Su Casa turns 10 with the publication of this issue. In magazine years, much like dog years, a decade is a major milestone. Credit for reaching such a venerable age is due in large part to the Homes of Enchantment Parade. This ever-popular, central New Mexico home tour helped launch Su Casa. Over the years, the Parade has grown, the houses have gotten even better, and Su Casa has matured along with it. Both the event and the publication help satisfy the same urge among people—call it a homing instinct.

“House” and “home” at first seem synonymous. But they’re not and we all know the difference. A house is an empty box. A home is a vessel for the heart.

If you’re out touring the 90-something entries in the Parade or leafing through these pages, you may come across a house—not necessarily the grandest of the bunch—that you pine for.
It happens to me, too. Some combination of setting, style, stimulation, and comfort insists I could make myself at home there. Or even better from a practical point of view are the houses that encourage plagiarism: steal this idea for an entry, that shade of Red Top plaster, those window moldings…and use them in my house, which is, after all, my home.

Hey, that’s what we’re here for. Su Casa is not about glorifying unattainably over-the-top houses by dangling them before your eyes but beyond your grasp. We’re not exploiting the gap between what you wish you had and what you can have. Rather, Su Casa celebrates the highest expression of home. That expression takes form in the lines, planes, curves, and angles of the building itself. It speaks through the color and texture of its walls, the materials and craftsmanship of its construction, and the personality of its furnishings. When you enter a home where all these elements harmonize, you don’t want to leave. Chances are, you’ll like the owner, too.