of love and there is a real sense of Steedman’s passion and personal touch throughout this gracious Montecito estate. Do visit if you can.
Following our Casa del Herrero tour, the lovely Penelope Bianchi and Hollye Jacobs treated McBee and me to the most gorgeous luncheon at The Coral Casino, a super-chic private beach and pool club on Butterfly Beach, recently refurbished by Peter Marino. You’ll know Bianchi from her interior work and blog at Penelope Bianchi, McCormick Interiors and Jacobs, as author of The Silver Pen. We were also joined by friends, La Comtesse Lola and Brooke Giannetti (author of the Velvet & Linen blog) – as you might imagine, we had a pretty stimulationg conversation regarding interior design, design related blogs, and all things beautiful.
Penelope Bianchi and James Andrew
After our lovely luncheon, we headed to Bianchi’s home for a tour—I’ve seen images of Bianchi’s home on many occasions, but nothing could have prepared me for the actuality! Bianchi’s exquisite eye and a goodly amount of bravura make her home and glorious gardens the most perfect paradise…and all is enlivened by a delightful collection of beasts—from rescue corgi-mixes and cats, to ducks and Belgian Millefleurs d’Uccles chickens!
One of a pair of Madame du Barry sphinxes flanking the entrance to the Bianchi home.
Later, we returned to the Coral Casino where Bianchi and her husband. Adam, graciously treated us to a superb sunset dinner at the elegant upstairs dining room. What a way to end our stay in Santa Barbara. I simply cannot wait to return and see all of these gorgeous people again.
Channeling an old school “Hollywood” vibe, I’m sporting a Tom Ford tangerine silk basket weave “Spencer” jacket and dove grey silk pant, Gucci white cotton voile safari shirt, a silk “Disco Fever” pocket sqaure from Pochette Square, a Le Noeud Papillion orange silk polka dot ascot, Tom Ford “Cyrille” sunglasses, Rolex watch, orange suede tasseled loafers by Etro, and my fragrance is Creed Orange Spice.