Texture

“It’s not just the way a room looks, it’s the way it feels.”

– Linda Applewhite

I arrived in Northern New Mexico a few days ago. As always, I’m in awe of this amazing land of extraordinary light, dramatic contrast and rustic textures.  Textures I don’t see anywhere but here – ancient crackled brown adobes dotted with painted openings in brilliant blues, oranges, greens and pinks. Coyote fences covered with rugged brown and gray speckled bark, cayenne colored chile ristras hanging from eaves, and groves of shimmering golden aspens blanketing turquoise mountainsides.

Old Mexican Chest

With renewed appreciation of the outrageous textures seen through my car windows, I paused with fresh eyes to admire the surfaces in my small Santa Fe casita. The rustic red drawer in the lead image is of an old Mexican chest I have owned and treasured for years. It serves as a place friends and family store their belongings in our tiny guest room.

Rustic Garden Table

The next image shows the edge of a rustic green garden table that lives on the casita’s patio year-round, holding a painted clay chicken beside a tub full of flowers below a Mexican cross. I marvel at the stamina of this top, having weathered years of hot summers, cold winters, and drips and scratches from the chicken and flowers.

Zinc Kitchen Counter

And then there’s the kitchen. Katie and Charlie stayed in the casita this past August, calling me with concern over the dents, scratches and stains they thought they caused on the kitchen island. No worries, I assured them. The old wooden island was covered in French zinc, which is used on bar surfaces in Europe because it looks better with age. It requires no maintenance, but instead acquires an engaging patina the more it is used.

I show these varied, durable textures that I love close up to emphasize the importance of selecting surfaces in our homes and gardens that not only look good but stand the test of time.

What textures do you have in your home? Do you like them? Are they easy to live with? And most important, do they feel good when you come home at the end of the day?

My Eye for Beauty e-course addresses texture as a key element to make your home not only look good but feel good. Join me in October to discover your own one-of-a-kind Eye for Beauty.

In the love of texture,