Doug and Marnie Collister could be regarded as guardians of history. Amid the cholla and desert marigolds of the Sandia Mountain foothills, the couple’s home rises near the confluence of two arroyos once part of a Spanish land grant dating to 1694. Inside the home, located in Albuquerque’s tony High Desert district, furnishings lovingly passed down through the generations are nearly as old.

So when it came time to build their dream home, it’s little surprise that the Collisters favored the historic Territorial style from New Mexico’s pre-statehood days. While the home’s location was never a question—Doug Collister is president of the High Desert Investment Corporation—the challenges came in modernizing a classic style while retaining its formal, elegant charm. After three years in the planning stages and nearly a year under construction by Rutledge Homes, this house succeeds admirably on all counts.

“We wanted a traditional Southwestern home,” says Doug, a third-generation New Mexican whose grandfather, Oscar Huber, once owned the coal mine in Madrid, N.M., along the historic Turquoise Trail. His paternal grandfather, James Collister, founded the store Kistler Collister in 1909. Marnie Collister comes from Chicago roots although her parents moved to Albuquerque when she was a child. Both families shared a love for antiques, art, and history. Many family antiques have been passed down to Doug and Marnie, and the couple has added to the collection during their 40-year marriage.