Home, sweet floating home
One-of-a-kind design by architect C.J. Paone
By Nancy Ransohoff
Photography by Kurt Jordan
A stroll along Santa Barbara Harbor offers stunning ocean and mountain views punctuated by bobbing sailboats with soaring masts, fishing boats, kayakers, standup paddleboarders, and maybe a few sea lions hanging out on buoys. But what’s that wood-clad structure that looks like a dwelling sitting on top of the water? That’s exactly right — it’s a floating home.
The longtime local curiosity is now a sleek, comfortable, and livable home. Owner Jeff Wapner grew up in Santa Barbara as an avid surfer and sailor. He left after high school to study in Colorado, later living in Australia, New Zealand, Oregon, Washington, New York City, and Los Angeles. He then decided to move back to Santa Barbara to live close to the water and to his parents.
Location, location, location
“When I decided to return to Santa Barbara, I knew I wanted to live close to the ocean,” says Wapner. “I was looking at all sorts of options when I discovered the floating home that was originally built in the early ’70s and was on the market. The concept of not having to drive to access some of my passions — sailing, surfing, and cycling — was extremely enticing to me. The stars aligned and this vision became my reality.”
After living in the home for about a year, Wapner, a professional finish carpenter, wanted to add a third-story sleeping loft (the home has one bedroom), but after some preliminary work, he discovered extensive termite damage and improper framing. At this point, he turned for guidance to his longtime friend and Ventura-based architect C.J. Paone, owner and principal architect of Archipelago Workshop, a full-service architectural studio founded in 2003. Beginning with sketches in 2016, Paone spent the next five or so years on conceptual design iterations and development and technical drawings for a full water-up renovation of the home.
But before any interior work could begin, the exterior had to be rebuilt and the home’s buoyancy shored up, as the structure was also found to be slowly sinking. Fortunately, Wapner’s father, a retired electrical engineer, was on board to work on the project with him.
Father and son
“One kind of fun fact is that a houseboat has motors and can propel itself,” says Wapner. “A floating home does not have any form of self-propulsion.” So the dwelling was towed to Ventura Harbor Boatyard, where father and son worked on it seven long days a week for about nine months — a true labor of love.
Paone, who lives in Ventura, visited the job site frequently. “Jeff and his dad redid all the framing, using durable building systems such as SIPs [structural insulated panels], heavy steel moment frames, and a foundation of industrial-grade piping and foam for buoyancy,” he says. “It was important to use materials that would not get termites and could handle the humidity and harshness of the weather. There is very little wood except for the exterior siding. We like the idea of the wood weathering over time — it patinas nicely without much treatment.”
The home was towed back to Santa Barbara Harbor in December of 2019 to begin work on the 1,400-square-foot shell of an interior. Needless to say, efficient use of space was key in the redesign, which retained the original footprint.
Rooms with a view
Paone sums up an overarching challenge of the project: “How do you let the harbor in while maintaining some level of privacy in an otherwise super public location?” That’s one of the reasons the side facing the promenade has no windows.
“Living in the harbor is like living in a fishbowl,” says Wapner. “I’m very close to neighbors, but because of the insulation and the tint on the windows I can remain pretty anonymous. It’s a very form-driven design. I was limited to a strict footprint of 20 feet by 40 feet, and trying to optimize that space while still doing something that was interesting to me design-wise was one of the many challenges.”
The aesthetic throughout is a blend of contemporary and earthy, imbued with warmth from natural textured fabrics and highlights of burlwood, mahogany, and brass. Furnishings are a combination of custom pieces crafted by the homeowner, vintage finds, and works by local artists. “Ultimately you have to make it comfortable and a place you want to be,” says Paone. “That’s Architecture 101.”
And as with any home, orientation is important. The bow of the structure faces south, with a water-level deck in the stern. Entering from the dock on the port side, an immediate focal point is a monolithic white oak staircase to the second level. The entry also provides artfully executed storage for sports equipment, including a floating oak and copper rack for surfboards.
On the second floor, the kitchen’s serene tones in white oak cabinetry and marble countertops allow the views to take center stage. Windows, including an oversized rectangle and a playful porthole, frame views of La Cumbre Peak. The bedroom sits at the bow with high windows that allow for privacy while also offering vistas of sailboat masts and palm trees.
These days, Wapner keeps his creative juices flowing while working in his first-level artist studio fabricating one-of-a-kind tote bags from sailboat sails combined with salvaged Japanese and other denim pieces, on Instagram @jwap.
“It’s incredibly peaceful,” says Wapner. “One of my favorite times, especially during this time of year, is golden hour when the mountains glow purple. It’s just beautiful. And sunrises are pure magic.”
