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winter
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spr ing
In the nave, what they found was a garden bench carved out of Carrera
marble and a pair of marble urns on stone pedestals.
Final Details
All the concrete pathways were “aged” by spreading organic material
– leaves and earth – on them and watering them so that within weeks they
looked like they’ve been there for 80 years. “We wet it down every day and
let them dry and age and sprinkled them with water to get them moldy
and scummy,” Ray informs. “After a month, we took them off. That’s all
it took.” All the lighting outside is LED and the systems to control it were
designed by Ray.
Peter designed the moldings on the front of the building, had
them installed, and then treated them with acid and stain. “It raises the
aggregate in the concrete to make them look like the cast pieces that were
done in the 1920s,” Peter explains.
The wine cellar and separate wine cellar dining room in the
belowground level allows for inspection of the impressive steel and concrete
construction underneath the house. Once finished, the wine cellar, which
will include a scanner to control inventory, will hold up to 3,900 bottles and
is to be serviced by an elevator accessible to all the floors. The movie theater,
also below ground, will have a 16 ft cinemascope screen with stadium
seating; each row will be 18” higher than the next.
The swimming pool will be supplied by a well, with 20,000 gallons of
water available for fire protection. Down here too are extra thick walls for
the construction of a recording studio; Ray continues to write music as an
avocation.
There is a computerized inventory control system in the bowels of the
basement that will monitor everything from circuit breakers, switches, and
sprinkler head nozzles, to toilet flapper valves, toilet paper, canned goods,
backup water supply, and more.
A whole-house reverse osmosis water system allows for the option to
use either Montecito Water District water or its own well. Ray and Peter
excavated the basement space, put in gravel with French drains to the
outside, added three layers of plastic, more gravel, then had waterproof
high-density concrete poured on top so that no moisture can come up.
There is absolutely no dampness or smell down there.
As implied at the beginning of this article, this Reginald Johnson
treasure is indeed being renovated specifically for someone of deep-
pocketed means in mind, but whether Ray and Peter sell it or decide
to make it their home, whoever inhabits it will revel in the comfort of
knowing that the structure’s distinguished designer and its noble pedigree
have been honored.
Ray Winn
retired from EG&G after 21 years, having held
positions from electrical engineer to Chief of Staff for the
Executive Vice-President and managed up to 14,000 people
engaged in nuclear weapons design and testing, high-energy
physics, and remote-site construction of technical, housing,
and research facilities. He founded Advanced Semiconductor
Products, Inc. in 1978 and sold the company to DuPont in 1989.
He is currently engaged in the invention of high-tech products,
property management, and home renovations. He has lived, or
had an office, in the Santa Barbara area off and on since 1957,
and moved to Montecito in 1995.
Peter Kavoian
earned an MBA from Long Beach University at
the age of 20, worked for Burroughs, AMP, Sprague Electric and
Unitrode managing sales forces in the Western states and Europe.
Since 1994 he has been actively involved in the design of new
and remodeled custom homes, having remodeled or built some
forty high-end residences. He received the Pearl Chase Award for
best mid-century remodel, and the Santa Barbara Contractor’s
Award for best design in 2007. He currently co-owns several
apartment buildings in Long Beach and has, since 1995, with
partner Ray Winn, purchased ten commercial buildings the pair
operate and manage. They also founded Geronimo restaurant in
Santa Fe, New Mexico in 1990 and sold it a few years ago. Peter
moved to Montecito in 1995. Kavoian & Associates, Inc. is a
professional design firm that provides full residential services;
drawings from design to permit, landscape, and interior design.
Peter can be reached at www.kavoian.com or his mobile at 805-
448-6780. For the ‘tech stuff’, call Ray at 805-455-2595.
EAL ESTATES