NM2007 - Shopping - New Mexico Living

The majestic mountains and mesas are breathtaking, but some of the most intriguing lines of New Mexico's landscape lie in its architecture. And, like the formidable Sangre de Cristo peaks, no two New Mexico houses are the same.

The adobe home — fashioned with bricks of sun-baked mud, clay, and sand — has become synonymous with "Santa Fe style," coined in the early 1900s by a group of architects, archaeologists, artists, writers, and politicians intent on creating an authentic regional architecture.

The group's Plan of 1912 established a "New-Old Santa Fe" style that became known as Pueblo-Spanish Revival. Blending elements of traditional Pueblo techniques and forms with architectural styles brought by the Spanish in the 1700s, the Pueblo-Spanish Revival style continues to flourish.

Today, Santa Fe's architecture is celebrated around the world for its elements — low, long adobe structures that hug the earth with thick, softly contoured walls plastered with mud and topped with flat roofs.

Striking exterior details include long portales (covered porches supported by columns); canales (protruding drain spouts); shady zaguans (covered passageways linking the spaces of a house); placitas (inner courtyards); and wooden windows and gates. Doors and gates are often painted blue, as according to an old superstition, the color wards off evil spirits — many believed blue represented the Virgin Mary's cloak.

Inside adobe walls, the typical New Mexico home is steeped in tradition, from walls washed in warm colors to ceilings supported by heavy, hand-hewn logs (vigas). Early floors were dirt-packed, but this gave way to pine, brick, flagstone, and tile. The smooth, rounded shapes of corner fireplaces (kivas) complement arched wall indentations (nichos) originally used to display religious icons. Softly curving bancos (adobe benches) are built directly onto walls.

Traditional décor includes rugs and blankets, painted wooden carvings of saints (bultos), Native American pottery, baskets, and jewelry. New Mexico furniture pairs well with traditional art, as it combines elements of Hispano, Native American, and Anglo-American design.

Gardens feature irises, tulips, hollyhocks, and sunflowers. Orchards of fruit trees abound, as do corn, squash, and other vegetables. Arched gateways, sloping adobe walls, brightly colored fences, portales, and vibrant murals painted onto exterior walls often enhance the natural beauty.

In early spring, the air is scented by blooming lilacs, initially brought to the region by New Mexico's first Archbishop, Jean Baptiste Lamy, from his native France sometime during the mid to late 1800s. In late summer, fragrant apricot trees bear abundant fruit, while autumn turns aspen leaves a brilliant shade of gold.

New Mexico will introduce you to a special way of living. There's a reason why Santa Fe was dubbed The City Different, and it applies equally to New Mexico as a whole.

A True Spanish Revival

On Santa Fe's Museum Hill, the Museum of Spanish Colonial Art occupies a former home designed in 1930 by architect John Gaw Meem, who pioneered the Pueblo-Spanish Revival style. This handsome adobe, which underwent renovation in order to showcase exhibitions, is a veritable architectural treasure, with thick vigas, shady portales, and rambling corridors.

Meem's masterpiece provides an ideal setting in which to view objects from the Spanish Colonial Art Society's 3,000-piece collection. Launched in 1925 by a group of Santa Feans devoted to Spanish Colonial art, culture, and history, the society has amassed an impressive collection dating from the 16th century to the present day.
Information: 750 Camino Lejo, Santa Fe. (505) 982-2226