••• El Hogar, architect George Washington Smith’s first house—at 240 Middle Road in Montecito—is for rent for $15,000 a month. (It has been listed for sale at $4.5 million for a while now.) He designed the place as his own house/studio; it has a ton of character and a fabulous brick-paved backyard.
••• From Geoff Alexander of Berkshire Hathaway: “Netflix is looking for an ultra-modern home, ideally with modern formal garden, for a movie to be shot in spring of 2020.” Email him if you’re intrigued.
••• Kendall Conrad (accessories and jewelry) has bailed on the Montecito Country Mart.
••• That big pile of rocks on Hot Springs Road in Montecito, just above the Olive Mill intersection (how about a traffic circle there?), might finally be going somewhere.
••• It’s always exciting when a geodesic-dome house comes on the market. Behold 5621 W. Camino Cielo ($1.32 million)—there are no good exteriors, but the front door and interiors are fun.
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