The Owner, a Hollywood producer, was fanatical in his desire for an authentic Spanish Colonial Revival Hacienda.  He purchased the 200-acre Spanish land grant ranch from the original owner’s estate, making him only the second owner.  Shortly after he purchased the property, a fire burned the original house designed by architect John Byers.  The Owner, wanting to preserve as much of the original ranch as possible chose to rebuild on the original footprint, albeit, with a larger square footage and far more extravagant detailing.  In his words the Owner, “hoped to create a design that would help inspire a rebirth of the authentic Spanish Colonial Revival”.  The area is naturally prone to fires so that mitigating the danger of fire as much of possible was a major concern in the design. 

The Owner’s extensive knowledge of the Style and the intensity of his participation lead to a project with an exceptional level of detail.  Examples of the Owner’s perfectionism included making sure the rooms were sized so accurately that not a single tile had to be cut.  The Owner was involved in every aspect of the design.  Although the Owner retained final say on all design decisions, he also consulted with everyone he considered an expert on the Style so that the final result was the result of an extremely intense and collaborative process.

The program called for a residence almost five times the original structure, challenging the architect to maintain its original charm and scale.