The house and gardens were very beautiful, and the tour guide made it all very interesting, pointing out the meaning or history of the various features and art pieces. The tours are limited to I think 10 people, only offered Wednesday and Saturday (at least in December), and you need to book in advance, but in the off season I was able to book the same day.

Pretty home with interesting history to it. They only allow you to be in there for one hour and 30 minutes if I’m not mistaken. Our guide went over every little detail in the home which you may love or may hate as you’re not allowed to wonder off and explore, understandably of course but again I found we did not have the need to know where every single item came from. Maybe if they just gave a general rundown of each room with a little more time to explore I’d go back but for $50 per person? I think you’re better off checking out the Santa Barbara court house which is free. I’d say I wouldn’t go back, not worth the price in my opinion.

We went on this tour not knowing anything about George Fox Steedman (the owner) or George Smith (the architect). Sally was our docent and was extremely knowledgeable about the home and both Georges. Our tour lasted close to two hours and included all the family rooms on the first and second floors, and the servant areas on the first floor. We then moved outside to enjoy the beautiful gardens and George’s workshop. This was a five-star tour. The home is in a neighborhood. Don’t show up early. There is a small parking lot, but because of neighborhood restrictions, the gate isn’t opened up until 10-15 minutes before your tour time and there is nowhere on the grounds to hang out until the tour begins.

Great tour by a knowledgeable volunteer. Beautiful place full of amazing pieces from all over the world and throughout history. I am so impressed with the original owner, a modern day Ben Franklin. We liked it better than Hearst Castle.

The gardens are lovely and the former owner, who took up blacksmithing and iron working in a big way, adorned his home with an array of intriguing dragons. Great fun