Beachy Beauty on Tour
This Beachy Home is part of the Carpinteria Home & Garden Tour
Address: 349 Ash Avenue
Status: Not for sale
Carpinteria is, first and foremost, a beach town. Whether you’re strolling down Linden Avenue during the Thursday Farmers’ Market, sipping a cold beer at Island Brewing at sunset, or riding your bike to the Friends of the Library on a Saturday morning, the beach vibe is strong. Even in the Carpinteria foothills and flower fields, all eyes are on the beach and all roads lead to the ocean.
When I was given the summary of the five houses to be featured in the upcoming Carpinteria Beautiful Home & Garden Tour, I knew right away that I wanted to visit the beach-inspired “little gem” on Ash Avenue. The blue-and-white awning of its outdoor living room and its alfresco surfboard shower spoke to my beach-loving, California-girl spirit. Plus, I was intrigued by the recent transformation of this home from its original drab mobile-home-brown interior to its current showplace status. Who doesn’t love a good “before and after” story?
So, I headed down Linden, turned right at The Spot, and kept going until I hit the Silver Sands Mobile Home Park. Homeowners Chris and Ron have completely reimagined this home: moving walls, opening up the living area, and creating a truly spectacular luxury pad inside and out.
The front steps lead up to a huge outdoor deck, with separate seating and dining areas, louvered awnings overhead, and a cleverly designed railing that offers complete privacy. With gorgeous mountain views in one direction and palm trees pointing to the “World’s Safest Beach” just one block away in the other, this is beach living at its finest.
Inside, the bright kitchen with Carrara marble counters, a farmhouse sink, gourmet appliances, and a soapstone-topped island is open to the dining and living room. Cathedral ceilings and walls of windows add to the airy, expansive feel. In the living room, the focus is on the white stacked stone fireplace. It turns out that the fireplace is the only structural element in the front half of the house that wasn’t either raised, moved, or removed when the house was renovated.
As we walked farther into the house, Chris and Ron continued to point out changes. A hallway and side exterior door were eliminated to create a larger bathroom that connects to both the guest bedroom and the main hallway, in a Jack and Jill style. The washer and dryer hide discreetly behind folding closet doors.
The master suite can only be described as enormous. One wall was pushed back, and new windows were installed. This classy bedroom is far bigger than one expects to see in a manufactured home. The master bath is spacious, with a double vanity and glass-enclosed shower, as well as a custom-tiled floor and walls that continue the ocean feel.
The exterior of the home is as impressive as the inside. Big vegetable beds lie in the back, roses in the front, and behind the large front deck lies a separate backyard area with seating and a barbecue, plus high-tech artificial turf that lets the two resident wheaten terriers use it just like real grass. This is where you’ll find the outdoor shower, with a surfboard as the backdrop, and an adjustable-height shower head, convenient for both humans and canines.
On the other side of the home, where one would expect to find the typical storage shed that accompanies most mobile homes, sits an extra-large outbuilding that’s been outfitted as an office. A bright-yellow screen door seems a fitting pop of color for this surprising building. A white gate connects the office to the main house and keeps the yard fully fenced so the dogs can roam freely.
There’s so much to appreciate about the transformation of this home, with dozens of details inside and out. Chris and Ron showed me their before-and-after video, which is mesmerizing. If you ask nicely during the home tour, they just might share it.
In addition to this beachy beauty on Ash Avenue, the tour will feature four other homes of different sizes and styles in various Carpinteria neighborhoods. From a farmhouse in the foothills to a kid-friendly remodel, a Concha Loma classic, and a gated retreat at Rincon Point, this self-guided tour has a little bit of everything. Get yourself down to Carpinteria next weekend, and pack your sunscreen and beach chair while you’re at it.
Tickets are $35 and are available at carpinteriabeautiful.org. After a disaster-related cancellation last year, this year’s Carpinteria Beautiful Home & Garden Tour will be held on Saturday, April 27, from 11 a.m.-5 p.m.
