When designer Birgit Klein and her husband decided to create their ideal family home in Montecito, California, the hunt began for land that would allow their vision to take shape, with the perfect combination of lovely views and a central location. “We wanted someplace we could really make our home,” recalls the designer, who leads her own namesake firm, noting the property needed space for a large garden, a lap pool, and a lot of entertaining, not to mention a more than 4,000 square foot home for which she would design the interiors first.
“I built the home from the inside out,” describes the designer, who specifies the importance of light throughout the home, as well as perfect flow among the interior spaces and through to the exterior, as driving forces for the design. “I knew how I wanted to live and how my family lives,” she says. “It’s really all about how one will use a home.” Ultimately, Klein created an inspired plan for year-round indoor/outdoor living, and a home that is at once elevated and comfortable, and perfectly suited to her family. “It’s a place where our children can have their friends over to swim and watch movies, and also a place where we can have our friends over for dinner or a glass of wine. We can enjoy all the things we love doing.”
Klein’s native German roots, as well as the many years she and her husband lived in the United Kingdom, are reflected throughout the home, as is a preference for a mixture of styles and textures, all of which contribute to a home that is richly layered, intensely personal, and eager to be shared. “We wanted to build a home where all elements of our personalities were conveyed and honored,” she explains. “It’s important to incorporate small treasures that have been collected through the years, and to mix the modern with the traditional… to incorporate different design styles and then juxtapose them with each other beautifully.”
The back of the house fully opens, allowing for a seamless transition between indoor and outdoor spaces. “It works so well for us,” Klein says fondly, noting the space accommodates smaller family meals as well as parties up to 100 people. “The doors are pretty much always open, even in the evenings when it’s cooler. We entertain, we cook. Entertaining is very important to us.” In fact, the outdoor living space includes a bar area, a pizza oven, and multiple seating areas, including one gathered around a fire pit. Welcoming seating, whether indoors or out, was selected as much for comfort as for style. “A home, for me, should never feel like a museum or like I can’t sit down,” the designer says. “Every piece of furniture needs to be comfortable, and it needs to have a purpose. There needs to be a reason why you sit in that space.”
And no space in this home is too small to make a statement. The dark and dramatic powder room, for example, is a favorite among Klein’s friends. “We sourced this old sink and built a base out of reclaimed wood,” the designer describes. “Then, we added more contemporary light fixtures and it’s just stunning. It’s like a jewelry box.” Meanwhile, the custom-made bar area, which the designer describes as “the hardest space to design in the whole house,” had a great deal of demands to satisfy. “It needed to be complementary to the kitchen, but not too similar,” Klein explains, “And I wanted a little edge to it too. It needed to be a really spectacular space.”
Such special moments and the very way a home has the potential to make one feel are all part of the design process for Klein. “For me, when I walk into a home, it evokes different feelings and emotions,” she says, stressing the many spaces throughout her home that she considers favorites. “Curling up on the sofa in the family room after a long day is like a warm hug from an old friend. And when I cook in the kitchen, it feels energizing because I usually have people around. A home needs to support all of the emotions. It’s about evoking emotion in whatever I do.”
Photography by Sam Frost Studio.
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