Make Myself at Home: Mesa Mania

There must be a special moniker for those who live in Santa Barbara’s Mesa neighborhood. Mesa Maniacs? People who live on the Mesa love the Mesa. The allure might have something to do with their microclimate. Mesa dwellers sit nice and cool under their proprietary layer of fog when the rest of the city’s temperatures soar in the sunshine. The draw could also be due to their pristine beach proximity. Sets of stairs from nondescript Mesa streets lead down the cliffs to secluded coves. Mesa-ites are quick to point out that the Mesa has its own neighborhood-named Mesa Café, Mesa Burger, Mesa Barbers, and even a Mesa Bookstore. This self-contained burg is split into several micro-neighborhoods, including the flat, beachside portion closest to the Mesa Lane Steps, bordered by Cliff Drive on the north and west and Meigs Road on the east.

It was in this zone that I visited a charming house at 330 Mohawk Road last week. While most of the rest of the city was filled with smoke and ash, the Mesa, especially near the beach, was a cool, clear respite.

A white picket fence surrounds the front yard, with a palm tree in one corner, drought-tolerant landscape along the curb, and just enough grassy lawn for kids or pets to play. The house sits on a corner lot, so it almost has two front yards, facing both Mohawk and Elise Way. As I walked in and started to look around, I realized that the street-facing yards were only part of the home’s outdoor living space.