What We're Looking For
I've looked at so many realtor photos of Santa Fe homes since last fall, and we spent a whole day in January going inside homes, so I am steeped in visions of New Mexico houses.
I've seen so many attractive pueblo type decors and I've gone over tons of floor plan layouts of adobe style homes, picking out what I like, what I think would work for us, and what intrigues me.
I keep coming back to one conclusion: the house I want there is exactly the house we have here.
No matter how cute a casita is or how cozy it looks or how centrally located, I keep gravitating toward newer homes with big windows, high ceilings, new kitchens and open layouts. I want a cohesive neighborhood, clusters of houses that are varied but share a common look.
I want what we have now.
There are many reasons for our move, but one of them was to change our lifestyle dramatically. I wanted a smaller urban house, and it wouldn't matter if there was a garage or lots of storage because we were going to seriously downsize possessions and totally simplify how we live.
Well, I keep looking at those nice casitas, and we toured several with the real estate agent, and they just don't suit.
We can still downsize and we can still have a less complicated life, but I keep seeing us in a house like the one we live in now, only smaller. Not a lot. Just a little smaller.
I want the pueblo style cosmetic touches, but the modern, new amenities of a recently built house.
The Nava Ade development has that and the homes I mark as a "favorite" are all in Nava Ade. There are several models of different sizes, and three different typically regional styles: Pueblo, Territorial and something called Northern New Mexico.
Each has touches that reflect those distinct architectural forms, but basically all of them are standard builder's homes with modern amenities.
They have fireplaces but not kivas, they have ceiling beams, but most don't have the rounded trunk vigas, and depending on what upgrades were selected, they may have standard tile, or even (ugh) carpet, not Saltillo tiles. Many have generic kitchen cabinets and modern counter materials rather than the Talavera tile and wood accents.
But even without all the authenticity of a true Santa Fe home, I like these "pueblo style" newer development homes the best and there is enough of the New Mexican flavor to satisfy me.
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| After all my searching, this is what I like |
I've seen so many attractive pueblo type decors and I've gone over tons of floor plan layouts of adobe style homes, picking out what I like, what I think would work for us, and what intrigues me.
I keep coming back to one conclusion: the house I want there is exactly the house we have here.
No matter how cute a casita is or how cozy it looks or how centrally located, I keep gravitating toward newer homes with big windows, high ceilings, new kitchens and open layouts. I want a cohesive neighborhood, clusters of houses that are varied but share a common look.
 |
| Pueblo style touches, but nothing overtly adobe style |
There are many reasons for our move, but one of them was to change our lifestyle dramatically. I wanted a smaller urban house, and it wouldn't matter if there was a garage or lots of storage because we were going to seriously downsize possessions and totally simplify how we live.
Well, I keep looking at those nice casitas, and we toured several with the real estate agent, and they just don't suit.
We can still downsize and we can still have a less complicated life, but I keep seeing us in a house like the one we live in now, only smaller. Not a lot. Just a little smaller.
 |
| Open floor plans keep attracting me |
The Nava Ade development has that and the homes I mark as a "favorite" are all in Nava Ade. There are several models of different sizes, and three different typically regional styles: Pueblo, Territorial and something called Northern New Mexico.
Each has touches that reflect those distinct architectural forms, but basically all of them are standard builder's homes with modern amenities.
They have fireplaces but not kivas, they have ceiling beams, but most don't have the rounded trunk vigas, and depending on what upgrades were selected, they may have standard tile, or even (ugh) carpet, not Saltillo tiles. Many have generic kitchen cabinets and modern counter materials rather than the Talavera tile and wood accents.
 |
| Pueblo style touches, but newer houses |
But even without all the authenticity of a true Santa Fe home, I like these "pueblo style" newer development homes the best and there is enough of the New Mexican flavor to satisfy me.
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