What I Like
The pictures here are of other people's furniture and decor, since we don't own this house yet, and the photos are from the listing. I have to use my imagination to see my own stuff in the house, but here are the things I am looking forward to in our new home in Santa Fe:
Tile floors throughout.
There is no carpet, no wood. The tiles have lovely blue insets in various places, so I want to limit the use of rugs and let the soft terra cotta with occasional bits of blue decoration show.
The kitchen.
It is so outdated it is retro, kind of.
Neither Jim nor I like highly designed kitchens. We are not fans of granite counters or big islands, modern white or stainless steel, barstools or elegant touches. We like neutral Corian counters, warm colors, and unlike almost everyone we know, white appliances. Jim, who does all our cooking, views it as a true work area, not a show place. This kitchen has plenty of light, plain materials, and I like the saturated cinnamon-orange wall. This is a simple kitchen.
No stairs.
No steps up into the house or down to the patio, and no second floor. It's all flat, all integrated with the outside, all one floor.
Wall colors.
Every room has painted walls in reds and oranges and yellows (the master bedroom, not pictured, is sage green). This is not everyone's cup of tea, and in fact many dislike it, but as anyone knows who has seen my house here with its navy blue and sunflower yellow walls, I do love intense color on the walls.
A fireplace.
In fact two, since the fireplace is open on two sides to the living room and to the dining room. We haven't had one in our current house, and I have missed having fires.
No lawn.
Not a bit. No fertilizing, mowing, watering or edging to be done. No green swath of anything, it's all hardscape, mulch and sand or pebbles.
I'm trying to picture my own furniture here and I'm struggling not to see other people's things in these photos, but there are so many things I like about our new house in Santa Fe.
Soon enough. The movers will be here in a few weeks.
Tile floors throughout.
There is no carpet, no wood. The tiles have lovely blue insets in various places, so I want to limit the use of rugs and let the soft terra cotta with occasional bits of blue decoration show.
-- but will the house be echo-ey or too cold with all tile and limited rugs?
The kitchen.
It is so outdated it is retro, kind of.
Neither Jim nor I like highly designed kitchens. We are not fans of granite counters or big islands, modern white or stainless steel, barstools or elegant touches. We like neutral Corian counters, warm colors, and unlike almost everyone we know, white appliances. Jim, who does all our cooking, views it as a true work area, not a show place. This kitchen has plenty of light, plain materials, and I like the saturated cinnamon-orange wall. This is a simple kitchen.
-- but will there be enough storage and is the space going to be workable?
No stairs.
No steps up into the house or down to the patio, and no second floor. It's all flat, all integrated with the outside, all one floor.
-- but we sacrifice any view of the mountains around us, we're too low to see the hills beyond.
Wall colors.
Every room has painted walls in reds and oranges and yellows (the master bedroom, not pictured, is sage green). This is not everyone's cup of tea, and in fact many dislike it, but as anyone knows who has seen my house here with its navy blue and sunflower yellow walls, I do love intense color on the walls.
-- but it does limit decorating choices. I'll have to work with that. There's a lot of orange.
A fireplace.
In fact two, since the fireplace is open on two sides to the living room and to the dining room. We haven't had one in our current house, and I have missed having fires.
-- but it's not gas, its wood burning. More authentic, but much messier.
No lawn.
Not a bit. No fertilizing, mowing, watering or edging to be done. No green swath of anything, it's all hardscape, mulch and sand or pebbles.
-- but Jim will miss his his John Deere riding mower and I will miss the cool greenery I have grown up with. A little.
I'm trying to picture my own furniture here and I'm struggling not to see other people's things in these photos, but there are so many things I like about our new house in Santa Fe.
Soon enough. The movers will be here in a few weeks.
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