Mexico Design & Style

Mexican cocinas: the colonial kitchen

Mexican cocinas (kitchens) beckon with their colors, simmering aromas, humming activity and cherished implements that exude time-honored traditions.

One of the most captivating and busy rooms in the Mexican home, the cocina is rich with traditional design elements–a bright array of ceramic tile, handcrafted furniture, and local crafts. Each Mexican kitchen, especially those in old colonial homes and haciendas, had its own secrets, recipes, and delights.

Because hacienda kitchens often had to prepare meals for hundreds of people, they were spacious, well equipped, and always busy with activity. They centered around the tiled brasero, or hearth, where charcoal-burning stoves were set into long or horseshoe-shaped counters. In addition to the countertops, tile was used throughout-on floors, walls, and sometimes even the ceilings. Early hacienda kitchens were influenced by the cavernous kitchens of Mexico’s colonial convents. In Puebla, the vaulted ceiling kitchen of the Convento de Santa Rosa is a masterful example of a space smothered in small glazed tiles. Here, the famed mole poblano made its first appearance in Mexican cuisine.

Against a backdrop of lustrous tile, early Mexican kitchens were simply furnished with a variety of country elements that possess timeless character and ingenuity. Familiar elements included hearty wooden prep tables, stools, and chairs, to a variety of hand-carved stone and wooden vessels including mortars, sugar molds and cheese presses. Always present was the ubiquitous trastero, or open cupboard, designed to hold plates and cups within easy reach. Piles of parsley, cilantro and chiles would fill handwoven baskets, while large, hollowed gourds kept freshly made tortillas warm. Stacks of large clay ollas, or cooking pots, were often stacked upside down, awaiting daily use for rice, beans and moles.

Iron wall racks would hold a sea of spoons, ladles, and chocolate whisks. Simple, wooden spice racks, called repisas (hanging shelves) were often decorated with scalloped edges or decorative crests, and lined with jars of peppercorns, cloves and cinnamon sticks.

Colorfully painted repisas continue to be popular accents in today’s working kitchens. Candles or matches are easily accessed in the small drawers of many repisas, while the shelves play host to spice jars, small glasses and carved gourd bowls and cups (jicaras). The ornate style of repisas from Oaxaca and Puebla feature bright colors and floral motifs, while those from Chihuahua and northern Mexico are typically crafted from natural pine and mesquite.

As homegrown chiles and spices are essential to the Mexican diet, the following elements are common sights in Mexican cocinas: pre-Hispanic molcajetes (three-legged stone mortars used especially for grinding spices), metates (used to grind corn and chocolate), bateas, (dough bowls), wooden tortilla presses, earthenware comales for cooking tortillas, and copper cauldrons for boiling stews. Side by side, these elements play a vital role in the daily ritual of tortilla-making and sauce preparation.

Found in a variety of shapes, the most common batea is rectangular with rounded edges and has a depth of approximately three to six inches. Larger sizes can be found in restaurants and panaderias, (bakeries), where greater quantities of ingredients are used; and even larger, more robust bateas were carved from thicker pieces of wood and used for such hearty tasks as washing clothes or soaking craft materials such as amate, or bark paper.

Our special affinity for culinary antiques such as wooden tortilla presses, ladles, and grain measure boxes-the unusual and utilitarian-has often led to searches in remote locations high in the mountains of southern Mexico. While doing research for our design books The New Hacienda and Mexican Details, we encountered one such adventure: an hour-long burro ride was endured to reach a dormant coffee plantation where large coffee morteros and manos, (large pounding sticks) carved from durable hardwoods, were discovered. Though coffee hadn’t been crushed in the mortars for several years, the aroma of the beans was still pungent. Even after the three-foot tall vessels were shipped back to the United States, they were redolent of Oaxaca café.

Country vessels and objects often date back several centuries-indeed, the molcajete is well documented as stemming from the pre-Columbian era-and yet its presence today in our homes, gardens and stores adds warmth and texture to even the most modern spaces. Radiant with the personal touch of individual hands, Mexican molcajetes, metates, morteros and bateas are treasured old culinary antiques that are now being used in new decorative contexts, making it possible for their artistry to touch many generations to come.

Other essentials of daily Mexican life are small worktables and stools. Hearty, functional pieces carved from single blocks of wood, their versatility is proved throughout the home and workplace. The most universal shape-a round disc with fitted legs-is commonly referred to as an escabel, or milking stool. These all-purpose seats are usually carved symmetrically with smooth surfaces; others make use of thicker wood specimens. Some styles include carved handles on one side for easy transportation. Low, round tortilla tables, are recognizable in this way by a small, carved handhold area extending horizontally from the surface.

