This simple, yet elegant home was designed and built for the manager of a horse ranch in Summerland. With great attention to both budget and detail, the home has a clean, modern interior look with a Hawaiian plantation style exterior. To keep costs down, we installed kitchen cabinets from IKEA instead of having them custom made; found a slab of “charcoal mist” granite for the kitchen island that, although no bargain, gave the kitchen a higher end look than anyone could have expected; encouraged the owner to use fiberglass sliding doors to replace the more expensive French doors that were called out on the plans; and, finished the interior with smooth plaster, not the lowest cost treatment, but producing a more luxurious feel throughout the interior of the home. A long-lasting box rib metal roof instead of asphalt shingles adds a look of elegance to the home’s exterior and an element of protection against wildfires. The final project is a well-built residence that surpassed all initial expectations. (Architect: Bill Cooper)