The Presidio Motel – Santa Barbara.

The Presidio Motel in downtown Santa Barbara, California is brimming with new life thanks to the vision of owners Chris Sewell and his wife Kenny Osehan. Chris tells me this place was quite a dive when they first purchased it—complete with burgundy carpet, quacky duck art, tacky wallpaper and rooms sold by the hour and week. This speaks a great deal of how much they have terrifically overhauled this property.

Each room is fresh and playful, uniquely decked out with vinyl wall installations. These bold illustrative graphics were created by Kat Trajano and Stephanie Mansolf. At the time they were recent graduates from the University of California, Santa Barbara Arts Department. Kat and Stephanie were largely given free reign but with the requirement that guests be able to rest comfortably in these environs. So the graphics could not be too intrusive. Minimal design touches throughout ground these spaces quite nicely. And I really like the clean and consistent branding, from logo design to exterior signage to interiors. Logo and web design by Warren Schultheis (aka The Graphic Vendor).

The renovated Presidio Motel has been a hit and prompted Chris and Kenny to purchase and renovate a sister property one mile up the street named the Agave Inn. Promotional shots of the exterior are shown above. Chris describes this second motel as having a “Mexican Pop” vibe. See for yourself, check out the rooms.

Come November, Chris and Kenny embark on yet another project. I’m told to envision traditional quirky Danish windmills meets Modern. Can’t wait to see the results. In the interim, if you find yourself traveling to the Santa Barbara area, consider making reservations at one of the beautifully eclectic properties featured above, both located on State Street downtown.

Presidio Motel | Agave Inn
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