A kitchen’s table is the center of the room’s activity. The mesa de cocina, or kitchen table, not only serves as the gathering place for meals and celebrations among relatives but also for important family decisions. Tocineras, or pork tables, with their deep-drawer construction, are used in some kitchens for food preparation and meat drying. Drawers on other tables make them useful as sideboards, and sometimes lower worktables are used in both the kitchen and outdoors to assist in other preparation such as soaking hibiscus petals for making refreshing drinks. (Additional background on old Mexican tables can be found in our ” Mexican Style” article.)

Providing a solid surface upon which to grind corn with a stone metate, the mesa de moler, or grinding table, is a unique element popular in the Yucatan that was traditionally used in Maya homes. Carved from one piece of wood, these rustic tables feature flat surfaces with four- to six-inch-thick sides, open ends, and four pegged legs. Used to grind corn into masa (dough), the table’s height and design works well to accommodate two people working metates on each end. Still in use today, these traditional simple tables have made their way into decorative roles in haciendas and contemporary homes. Used in gardens and patios to hold potted plants, they have also been adapted as unique coffee tables and buffet tables.

Tortilla tables, another frequent sight in rural Maya villages, have also made their way into ranches, residences and upscale restaurants. Crafted from tropical hardwoods, the thick rounded tops are hand-hewn from a single piece of wood, and range in size from twelve to twenty-four inches in diameter. Used by Maya villagers to pat out tortillas before placing them on the comal for cooking, the smooth tops are supported by three pegged legs. The shorter heights allow for a kneeling or sitting position while working.

Contemporary Mexican Kitchens

In addition to the traditional kitchens found in colonial homes and haciendas, the contemporary Mexican kitchen has evolved with fresh interpretations of old and new that continue to echo the spirit of Mexico’s culinary traditions. This innovative mixture combines all the familiar elements-hand-painted Talavera-style tiles, rustic wooden tables and everyday utilitarian objects-with modern fixtures and appliances that work alongside old-world elements.

In addition to tiled counters and large venting hoods, kitchens today often mix natural, traditional materials with contemporary fixtures and highly functional polished and colored concrete surfaces. Modern stovetops rest on old-style counters, providing contrast and convenience, and brightly painted trasteros stand across from sub-zero refrigerators.

The kitchen at Casa Reyes-Larrain in the Yucatan is an excellent example of a Mexican Colonial-style cocina that resonates beauty and function through its mix of natural, traditional materials and contemporary design. The kitchen features a fourteen-foot high ventilating hood that is traditional in its shape, yet its elongated proportion and bold blue color make a strong contemporary statement. Created on-site with white cement and lime-based paint, the hood features a unique bas-relief decoration on its lower edge, inspired by a French cement-tile pattern. This pattern, first transferred to a handmade wooden mold, was carefully stamped onto the cement surface while still fresh.

Influences on Mexican Kitchens

The progenitors of many design details found in today’s contemporary homes are Mexican restaurants and their colorful kitchens. Decorated with regional furniture, folk art and practical objects, many small family-owned restaurants in Mexican towns are a treasure trove of local elements and intriguing color combinations. Glazed ceramic platters, baskets, grain measure boxes and old scales combine with casual wall displays of regional folk art such as woodcarvings, toys, textiles and paintings.

Often designed in an open style, the regalia of restaurant kitchens is fully exposed, offering fascinating views of deep horseshoe-shaped counters where preparations are in full swing: tortilla presses are in constant use and giant-sized wooden spoons stir caldos (stews) simmering in large ceramic pots. Guests gather around long wooden tables draped in hand-woven tablecloths, seated on simple backless benches and stools or brightly painted rush-seat chairs.

Culinary Notes

The early colonial period brought a culinary marriage between the native foods of Mexico and the influences of the Spanish influx. In the convents and hacienda kitchens of Spanish aristocracy, native cooks began to blend the foods of the ancient Aztecs and Mayans-corn, beans, chiles, tomatoes, chocolate, pumpkins, wild turkeys, and ducks, along with the Spanish contribution of wheat, rice, meats, cinnamon, almonds, and citrus fruits. In the early colonial days, bread made from wheat was still a new cuisine and was mostly consumed by Spaniards. As wheat consumption continued to gain wider acceptance, hacienda kitchens produced more breads and pastries, however, the indigenous population continued to favor corn in all its forms.

