A classic Lutah Riggs house gets an infusion of warmth and whimsy from designer | owner Tamra Kaye-Honey
INSPIRE | CREATE | IMPACT
AB Design Studio, Inc. Copyright © 2025
INSPIRE | CREATE | IMPACT
AB Design Studio, Inc. Copyright © 2025
INSPIRE | CREATE | IMPACT
AB Design Studio, Inc. Copyright © 2025
INSPIRE | CREATE | IMPACT
AB Design Studio, Inc. Copyright © 2025
INSPIRE | CREATE | IMPACT
AB Design Studio, Inc. Copyright © 2025
CONTEMPORARY RESIDENTIAL ARCHITECTURE and DESIGN
"Architecture is about more than the program or the aesthetics. It's about accommodating all the different personalities of a Houshold so that the relationships can be supported and everyone can feel successful. Regardless of where we are from or what we do for a living, life is hard. We all need a place to call home, a place that nourishes us."
- Josh Blumer, AIA
Architecture & Design have the power to transform those who invest in it's potential - the ability to elevate the human condition. We draw more than inspiration and delight from well-designed buildings and spaces. Well-conceived Modern Home Design has within it the ingredients that foster deep psychological well-being and provide a foundation and an important tool for navigating the balance between the chaos of the world and the order of a place we can call home... a place to find deep and meaningful resilience, joy and contentment. As the great Architect of the last century, Le Corbusier, proclaimed, "The house is a machine for living.”
Signature design for those who want more than just a building.
Let’s build something great together. AB design studio’s award-winning contemporary houses are full of light and teaming with transparency, creating easy flow between indoors and outdoors. Southern California is where the modern home design took flight, elevated and captured the world’s imagination during the mid-20th century. We honor and draw from that legacy, while embracing all that’s new and possible today. Like many of the California Case Study Architects before us, we seek simple, clean-lined stylistic elegance. We work with cutting edge technology and regionally inspired materials while embracing sustainable design principles and smart-home technology. We are problem-solvers, finding beauty and inspiration in functionality, light and form. We forward a process for deep listening and trust, getting to know how you live... how you want to live! We invest our design process starting with the building site by studying the potential of the topography, setting, climate and how to maximize privacy, drama, views while integrating the proposed built environment with the natural. A newly designed home should give you more than you thought was possible, uniquely tailored to your family, the home should become a vehicle for an enriching and transformative investment for every member of the household. We work with our homeowners and their builders, craftsmen and other design consultants at every step to assure top craftsmanship and make your dreams a reality.
Founded in 2005 by visionary architects Clay Aurell and Josh Blumer, AB design studio is an award-winning full-service luxury residential design firm. AB design studio transforms living experiences by enhancing productivity and fostering inspiration through innovative concepts. We create custom residences that epitomize elegance and sophistication, consistently exceeding expectations and delivering exceptional quality.
At AB design studio, our process, “Listen, Strategize, Create, and Deliver,” ensures your vision is preserved. We pride ourselves on listening carefully and developing designs that reflect our clients' unique aspirations. By reimagining traditional living spaces—cooking, bathing, sleeping, and relaxation - we challenge conventional norms to elevate the living experience. Our commitment to innovative design results in extraordinary environments that inspire and uplift.
Our excellence is recognized by prestigious awards and publications, including the Architizer A+ People's Choice Award and features in Interior Design Magazine, Architectural Record, Architect Magazine, The Riv, Montecito Journal, Design Milk, Dezeen, LA Times, Sunset Magazine, Dwell, ARTRAVEL, Santa Barbara Magazine, and California Home + Design to name a few. Our work has been widely published on-line and, in several books. Most recently AB design studio was prominently featured in the book, New View: A Curated Visual Gallery: Twenty Magnificent Homes by California Architects. AB design studio has been the recipient of many awards and recognition. Our most prized credits come from our client testimonials. These accolades underscore our commitment to design excellence and innovation, solidifying our leadership in architecture and design.
Through our dedicated problem-solving and creative vision, we transform everyday spaces into remarkable places. At AB design studio, we enrich the art and architecture landscape while enhancing the lives of those who live in our spaces. Our thoughtful design approach elevates daily life, with every detail meticulously considered and every vision realized.
ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN THEORY - AB design studio draws from the principles of environmental design in quest to create multidisciplinary project typologies in a collaborative studio environment. This holistic multidisciplinary studio approach is guided by the principles of environmental design theory and practice. Environmental design combines building design with complementary disciplines, interior design, urban planning, landscape design, engineering, lighting design, sonic curation, wayfinding & graphic design, historic preservation, community, and most inescapable the culture and context of each project’s locale. Utilizing innovative techniques and thoughtful use of materials we explore the potential of each design to translate it into practical, responsible, and buildable projects.
“You must go beyond the architect's traditional role. Environmental design modality has you investigating a much broader subject area. It helps validate design ideas and maybe helps you understand how to get to that next level, because you’re connecting the dots.”
- Clay Aurell, AIA
DESIGN VISUALIZATION & A COLLABORATIVE PROCESS - AB design studio brings our projects to life using our unique visualization process. We believe the person with the best idea should always have the pen in their hand. We value both hand-drawing and state-of-the-art digital design software. In fact, each informs the other. Seeing is believing. We believe successful solutions are communicative, tangible and visible. AB design studio brings our projects to life using our unique visualization process. In addition to informing the assumptions in our design, this process produces highly creative and innovative concepts that emerge quickly and efficiently. The end result is a clear picture providing valuable project information that the project team and client can use to present and realize the design with local agencies, decision makers, consultants and builders.
“In our studio, you'll see a lot of hand drawing and sometimes digital 2D work going on. We've found if we spend some time figuring out the design before jumping into the model, we get our bearings, which leads to a better design result.”
- Josh Blumer
COMMITMENT - Design is a service profession. We are committed to design that improves quality of life and makes a difference. We seek out, manage, and combine the elements of our client's programs, budgets and design intentions with today's innovative technologies, smart designs, and simple common sense building practices. We are committed to our clients. We are committed to designing emotive architecture that improves the quality of life and makes a difference. We seek out, manage and combine the elements of our client's programs, budgets and design intentions with today's innovative technologies, smart designs and simple common sense building practices.
“What we're about is doing signature design for people who want more than just the building. We're interested in making a difference in the world through architecture. When we're talking to clients, we're listening to them from a specific point of view: How does this project make a difference? If it’s a family home, how can our design help strengthen their bonds? For a hotel client looking to go beyond a cookie-cutter design, what can we do differently? If it’s a multifamily project, how can we help solve the housing crisis? We always bring something creative to everything we do.”
- Clay Aurell
A classic Lutah Riggs house gets an infusion of warmth and whimsy from designer | owner Tamra Kaye-Honey
Five shipping containers find new purpose as a home in Santa Barbara.
Perched atop a narrow ridge in Montecito, California, the Toro Canyon Residence is one of our favorite projects at AB design studio. It represents what we believe is possible when thoughtful design.
The More Mesa Residence is a masterful transformation of a once tired 1960s California ranch house into a contemporary high-end residence, complete with an accessory dwelling unit (ADU), swimming.
At AB design studio, we pride ourselves on our ability to balance the architectural heritage of the past with the demands of contemporary living. Our project, the Mid-Century Modern Residence,.
Nestled between the majestic Santa Ynez Mountains and the vast expanse of the Pacific Ocean lies a remarkable architectural feat that exemplifies the balance between nature and modern resilient.
AB design studio's forward-thinking residential architecture effortlessly merges interior and exterior spaces, fostering an immersive living experience that transcends traditional boundaries and.
AB design studio's Dedication to Community-Driven Projects is showcased in the spring 2024 edition of Montecito Journal's The Riv magazine.
Discover how AB design studio's complete restoration of the Quarry House project earned its place among California's architectural elite in the pages of New View: 20 Magnificent Homes by California.
Why it's imperative to have an architect on your residential real-estate team while searching and selecting the right property for your future home.
Following a process that establishes goals, identifies a professional team and prioritizes projects leads to successful remodeling done right.
How an architect can work with you to create a master plan that simplifies the strategy for designing and developing your forever home.
QUARRY HOUSE -AB design studio is thrilled to announce that our Quarry House project received the Grand Award in the Renovated or Restored Single House category of this year's Gold Nugget Awards.
AB design studio breathes new life into a dilapidated Montecito home.
A classic Lutah Riggs house gets an infusion of warmth and whimsy from designer | owner Tamra Kaye-Honey
Five shipping containers find new purpose as a home in Santa Barbara.