Come With Me to Santa Fe! Food, Luxury Homes, and Art

SN and I recently had the pleasure of attending the ARTsmart Art of Home tour in Santa Fe. Sponsored by Keller Williams Realty, it's an annual, free event that combines art from local galleries with luxury homes for sale. This year, the event fell on the same weekend as Santa Fe Restaurant Week, pairing two of my greatest loves, houses and food. How could we possibly resist?

If you're considering visiting New Mexico, be sure to add the ARTsmart Art of Home tour and Santa Fe Restaurant Week to your travel itinerary, if at all possible. We always drive up from Albuquerque for the Santa Fe Parade of Homes every summer, even though we think it's overpriced...but maybe not anymore because this was so much better.

At one of the homes, we were thanked because attending this event supports local school children...but probably only if you buy some artwork, right? And...we didn't. You know what will help set things right though? An awesome blog post to spread the word for ARTsmart! 

That's right, nifty reader. By visiting my site right now, you are actively helping to educate the children of Santa Fe, NM. Give yourself a pat on the back.

Each of the 6 fabulous homes you're about to virtually tour is currently available for sale. Oh, and at the end of this post is a reader-favorite, a Sexy Nerd Quote of the Day. It's a funny one.

Let's get started!

1150 Canyon Rd ($1,325,000 for 2,524 sq. ft.)

You know I chose this outfit because I thought it looked "artsy".

The first home on our blog tour is located steps from the many art galleries of Canyon Road, which is a must-do for anyone visiting Santa Fe. It's one of 5 residential condos that actually used to be part of the Manderfield School, built in 1927. You were wondering why your new million-dollar home says Manderfield across the top, right?

This was actually our second visit to this property. Each time, I've been stunned by the natural light. How did they turn a dilapidated school into this?

SN gave me a bit of a scare here. When I remarked that you don't get a lot of house for your money when you live on Canyon Road, he not only insisted that it's worth the price because of the location, he said that we work hard so if a million dollars is what he has to spend to live where he wants, then a million dollars is what he is going to spend. He's not willing to live a few blocks away just to save a few hundred thousand dollars.

He's going to be expensive when we retire, isn't he?

92 Avenida de las Casas ($2,750,000 for 7,675 sq. ft.)

We admired the unique fireplace and artwork in this dining room, though the chandelier/ceiling fan gave us a laugh. 

There's a hot tub right off the master bedroom. 

This entryway alone is more breathtaking than most entire houses, including mine. 

Couldn't you just spend the rest of your life lounging by this pool, enjoying the gorgeous New Mexico weather? 

A wet bar dates most homes and is usually an excuse for a remodel, but I'd be happy to make an exception for this one.

3304 Monte Sereno ($2,100,000 for 4,128 sq. ft)

I've never seen a light fixture like this. (And we just built our custom dream home - I've seen all the light fixtures.)

Our master bedroom isn't small, but I'm pretty sure you could fit 3 of ours in here. 

Even the walk-in closet has a coved ceiling with vigas. 

This has me dreaming of all the places in our new home where I should have included a window seat.

 For me, the part of this home was the artwork on the back patio. It's a statue by my favorite artist, Jill Shwaiko. Her work is inspired by petroglyphs of big horn sheep. When you plan your visit to Santa Fe, be sure to include a stop at her Indigo Gallery in Madrid, NM.

1005 Paseo Barranca ($2,250,000 for 9,100 sq. ft.)

My husband and I are home tour enthusiasts, thinking nothing of traveling to another state for a good Parade of Homes. It's so much fun! We've probably toured thousands of luxury homes - and this house is one of the most unusual ones we have ever visited.

The balcony I'm standing on? It overlooks the pool room, which is indoors. It used to contain an actual indoor pool, which has since been filled in. Now it contains a pool table.

The homeowners have moved to Florida and are currently offering this home as a rental. It's popular for large gatherings, including weddings and family reunions. 

The style of the house is a bit...confused. It started life as a somewhat normal home, then was added onto...and then was added onto again...and again.

There are some stunningly beautiful details, like these antique wooden doors and this pot that has been converted into a sink.

  

There are modern light fixtures and contemporary sinks scattered randomly throughout. I'd like to buy this house just to be able to rip all that out.

When building our dream home, our plans were delayed while I sought out a surprisingly elusive quatrefoil window. This house has several of them!

401 E Alameda ($1,300,000 for 2,011 sq. ft)

This is the sort of hacienda Airbnb dreams are made of. Saturated with charming Southwestern style, it's steps from the Santa Fe River Park (hence the hefty price tag) and can be used as a single family home or up to two vacation rentals.   

This is exactly the look I'm going for in our own master bedroom - a dark, cozy cocoon. It was such a welcome surprise to see this in real life, as my SN has been unconvinced. (He likes to bring up the time I painted my closet ceiling black - and frantically painted over it immediately after.) Now he understands the snug vibe I'm envisioning.

Considering this adobe house is on the smaller side, you get a surprisingly ample kitchen. The plaster nicho is crying out for a more substantial piece of art.

The concrete counter has inlaid turquoise! How amazing is that?

I think I'm going to borrow this idea for the outdoor kitchen we are designing. That's the best part of home tours - finding inspiration that improves your own home.

I'd also like to paint my doors to match this one. Curse my lack of artistic skills!

  

841 Vista Canada ($1,800,000 for 4,921 sq. ft.)

  

This was the stop on the ARTsmart Art of Home tour that made my jaw drop. Can you believe that enormous glass skylight? The wood beams are such a nice touch.

Just when you thought this house couldn't wow you further, there's a charming patio right off the kitchen.

An amazing indoor patio. I could have stayed in this room all day if you-know-who hadn't kept pulling me out. He said it would be miserably hot in the summer. On the cool, overcast day we visited, it was heaven.

My #1 most beloved feature in a house is an indoor/outdoor vibe. I would buy this one in a heartbeat if I lived in Santa Fe.

(And, you know, if I had an extra 1.8 million dollars laying around.)

That concludes our Santa Fe home tour. 

But wait, there's more! (Bonus points if you read that in the voice of an infomercial announcer.)

After visiting the final home, we stopped at Plaza Cafe Southside to sample their Santa Fe Restaurant Week menu. At only $15 for 3 courses, it was quite the bargain.

We enjoyed sharing fried calamari and chile con queso. (Spellcheck insists it should be 'chili' con queso. That's not how we do things here in New Mexico. This is queso made with our beloved green chile.)

Avocado tacos with quinoa, sesame, and poppy seeds. Amazing!

For dessert, we got slightly carried away and ordered the two desserts that were included with our prix fixe meal, plus a third.

The coconut cream pie and quatro leches cupcake were good, especially after I took the pie home and drizzled the heck out of it with salted caramel and chocolate syrups. The red velvet flan, above, was our favorite.

Oh, you also ordered food to go, you think. How considerate of you, bringing a meal back for your parents.

No...this is how much food we had leftover. I love Plaza Cafe Southside! (The avocado tacos taste even better the next day, by the way.)

Now for that "Sexy Nerd Quote of the Day" I promised you.

Him: Hey, you didn't eat your celery.

He steals my food right off my plate, takes a big bite, and instantly makes a face.

Me: That's a green onion.

 He's so ridiculous, that SN of mine.

For more Santa Fe travel tips and must-do ideas, check out one of my all-time favorite posts, The Grump Goes to Santa Fe.

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