Regional hacienda specialties also developed as cooks experimented with the resources in their area. In the state of Coahuila, a pulque hacienda became renowned for its pulque bread, made with the fermented alcoholic drink extracted from the hacienda’s maguey plants. The state of Oaxaca, today known as ‘the land of seven moles,” was well known for its complex pastes made from the region’s chiles, spices, nuts, seeds, chocolate, and dried fruits.

Today’s haciendas, such as the restored colonial Hacienda Xixim in the Yucatan, are still employing their land’s native harvests for daily preparations. Xixim’s chef, Ruben Dario Yam Lara, makes good use of chaya, the green leafy vegetable native to the Yucatan, just as his sixteenth-century predecessors did, incorporating it into myriad dishes and sauces and steeping it for tea. The hacienda also continues its centuries-old tradition of harvesting honey from its own bees, making jungle honey for breakfast hotcakes. Even the Maya tradition of pollo pibil is still prepared as it was in colonial times-wrapping the chicken in banana leaves to cook in a covered earthen pit.

Recipe from Hacienda Xixim’s Kitchen

Calabasitas Rellenas (Stuffed Baby Mayan Squash)

This recipe is courtesy Chef Ruben Dario Yam Lara, Hacienda Xixim, Yucatan. (reprinted courtesy, The New Hacienda, Gibbs Smith Publisher).

A traditional Maya dish prepared in Yucatan’s colonial kitchens, this dish uses baby wild squash ( mumun kuun) that are indigenous to the Yucatan region and available year-round. Traditionally this dish was served for special occasions and was often filled with meat from the jabalik or wild pigs, that inhabit the monte, or dry jungle in the Yucatan.

1. Preheat oven 10 minutes at 480 F.

• 6 small young squash (calabasitas)
• 200 grams Oaxaca cheese (or Monterey Jack)

Filling

• 1/8 pound butter (1/2 stick)
• ½ pound ground pork (unsmoked leg or shoulder)
• 200 grams salami, chopped
• 50 grams bacon, chopped
• 100 grams chorizo (sausage)
• 1 sweet bell pepper, finely chopped
• 1 carrot, finely chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• dash pepper
• dash salt

Sauce

• 8 tablespoons flour
• 6 cups water
• 2 tablespoons chicken bouillon
• 1 teaspoon shortening
• ¼ onion, grilled
• ¼ tomato, grilled
• 1 whole Maya chile (xkat ik) or sweet bell pepper, grilled

2. Wrap calabasitas in aluminum foil and bake for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool.

3. Prepare filling. Saute on high heat for 3 minutes until tender: butter, ground pork, salami, bacon, chorizo, bell pepper, carrot, garlic. Add salt pepper. Remove from heat. Set aside

4. Remove the aluminum foil from calabasitas and cut a round hole in top of squash. Remove all the pulp. Stuff calabasitas with prepared filling. Set aside.

5. Prepare sauce. In steamer, dissolve flour in water. Add chicken bouillon, shortening, onion, tomato, and chili and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes. Stir constantly until mixture thickens and comes to a boil.

6. Place the calabasitas in steamer and reduce to low heat. Cook 10 minutes longer. Cover the top holes in the calabasitas with cheese.

7. Serve calabasitas in a flat soup bowl covered with sauce.

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Mexico Design & Style

Mexican Design & Style: Overview

Sun-drenched colors of burnt ochre and red ignite massive walls and bring stone-chinked surface patterns to life. Antique wooden doors punctuated with hand-forged iron clavos open to reveal cool, tiled salas with lofty, wood-beamed ceilings and rustic colonial furniture. Brightly-tiled kitchens beckon with well-worn tables, glazed ceramics and utilitarian objects in stone, wood and copper. Sparsley-furnished rooms display artful devotional displays alongside family heirlooms and local folk art.

For decades, the soulful nature and character-rich details of Mexican furniture, architectural elements and handcrafted accents have captivated us with their beauty and ingenuity. From painted tables and chip-carved benches to hand-hewn corbels and stone-carved columns, Mexican design elements are like mirrors reflecting a rich cultural history and the creativity of the hands that made them.

Beginning their lives in marketplaces, ranches and workshops as the cornerstones of cultural traditions, Mexican country elements have evolved gracefully over time and evoke the rhythms of rural life from which they originated.

We have connected to the strength and imagination of these handwrought objects and have relished living with them on a daily basis. Our exploration of Mexican design and living has spanned many years and regions, including the remote mountains of Mexico and the mesquite mesas of the American Southwest.

On countless design pilgrimages we have documented the antiques in their original contexts—such as in mercados, coffee plantations, remote haciendas, artists’ studios, colonial homes and in the midst of processions at Christmas and Semana Santa. We have enjoyed researching their rural origins as well as their newfound contemporary manifestations, watching as they have been reinvented and adapted to new contexts.

