ShowHouse Santa Fe 2015

THEME: “LUX NEW MEX—REINVENTING WESTERN CLASSICS”

The 2015 Showhouse Santa Fe theme, "Lux New Mex—Reinventing Western Classics," was an innovative approach to blending luxury with the classic elements of Western and Southwestern design. This theme sought to elevate traditional Western aesthetics to a new level of sophistication and elegance, infusing luxury into the rugged and earthy style characteristic of the region.

Designers explored how luxury elements could be woven into the rustic charm of Western classics. This involved integrating high-end materials, refined finishes, and elegant furnishings with the warm, natural, and often raw materials typical of Southwestern design. The theme encouraged a reimagining of Western motifs and materials in a contemporary, luxurious context.

The fusion of luxury with Western classics under this theme resulted in unique and opulent spaces that retained a sense of warmth and authenticity. It was an opportunity for designers to demonstrate how the West's rich heritage and natural beauty could be celebrated in a modern, luxurious setting. This theme resonated well with Santa Fe's reputation as a place where traditional meets contemporary, and luxury is often expressed with a deep respect for natural and cultural heritage.

INTERIOR DESIGNERS: 28

ATTENDANCE: 4,000

HISTORY OF THE PROPERTY: THE FRANK APPLEGATE HOUSE AT 831 EL CAMINITO

Known as the Frank Applegate Estate, this house had been re-invented several times. The original structure was built as a fortress in the 18th century. It was purchased for $114 in 1845 by Sergeant Francisco De La Peña, a soldier in the Mexican Army who’d fought in the Battle of the Alamo. De La Peña renovated the property, creating a home for his family.

Enters Frank Applegate. Born in Illinois in 1881 and an artist his entire life, studying and teaching art in the U.S. and Europe, where he met Picasso, Cezanne, and Matisse in the ’20s, he started as a ceramist before becoming a painter.

A bit of serial remodeler who regarded homes as “livable sculptures,” Applegate, who had thrown himself into Native and Colonial Hispanic Arts and who quickly become a seminal player developing and establishing the town’s historic conversation movement, soon turned his preservationists’ eye to El Caminito.

Enter Gallery owner Gerald Peters and his wife Katie, who purchased the Applegate Estate in the 1980s/ Cut from the same cloth as Applegate, the couple, who would fill the house with their four children, had already renovated five other adobes together.

Our Realty TeaM: The bodelson-spier Team - santa fe properties