Living The Shipshape Life In Santa Barbara, $4M

by Philip Ferrato

Rebuilt over the course of four years by a father (engineer) and son (carpenter) team, this floating Modernist gem—dubbed the Thomas Jefferson—berthed in Santa Barbara Harbor Marina is one of just four houseboats permitted to remain in the marina after municipal codes were changed. While the marina still permits live-aboard boats, the 2015 ban on future houseboats was part of an effort to keep the working and recreational character of the waterfront intact, and it’s easy to see the appeal of a houseboat in the American Riviera—the Pacific Ocean on one side, the Santa Barbara Mountains on the other, and the city nestled in between.

Photo Credit: Roy Hathon for Sotheby’s International Realty

Aside from the immense porthole window in the kitchen, there are no nautical references (or kitsch) in this straightforward, almost Brutalist, pied-a-mer; the immaculate carpentry is rift oak and not the standard mirror-finished nautical teak. And while the listing ambitiously specifies two bedrooms, the second level is more like an open loft with a spacious bath; the lower level bedroom is currently used as a textile studio.

Go to the listing for additional images and details. An outstanding opportunity to own a never-to-be-repeated Modernist houseboat in one of the world’s most beautiful settings, represented by Patricia Ruben of Sotheby’s International Realty.