Dani Brubaker spotted artist Patricia Larsen’s handmade interiors here on Remodelista and on Instagram, and recognized a kindred spirit.
Photography by Dani Brubaker.
In 2021, upended by the pandemic and ready to leave LA, Dani purchased a five-acre historic property in Galisteo, New Mexico, just 15 minutes from downtown Santa Fe.
Dani served as contractor and Patricia as creative director—she was in residence for the first and last months of the six-month project and in the interim Dani oversaw nitty-gritty things like the installation of a new roof, plumbing, electrical system, and radiant heat.
The house is located on Galisteo Creek and has a grove of cottonwoods, a tree that Dani notes is sacred to many Native Americans, particularly in the Southwest.
An old specimen that had died long ago was left in place as a stump: “It looked really sad, so to everyone’s surprise, I had an excavator come and turn it upside down.” It now stands as a sculpture in the center of the wrap-around driveway, enclosed by a newly built coyote fence.
The 19th century adobe and stone casita had long been owned by one of the founding families of Galisteo its oldest part dates to 1750 and is said to be the first house in the...
...village The house is L shaped it s two dwellings connected explains Dani what s now the living room was a barn The exterior was given a fresh coat of stucco in a tree bark brown.
The semi-enclosed entry, known in these parts as a zaguan, has its original door and restored stone floor.
The art on the wall is an abstract photograph by Lindsey Calla of rock formations in the Galisteo Basin.
In addition to serving as a setting for lots of Westerns (John Wayne stayed in the Galisteo Inn next door), the village has attracted prominent artists over the years: Agnes Martin and Susan Rothenberg were both long-term residents and Fritz Scholder and Bruce Nauman currently live there.
The interior is 3,733 square feet and had last been updated prior to the millennium (scroll to the end for a Before glimpse).
Dani and Patricia found the armchair and curved two-piece sofa—they liked the fact that it’s the same shape as the fireplace—at a resale shop: they temporarily draped them in drop cloths—”you have to make sure they’re uncoated cotton canvas, such as these“—and Dani decided she liked the way they look as it is.
The kiva fireplace is original. But they were a mix of tones and we wanted a consistent vibe throughout.” They used Behr’s Alpine Frost on the walls and Behr’s Alpaca Blanket on the ceiling and the concrete floor (Patricia and Dani’s specialist applied the tint with a Home Depot weed sprayer).
The piano came with the house and survived the construction covered up. The curtains here and in the bedrooms are simply draped diaphanous tabletop fabric that Patricia brought from Mexico and washed to make it gauzy.
Dani relocated the kitchen to what had been the master bedroom I cook a lot and wanted to look out at the cottonwoods the creek It has open shelving built Mexican style out of rebarred and painted...
...concrete blocks a quartz counter Viking stove and Smeg dishwasher getting it connected here was a nightmare and fridge with one of Patricia s signature tumbleweeds as decor on top she chased after it down the road.
“Open storage in the kitchen is a look I love,” says Dani.
Between the two guest rooms, Dani installed a kitchenette built in the style of the main kitchen: “I wanted a place for my daughter and her family and other guests to have their own space.”
Above:There are three bedrooms; a portrait of the mother of the woman Dani bought the casita from hangs in this one—”off to the side rather than centered, as is Patricia’s way,” notes Dani.
Dani’s room has a shaggy sheepskin hanging over the bed, all of which have washed canvas drop cloths as bedspreads.
In her bathroom, Dani used an Eleganza soaking tub from her previous house paired with John Pawson fixtures byCocoon.
The other guest room has its original fireplace and a new corner cupboard.
A restored corner fireplace in the guest bathroom.
Before
The previous owner’s living room—with a gas fireplace mounted over an original fireplace—is now the main bedroom and the kitchen is a guest room.
In Progress
In one of the guest rooms, Patricia tries out paint colors using sand dollars, parts of a tumbleweed, and other curiosities as inspiration.
Dani’s all-star crew—that’s Patricia with the headband and Dani herself with the brimmed hat.