Santa Fe style makers

Working with unique Santa Fe homes as their canvases, a handful of interior designers create live-in works of art as one-of-a-kind as the houses themselves. It’s no surprise, then, that inspiration comes in many forms with this exclusive look inside projects featured during this year’s Design Santa Fe event.

By Jeff Fenton

This article first appeared in Autumn 2009 Su Casa

When designer Gloria Moss and her husband went house hunting in Santa Fe several years ago, they browsed the real estate listings and photos on the Internet until a Las Campanas contemporary residence caught Moss’ eye. “Stop looking,” she said: this was it. Considering its open spaces and beautifully proportioned rooms, she felt this home, designed by Santa Fe architect Craig Hoopes, presented few design challenges. Once it was hers, Moss set out to furnish her new home—one of seven featured in this year’s Design Santa Fe home tour—with a collection of 20th-century classics custom made for the space.

Moss should know, having worked in New York in the art and design communities for and with such luminaries as Cassina and Knoll; Gensler; Skidmore, Owings & Merrill; and John Saladino. From these experiences, Moss developed a keen eye for design, which she brings not only to her personal residence but also to the finely selected assortment of outdoor furnishings and accessories found within her Santa Fe showroom, Moss Outdoor. It should go without saying, then, that for Moss the exterior furnishings are as important as the interior. She describes her home as a “fusion of indoor meets outdoor design.”

You can get a feel for this fusion and other high expressions of contemporary interior design by visiting Moss’ home and six others during the Design Santa Fe home tour October 2 and 3, 2009, presented by Santa Fe Interior Designers Present and cosponsored by Su Casa. In addition to the six projects by individual designers, a co-op home features work by several designers and includes a design boutique store. (For ticket prices and more information about the home tour, visit designsantafe.org.)

Here’s a look inside the creative processes of the designers on the tour: Victoria Price of Victoria Price Art & Design, Steffany Hollingsworth of HVL Interiors, Jeff Fenton of ACC, Lisa Samuel of Samuel Design Group, Catherine Clemens of Clemens & Associates, and Gloria Moss of Moss Outdoor.

contemporary Santa Fe classic
Small rooms, low ceilings, and converted spaces defined the original “south of South Capitol” house that Victoria Price designed in an extensive remodel that transformed the home into a contemporary interpretation of its former self. Surrounded by lovely gardens, the home features wonderful Territorial lines and architectural details while displaying the rambling use of space so typical of older Santa Fe homes. “It’s one of those very idiosyncratic Santa Fe houses,” Price explains. “The clients didn’t want to bring in an architect because they were willing to keep the funk of the layout—that was a fun puzzle.” Contractor Adam Coppens handled the project’s construction. Joan Viele of Kitchen Dimensions in Santa Fe played a critical role in the kitchen’s redesign. Kathy Fennema from Santa Fe by Design was involved with the kitchen and bathroom, while Kim White from Statements in Tile/Lighting/Kitchens/Flooring collaborated on the home’s tile and lighting.

When the couple who owned the home asked Price to make it much more contemporary through a whole-house remodel, her task included harmonizing the best parts of the old house with new finishes.

“It was a challenging remodel,” Price says, “but one that I hope proves that it is possible to keep what we all have loved about Santa Fe for so many years—classic design elements, idiosyncratic architecture, glorious grounds—and introduce greater functionality, beautiful contemporary finishes, and repurposed spaces and achieve a harmonious blend of the old and the new.”

With a degree in art history and lifelong involvement in the arts, Price brings a breadth of knowledge to each of her design projects. She specializes in remodels that blend the best of classic Santa Fe with cutting-edge contemporary style. Price’s store and design studio, Victoria Price Art & Design, combine the international style of such iconic firms as Cassina, Moroso, Kartell, and Poltrona Frau with regional and historical art and artifacts.

“What I enjoy doing most is showing how you can take a classic older New Mexican home and update it in a way that’s harmonious, not imposing something contemporary and having a jarring juxtaposition,” she says.

east meets Southwest
A contemporary dwelling designed by Steffany Hollingsworth, a partner in the Santa Fe design firm HVL Interiors, captures immaculate views while providing intimate outdoor spaces. The home offers a hint of Asian influence, which lends softness and elegance to the otherwise bold contemporary structure. Juxtaposing hard and soft finishes, Hollingsworth incorporated materials such as burnished stone, Japanese paper, mesquite flooring, and clay plaster. These dramatic design materials interact with the home’s stunning furnishings, rugs, and art.

Located in Santa Fe’s Wilderness Gate area, the newly constructed home benefited from collaboration among a group of design professionals. Tony Ivey built the home, and kitchen and bath designer Joan Viele of Kitchen Dimensions and landscape designer Donna Bone of Design with Nature also contributed their talents.

