by Lexi Marshall
photographs by Daniel Nadelbach
this modern home in Aldea de Santa Fe bridges Pennsylvania roots and New Mexico landscapes
The story of Greg Weaver and Shannon Brady’s Santa Fe home begins with a rainbow. Standing on a sloped lot in the Aldea neighborhood one evening in 2023, the couple watched as a rainbow arced across the distant Jemez Mountains. That moment of natural beauty crystallized their vision for what would become “Project Rainbow”—a contemporary residence that honors both the dramatic New Mexico landscape and Weaver’s Pennsylvania heritage.
“That spot in nature just screamed potential,” recalls Greg, a biotech executive who relocated to Santa Fe with his wife Shannon, a yoga teacher, after falling in love with the city’s culture and pace during their first visit.
The potential, however, came with significant constraints. The narrow lot drops 30 feet from top to bottom—a dramatic fall compressed into a tight footprint that pushed development from lot line to lot line. For Acacia Builders’ Brandon Mutz- Thomas and his team, including his sister Alyssa Mutz, the challenge demanded creative problem-solving that would become a hallmark of the project.
Mutz-Thomas, whose family-run company has built a reputation over six years for high-end craftsmanship and custom residential work, noted that they were granted a variance that extended outside the lot size. The variance allowed them to build on portions of land owned by the Aldea community, as the surrounding land was designated open greenbelt and a service road that separates the homeowners’ two lots. “It really forced us to step this property down, creating this staircase effect as you move through the house,” he says.
Working with architect Jon Dick of Archaeo Architects, the team designed a home that cascades down the hillside, turning the lot’s limitations into architectural drama. Dick, whose firm has spent three decades creating award-winning work throughout the Southwest, saw the project as an exercise in spatial economy. “The character of the lot called for added creativity in orienting the structure and fenestration so that the primary spaces could capture the best views,” he notes.
The result is a 2,741-square-foot residence that feels both expansive and intimately connected to its surroundings. Two 12-foot-high vestibules serve as pivot points, their skylights flooding the interiors with New Mexico’s legendary light. Glass walls dissolve boundaries between inside and out, while the home’s strategic stepping preserves sight lines to the arroyo and mountain vistas beyond.
At the heart of the design lies a deeply personal element: Pennsylvania limestone. Greg, who grew up in Pennsylvania, requested the material as a connection to his roots. The limestone appears on a dramatic fireplace mass and extends outdoors to define yard walls throughout the property, creating “a story that walks through the house,” as Mutz- Thomas calls it.
“He wanted to somehow fit true Pennsylvania limestone into his fireplaces and key aspects of the house,” Mutz-Thomas says. “Jon’s design of the fireplace mass that the door pockets into was the perfect spot for that limestone to pull that concept into the project.” Given the lot’s constraints, traditional swinging doors would have consumed precious square footage.
The stone installation wasn’t without adventure. When the first shipment arrived, the delivery truck malfunctioned, dumping material across the building site. “It was a very large deal at the time,” laughs Alyssa Mutz. “But it makes for a good story at the end of the day.”
The home’s material palette celebrates both contemporary aesthetics and traditional craftsmanship. Handmade Moroccan zellige tiles—each hand-snapped and hand-glazed— cover kitchen and bathroom walls in undulating patterns. The irregular tiles, which can vary up to a quarter inch, require painstaking installation. Acacia’s tile masons hand-sort each piece to maintain nearly invisible grout lines, traditionally just 1/32-inch wide.
“In the primary bathroom, we have that huge run of zellige tile that runs into the shower, and there’s a wall-to-wall skylight above it,” Mutz-Thomas says. “During the day, you get this beautiful casting of light that plays off the hand-glazed tile.”
Equally striking are the exposed concrete floors. To accommodate the floors’ subtle variations, Acacia finished the walls with a reglet detail.
“The drywall doesn’t touch the floor,” Mutz-Thomas says. “It gives this effect that your walls are floating off the ground, and that detail steps down throughout the staircase and all the interior spaces.”
The approach reflects Acacia’s philosophy of layering small, considered details into every project. White oak cabinetry features solid white oak interior drawer boxes—a level of finish rarely seen in contemporary construction. Floating cabinets, massive wood ceiling beams and traditional canales nod to Santa Fe’s architectural heritage while maintaining clean, modern lines.
Greg and Shannon, who split time between Santa Fe and New York, participated actively in the design process despite being out of state during much of the 10-month build. Acacia’s use of an online portal allowed the couple to review selections, track progress through daily photos and stay connected to every decision.
“We were able to do all the selections remotely—the tile, the exterior concrete color, the interior concrete color, confirming the Pennsylvania limestone coursing,” Mutz- Thomas says. “Being very transparent and open during the build phase keeps clients very happy, because building a house is stressful. There are thousands of decisions.”
The transparency paid off. The couple trusted Acacia enough to feature the home in Santa Fe’s 2025 Haciendas Parade of Homes. “They never said ‘no’ to even our craziest ideas,” Greg says of the building team.
Surroundings Studio completed the landscaping vision, creating intimate garden moments within the tight site and extending the Pennsylvania limestone theme through retaining walls. Native plantings soften the home’s modern geometry while respecting water conservation principles essential to high-desert living.
For Greg and Shannon, the home is a gallery for their collection of New Mexico and Arizona art and Navajo rugs—a retreat that captures the spirit of their adopted city. “We are so blessed and grateful for this special Santa Fe place to call home,” Greg says.
On a challenging lot where most builders might have seen only obstacles, they found opportunity—proving that even in a city steeped in architectural tradition, there’s room for fresh interpretation when guided by respect for place, commitment to craft and the inspiration of a rainbow.
resources
Architecture
Archaeo Architects
Home Builder/Home Design
Acacia Builders, Inc.
acaciabuilders.com
Interior Design
Alchemy Staging & Design
Samuel Design Group
Appliances
Builders Source Appliance Gallery
Bathroom/Kitchen Fixtures/Sinks
Dahl Plumbing
Beams
Builders FirstSource
Cabinetry
Heceli Kitchens and Baths (vanities)
Reform (kitchen and laundry)
Countertops
Arizona Tile (supplier)
Raby Home Solutions (installation)
Decor/Art
Sukhmani Designs
Susan Eddings Perez Gallery
Fireplace/Outdoor Furniture
The Firebird
Flooring (concrete)
Advanced Concrete Design
Front Door/Sliding Doors/Windows
Architectural Windows & Doors
Gate
Norskog Metal Works
Interior Doors
Pats Doors
Landscaping
Surroundings Studio (architecture)
JS Landscape and Construction (installation)
Metal Railing
Viewrail
Trellis
Construction De Funes (fabrication)
Ultimate Construction (installation)
Window Coverings
Custom Window Coverings
