As you approach the city, a blue sea of mountains, rolling in the distance, draws you in closer and closer.
With its world-class galleries, high-end real estate and a vibrant dining scene, Santa Fe is the ideal home away from home for many North Texans. The capital of New Mexico feels more like a small town - with around 80,000 permanent residents, though it swells a bit seasonally with tourists.
Santa Fe is the perfect combination of history and fantasy - where ancient missions look on silently as rosy sunsets bleed into peaches and oranges. Santa Fe is all about color and light.
While exteriors seem cohesive, due to strict building codes that specify adobe architecture, when you enter through the front door, there is no telling what you might find. Adobe lends itself to almost anything and works just as well with modern furnishings as it does with antique finds and more traditional Southwestern styles.
The Raven
This unique store, filled with impressive consignments along with antique and architectural details, is a delight to explore. Kateryna Vanheisch's collection is expansive. You could get lost in her 10,000-square-foot showroom, showcasing everything from funky to refined décor, for hours.
"We offer a full array of design services to our clients and have been serving the Santa Fe area for 15 years," says Vanheisch. The Raven is an explosion of color, and it sparkles with lighting options dangling overhead. The showroom also has two outdoor garden sections with bubbling fountains and interesting metal works.
1225 Cerrillos Road
Santa Fe, New Mexico 87505
505.988.4775
Jeff Littrell
Interior designer Jeff Littrell expertly edits and blends a curated mix from multiple centuries. His showroom has several vignettes to explore, ranging from casual to elegant. Littrell describes it as "eclectic and continental" as he focuses on special antique finds in his cohesive designs.
"I have repeat clients from New York to Palm Beach and from Florence to Paris. My projects really vary," he says. Using his showroom as a springboard to better understand his clients" design sensibilities, he says, "I try to facilitate my client's own taste, rather than rubber-stamping my personal aesthetic on their home."
1222 Flagman Way
Santa Fe, New Mexico 87505
404.372.1038
Samuel Design Group
Owner and Santa Fe native Lisa Samuel offers clients a full range of design services from interior to landscape, along with her team. Samuel coined the phrase, "feelosophy" because she says, "every space evokes an emotion." In fact, that is how Samuel Design Group discerns when they have successfully hit their mark on a project - when it affects the client's attitude or mood.
The eclectic and modern showroom is filled with bold and inspiring pieces that some clients choose to incorporate directly into their home design. In it you will find rich colors alongside industrial pieces, found objects and African artwork.
607 Cerrillos Road, Suite A
Santa Fe, New Mexico 87505
505.820.0239
Hunt Modern
The focus here is on 20th-century design elements, turning a decidedly modern corner in rustic Santa Fe. Hunt Modern's Lauren and Brad Hunt have made acquiring these statement pieces their mission. "We procure elements for our design clients from auctions around the world," says Lauren Hunt.
The showroom is stocked with eye-catching pieces by noteworthy early and midcentury designers. "It seems Santa Fe has been stuck in a Pueblo-Revival mindset for decades. Spanish architecture has long been a great backdrop for modern furnishings. We enjoy introducing modernism to the area," Hunt says.
428 Sandoval St.
Santa Fe, New Mexico 87501
505.930.5321
House of Ancestors
The husband-and-wife team of James Russell Godman Jr. and Theresa Bohn purveys a collection of furnishings from Latin American to Shaker, along with folk art and native ceramic pieces. Godman has this in his blood, as his mother owned an antique store while he was growing up in the Midwest.
"We shop the Americas and carry items from New England to Peru. Although there is always something new. We just added a splash of French and Swedish finds to the store," Godman says. After many years in New York State, he opened House of Ancestors in Santa Fe about six years ago, and it is one of the only independently owned antique shops in town.
1219 Cerrillos Road
Santa Fe, New Mexico 87505
505.490.2653