First embraced in the Southwest, the Mexican design style has transcended its rural beginnings to take root in elegant ranch homes in Montana, illustrious lofts in New York, Luxe hotels and eco-conscious spas, tropical retreats and contemporary homes throughout the U.S. and Mexico.

A deep interest in the world of Mexican furnishing and its influence on contemporary home design led us to publish our first book, Mexican Country Style, which explores this expressive style on both sides of the border and offers information on identifying and preserving Mexican antiques.

A spirited mix of native Indian and Spanish influences, the Mexican design style heralds the use of natural materials, rich-hued colors and textures. Minimally-furnished interiors blend handcrafted antiques with contemporary art and furniture, creating a pared-down elegance with an intriguing mix of old and new.

Choice antiques feature hand-hewn hardwoods, pleasing proportions, original hardware, rare joinery and innovative techniques of the craftsmen. Architectural elements–old doors and gates; exposed beams, corbels and lintels; carved stone columns, moldings and doorway surrounds; stucco details, ceramic floor tiles—the true design elements that ornament a room.

Unlike traditional American antiques, which are sought for their pristine condition, Mexican antiques are coveted for their imperfections. Often self-taught, many carpenters made up for the absence of fine tools by using the natural aberrations of beautiful woods to make individual statements. In this way, knot holes become a table’s punctuation.

The complex appeal of wear marks and age include multiple layers of old paint, surfaces that have been personalized with cattle brands, candle burn marks, native repairs done with tin or rawhide straps, old nails and worn edges. The carved initials of old sweethearts or numbers commemorating significant dates are sometimes also present on country furnishings.

Doors that have withstood decades of weather—with painted surfaces faded to shades one only wishes he could duplicate, their hardware pitted and rusted and later polished by use—still maintain their strength and authority. The restoration of Mexican antiques—both native and recent—is common and in many ways adds to the value and enjoyment of the pieces.

Transporting many of these old-world treasures back to life through restoration and new adaptation has brought us great pleasure. Through our design projects, we have witnessed a new generation of homeowners and design professionals that have discovered the charms of Mexican antiques and embraced their versatility for myriad new roles in today’s interiors and gardens.

Cypress jail doors, replete with their intact hardware, have been turned horizontal to become unique console tables, old coffee mortars are new decorative vessels for fruit or firewood, and corral gates are mounted into headboards. Even storage trunks, long separated from their original wooden bases, are returned to function with custom wrought-iron bases.

DESIGN PILGRIMAGES

For centuries, the Mexican craftsman has instinctively combined beauty with function, using the materials provided by nature to create furniture, culinary vessels, architectural elements, implements and religious objects. These functional and noble elements reflect Mexico’s wildly diverse landscape and her pre-Columbian, European, and Indian influences.

Fascinating and amusing hours have been spent with innovative village craftsmen, carpinteros, farmers, antique dealers, and homeowners as we examined old relics—doors, gates, altar tables, armarios and trunks–and learned the subtleties of the local hardwoods, construction methods, hardware styles and original uses. From unique dovetail joinery on furniture and hand-wrought iron hardware, to old colonial wall stencils and stucco finishes, we found the variety of innovations astounding.

Christened by our early experiences, we soon found ourselves further immersed in documenting the nuances of Mexican design. Serendipity brought us to cattle ranches, sugar estates and bustling open-air markets, where we were drawn to well-worn display surfaces revealing rich patinas and wood grains. Sometimes, underneath mounds of papayas and rows of candied limes, we discovered stunning turned leg tables or charming old prep tables whose myriad chop marks evidenced decades of use.

Unlike the more formal environments of the cities, furniture had a multipurpose life in the countryside; it was shared by many and used for a variety of functions in myriad locations. Whether needed for marketplace displays, home or workshop use, or religious celebrations and community fiestas, one piece might be used for every setting and moved back and forth according to its owner’s activities.

MEXICAN TABLES

The Mexican table is cherished for what it represents—a warm hearth, sustaining food, a sense of nurturing and nourishment that goes far beyond the kitchen. The focal point of every home, mesas (tables) provide the quintessential gathering place for family meals. Some are grand, some are modest, but they all hold an important place in nearly all activities.

Since Colonial times, display tables, mesas de carniceros (butcher tables), and even altar tables have kept company together at the local market. Certainly one of the easiest places to see the tremendous range of shapes and sizes, the mercado contains a smorgasbord of design styles. The most prolific are the simple dining tables and benches found at market-stall restaurants. These handcrafted pieces feature mortise-and-tenon construction and often beautiful legs—turned, painted, square or carved—each kind with its own subtle design characteristics.