When Hollingsworth joined the project, the clients had a basic plan in place with architect Robin Gray, “then the three of us—client, architect, and myself—selected all the finishes and materials for the flooring, countertops, tile, lighting, plumbing fixtures,” and so on, Hollingsworth explains. She also worked with the homeowners on a plan for incorporating furnishings from their previous residence with new or recovered items.

Working with the philosophy of creating sophisticated, well-edited, artistic spaces regardless of style, Hollingsworth says she provides imaginative yet practical interiors for her clients across the country. She has been published in the books Leading Residential Interior Designers and The New Adobe Home as well as in numerous trade magazines.

high-style green
Sitting high above downtown Santa Fe on a lovely hilltop with 360-degree views, a unique home designed by Jeff Fenton blends green design and a distinctive use of materials. The house boasts Gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED for Homes program, and inside, steel, stone, wood, and clay converge as curves interrupt angles throughout the home.

Architect John Watson, who was schooled under Frank Lloyd Wright, designed the 4,000-square-foot house, which was built by Wolf Corporation. Soft contemporary finishes and furniture selections—each chosen to enhance the young family homeowners’ active and aesthetic lifestyle—complement the home’s organic architecture.

Inside, Fenton selected American Clay as a green alternative to plaster for the walls. Reclaimed oak boards, originally from a barn on the East Coast, add warmth and character to the floors. Handmade glass mosaic tiles from Erin Adams, purchased locally at Statements, create visual interest in each of the unique bathrooms. Fenton and woodworker Roger Atkins collaborated to design beautiful one-of-a-kind furniture pieces that work with the home’s dramatic design.

A former executive with Gap, Fenton came to Santa Fe seven years ago to pursue his lifelong passion for interior design. After owning a design firm, he recently joined forces with ACC (American Country Collection) as vice president of design. His work has been featured in numerous local and national publications, including Northwest Home & Garden, the Santa Fean, Sunset, and Western Interiors & Design, as well as TLC’s Trading Spaces.

northern New Mexico elegance
Working with respect for the home’s distinctive architecture, Lisa Samuel of Samuel Design Group collaborated on a design that marries the house’s location in the lush Tesuque River bosque with Northern New Mexico style. The home features Betty Stewart style, a design look named for the Santa Fe architect who typically worked in the Northern New Mexico genre using pitched tin roofs, eyebrow arches over doors and windows, deep masonry exterior walls, and hand-hewn ceiling timbers. “The beauty of this style of architecture should be embraced by the decoration, not overpowered by fussy furniture or textiles,” Samuel explains. “Simple, interesting, and elegant are what is needed here.”

Samuel shares this home’s design credit with interior designer Greg Teakle and architect Erik Burlingame, who were both instrumental in bringing the vision to fruition. Stuart Penny built the home.

Samuel started her training studying architecture in California and has an extensive background in lighting design. “My work is always characterized by a sense of sophistication and clean elegance,” she says, adding that she specializes in creating interiors that embody her client’s taste and lifestyle while embracing environmental issues.

exterior design
In creating the dynamic garden featured in this year’s home tour, landscape architect Catherine Clemens of Clemens & Associates worked to develop a space as artful as the artwork her clients would exhibit there.

The garden begins at the front entry, which Clemens designed to be an invitation to experience a home beyond the mundane. Curved walls in stone, stucco, and steel establish the underlying theme flowing through the landscape, where she integrated pattern, texture, and color. Clemens melded large flat stones into the garden and used them as pedestals for the outdoor sculpture. The resulting landscape demonstrates that successful synergy between client and designer can have dramatic results, taking the project far beyond initial expectations, Clemens explains.

A partner in Clemens & Associates, a landscape design, contracting, and maintenance firm, Catherine Clemens began her building career as a stone mason 30 years ago with her partner, Jess Clemens, while obtaining her fine arts degree. The combination of disciplines transitioned into a successful landscape business. “Our work is very architectural,” Catherine says. Considering the region’s relatively short growing season and limited water, she feels it makes sense to limit plantings while providing interest through stonework, fountains, special paving details, pergolas, arbors, or a bright splash of stucco color.

Design Santa Fe
October 1–3, 2009

This three-day event focuses on the theme Beauty, Collaboration, Design and takes place at venues throughout Santa Fe. In addition to the home tour, activities include a design dialogue panel discussion and luncheon. Some tour-goers coming from the Albuquerque area might appreciate the Rail Runner guided home tour, which includes a shuttle that takes participants to each of the tour homes.

A percentage of proceeds from Design Santa Fe 2009, including sales at the design boutique in the home tour co-op house, will be donated to Youth Shelters, a nonprofit organization serving homeless, runaway, and in-crisis youth and their families.

To purchase tickets, contact The Lensic Performing Arts Center box office at 505/988-1234 or purchase online at ticketssantafe.org.

For ticket prices and more information about Design Santa Fe, visit designsantafe.org.

resources for this story