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.”

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 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.”

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.”

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.”

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.”

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.

“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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