In the 21st century, with the blossoming of global consciousness and myriad choices in every arena, it seems anything is possible for interior design. There are no rules, no de rigueur choices in the language of style. The operative term for style in the Southwest is eclectic, a matter of very personal interpretation.

In New Mexico particularly, a wide range of historical and contemporary design influences continues to influence how we design and furnish our homes, giving us historical precedence for our freely diverse sense of style.

When the Spanish came to New Mexico in the 16th century, they brought not only social tumult to the first Americans, but also great beauty and a new link to a broader world. That link encouraged cambios, the exchange of ideas in art, architecture, interior design, literature, even lifestyle, which sparked a uniquely new, creative, vigorous style. It’s an influence we still feel powerfully here in the Southwest.

It all really began with King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella, who began subsidizing over-sea explorations in the late 1400s and under whose sponsorship the “New World” was revealed to Europe. Seagoing trade routes from both the West and the East brought not just colonists from Europe, but rare goods, and, more important, new ideas. The furnishings, art, and architecture brought to the New World by the Spanish were strongly influenced by the courts of Europe (Italy was particularly fashionable at the time) and Moorish styles. The Moors ruled Spain for some eight centuries and exercised a particular impact on architecture and interior design, most beautifully in such delights as the signature blue and white “talavera” pottery and tile designs we know so well. It’s also worth remembering the Spanish word adobe derives ultimately from Arabic roots.