Santa Barbara Magazine covers Birgit Klein's transformation of Amara Ranch over the past year. Klein explains, "I grew up in Munich and spent a lot of time in Austria...So I've always been drawn to fields and mountains, and for years I've wanted to design ranches."

Lorie Dewhirst Porter writes, "Although Montecito remains Klein's primary home and business locale, the acquisition of Amara Ranch ... has enabled Klein to demonstrate another aspect of her design skills. "I wanted to show you can do a lot of things up here," she says. "It doesn't always have to be this very traditional old ranch-style home. It's much more, a little bit of an edge, but it has atmosphere. It has depth that's richly layered, which is what I love, but with clean lines."

Klein also discuses future aspirations for the property, as well as existing and upcoming projects.

Please find the full article in the September issue of Santa Barbara Magazine.

Article written by Lorie Dewhirst Porter and photographs by Madeline Tolle