Situated on a skinny lot at the edge of downtown Santa Barbara, California, architect James Gauer’s 1,500-square-foot Brous-Scherer house is an anomaly in a town known for its code-enforced adherence to the Spanish Colonial style.

This 5,200-square-foot house and 960-square-foot pool house sit on an acre overlooking Tabbs Creek, a tributary of the Chesapeake Bay on the Northern Neck of Virginia.