A Dilapidated Pueblo-Style House in Santa Fe Gets a Modern Makeover
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Sitting atop a canyon ridge overlooking Santa Fe, New Mexico, nestled within two acres of piñon pines and cypress trees, sits a Pueblo-style home that has been reimagined by New Zealand-born designer Jules Moore. When Moore discovered the house, it hadn’t been lived in for a decade and was in a complete state of disrepair. "It was damp, cold, and had a stench that meant you couldn’t stay inside more than two minutes," she recalls. "It was a complete gut job, which was more than I wanted to take on, but the location and sunsets grabbed my heart."
The Pueblo-style architecture of the home is typical of the region. The style is defined by organic forms, heavy doors, large timber features, and prominent timber ceiling beams—all of which creates striking contrast with the smooth walls.
The home features traditional kiva fireplaces throughout, with built-in benches crafted from hand-tooled plaster. "The rounded edges and details are quite beautiful," says designer Jules Moore.
The interior palette takes inspiration from the natural earth tones of the site: The stain to the timber rafters echoes the surrounding trees; the soft gray tone of the kitchen island has been matched to the bark on the piñon pines; and the walls are a snowy white contrasted with deep bronze window frames. "It’s a neutral palette that welcomes the textures, weaves, and claywork of local artisans," explains Moore.
Moore has a passion for sustainable design, and the adobe construction of the Pueblo style instantly appealed. "It only seemed fitting to stick to the love of the earth," she explains. This ancient building method grounds the home and the smooth yet tactile earth walls create a sense of retreat and act as a passive thermal control for the interior, keeping the home cool in summer and warm in winter. With the reimagining of the home, Moore wanted to celebrate the historic architecture and contrast it with sleek contemporary details to create a play between past and present.
The home features many original elements, including carved timberwork, timber rafters, and white plastered walls. "It’s the whimsy that I love about Pueblo-style architecture," says Moore. These elements are then dynamically juxtaposed with striking modern features—including the Marvin Ultimate Narrow Frame windows and doors.
Moore moved from California to Santa Fe, New Mexico, on a "complete whim" after it was suggested that the landscape, architecture, and lifestyle would appeal to her. "I had no idea what to expect," she says. "The plaster walls of the adobe home are so soothing, so calming, and the weight of the home anchors you like no other architecture has for me." During the renovation, she rented a small house in the village so she could be hands on throughout the construction.
The 3,800-square-foot home features three bedrooms, three bathrooms, a sprawling living area, formal dining room, and an enormous kitchen. One of the most defining features throughout is the 360-degree views over the surrounding mountains. "It’s a daily show of sunrises, spectacular sunsets, moonrises, and star-drenched skies," reveals Moore. "You feel a hundred miles from anyone, bobcat and deer roam the groves of aspen and wildflowers, and I wake to the birdsong."
Designer Jules Moore sits in a window seat with her French bulldog, Sake. A New Zealand sheepskin rug and woven pillows from Turkey add a sense of warmth and comfort to the ledge, while the bronze casing of the Marvin Ultimate Awning Narrow Frame window captures the view like a painting.
The guest bedroom features access to a balcony through the Ultimate Inswing French Door by Marvin, which echoes the lines and sleekness of the windows used throughout.
To take advantage of this magical location, the windows play a vital role in the design of the home—and the existing small windows have been opened up and quadrupled in size to transform the interior. "It breathed new life into the interior and the sun now pours in," she says. "Walking through the house with massive windows, the home feels so different. There are expansive views from every single room and I feel like I’m walking through the treetops."
Before the renovation, the home featured tiny windows that offered glimpses of the landscape. Moore replaced these with expansive windows and skylights. In the kitchen, Moore opted for the Ultimate Awning Narrow Frame and Ultimate Casement Narrow Frame Picture windows by Marvin to add a modern edge to the traditional architecture.
The dining room is an eclectic mix of styles, with the traditional smooth walls and heavy timber beams of the Pueblo-style architecture contrasted with midcentury furniture, an ornate chandelier, a painting by Jules herself, and a sculpture by a local artisan.
Moore chose to work with Marvin, a brand revered for its handcrafted windows and doors, using the elegant Ultimate line in a dark bronze finish that contrasts with the organic plastered walls. "I love how the windows are set into the plaster like white Marzipan on a cake," says Moore. "The window casing gently disappears and you’re taken away by what’s outside—the wilderness is an unobstructed painting in every room."
A freestanding bath is surrounded by a quartet of windows that invite sweeping views into the bathroom to create a relaxing oasis. Crafted touches, such as the carved timber stool and ornate rug, add texture to the space.
Moore has blended the traditional Pueblo style of the original home with modern simplicity. The small clerestory windows, for example, add a modernist touch to the handcrafted walls, while the existing wood beam ceilings—a key element of Pueblo architecture—have been stained using a custom ash tone.
One of the most dramatic moments Moore created in the home is the glass-enclosed window seat in the primary bedroom. The addition makes use of the Marvin Skycove, which features a projecting glass box that allows the window to frame not only the view, but the sky and surroundings. "I’m in there every single day," says Moore. "I can sit in a lightning show, a summer monsoon, or nestle in pillows and read as the snow falls around me—it’s a super special bubble."
A Marvin Skycove is featured in the primary bedroom, with a bed frame that echoes the minimalist lines of the window casings. "I was so excited to have the perfect sunset-watching spot for the Skycove," says Moore. "I hadn’t used Marvin windows or doors before and I was thrilled what they were able to accomplish for me."
The materially rich palette and the ever-changing views create a spectacular backdrop for the whimsical pieces collected by Moore on her travels alongside newer acquisitions by local artisans. Each room is an evolving scene that changes as the designer finds new inspiration in the arrangement of objects—ladders become casual hanging storage, rugs are transformed into wall hangings, and ceramics adorn the niches and ledges found throughout.
A built-in window seat wraps around a corner offering the perfect spot to contemplate the piñon pine-dotted mountains. These ledges are also an opportunity to display Moore’s collection of textiles.
Moore has a large collection of objets d’art sourced from around the world, and it finally has a home in the gallery-like space. "Much of my collection has lived in storage," she says. "These beautiful doughy walls with rounded ledges and niches felt like the place to unpack it all."
"I love my new wilderness life," says Moore. "Every morning, I walk the entire house, opening the giant windows to the crisp mountain air; I have gatherings in the living area with the large windows looking across to the Jemez mountain range; and at night, moonlight pours in every window. I never draw my curtains and I fall asleep beneath the mesmerizing stars of New Mexico."
Make space for what matters at marvin.com/makespace.
Project Credits:
Designer: Jules Moore
Builder: Frank Trujillo, president of Tierra de Zia Contracting, LLC
Featured windows and doors: Marvin
Photography: Marvin
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