Visits to the marketplace have revealed tapered-leg tables from Durango displaying onions and radishes, shorter painted tables holding old scales for weighing almonds, and bakeries in which once-sharp corners and molding detail have been softened over time by decades of people brushing against their sides.

Regional styles are distinct—tables from the colonial town of Queretaro feature conservatively turned legs, whereas those of coastal farming towns in Guerrero have simple squared legs with stretchers. Even in more decorative forms, the beautiful chip-carved pine of Michoacán is distinguished from the turned legs and apron cutouts of northern Chihuahua. The predominant ranch-style table features square-legs, A-frame construction and end stretchers higher than those at the side. The mortised stretchers sometimes joint the legs to create a box-like enclosure. This particular style can be altered to become a functional desk with ample leg room by removing the front stretcher.

Inside most every Mexican home, the altar display, usually staged on a table or a shelf, serves as a sort of mecca for family keepsakes and religious items. Lovingly assembled atop a mesa de altar (altar table), are candles, containers of fresh or paper flowers, carved-wooden santos, various handmade crosses and family photos of loved ones.

Found in butcher shops and at the marketplace, mesas de carniceros are constructed of hearty proportions to withstand the chopping of butchers’ cleavers. Two vertical beams rising from the side of the table support a horizontal beam with iron hooks from which fresh meats can be hung. These tables make ideal prep tables, the iron hooks useful for hanging anything from heads of garlic to pots and pans. No use is ruled out—vanilla candles were seen draped from such hooks in an open-air market adjacent to the local church.

WOODS

The woods used in Mexican country furniture were predominately mesquite, sabino (Mexican cypress), pine, heart pine, Spanish cedar, parota, and occasionally, walnut, mahogany and cottonwood. Mesquite, one of the most durable hardwoods, was widely used as it was found from the Sonoran desert all the way down the west coast of Durango, Aguascalientes, Jalisco, Nayarit, and then inland to the Hidalgo/Guanajuato area. Both mesquite and sabino were sought for their tremendous strength and natural ability to repel insects.

FURNITURE AREAS

In the northern state of Chihuahua, furniture is usually made from pine, is fairly minimal in design, and is almost always painted, as it helps preserve the wood. Panels can be flat or raised, and the favored decoration is a scalloped or cutout copete (crest) attached to the top of armarios (armoires) or roperos (wardrobes) and trasteros (cupboards).

South of Chihuahua in Zacatecas, benches are decorated with undulating scallop designs resembling waves. Panels in cabinets tend to be raised and come in a variety of designs. Tables usually have signature-design cutout braces under the skirt and in each corner.

In the nearby states of Jalisco, Aguascalientes and Guanajuato, the styles are much heavier and are crafted from mesquite and sabino. These styles are also more influenced by the Colonial furniture traditions of the 17th and 18th centuries. In the southern state of Oaxaca, chip-carving decorates the benches and cabinets, while tables are generally made from cypress, Spanish cedar and pine. Long, slender tables with A-frame legs and stretchers are common, as are single-slab tops. Chip-carving styles are also very prolific in Michoacán’s Lake Pátzcuaro region where the majority of pieces are pine, as this area has large reserves of pine forests.

Throughout the rural landscape, carpinteros in provincial towns and villages crafted elements from their own traditions and resources. On occasion they even interpreted Spanish influenced styles that had made their way naturally from the cities to the countryside—through families moving to the country or storing old, broken pieces in rural barns, say. Such interpretations were, of course, simplified or streamlined to be practical and durable in rural settings. Carved lyre legs became sturdy A-frame legs; ornately carved panels on armoires were streamlined into handsome flat-panel styles; lathe-turned spindles on cupboards were sometimes simplified into slats.

CARVED ELEMENTS

The variety in style, design and shape of Mexico’s utilitarian vessels and carved wooden objects is astounding: old grain-measure boxes, tortilla presses, sugar molds with conical indentations, bateas (dough bowls), molcajetes (stone mortars for grinding spices), ceramic pots, gourd bowls, spoon racks and chocolate whisks. Many of these culinary treasures have surfaced in today’s modern homes, as sugar molds now display candles on dining tables, bateas show off beach glass collections and morteros, once used for crushing wheat or coffee, now hold magazines. Cheese presses, without their original vices and screw nuts, make handsome side tables with the addition of iron bases.

No two of the vessels and objects are alike, and each piece holds history in its carving. Wooden stools carved from tree trunks are often found in the shapes of animals, sometimes half sculpture/half furniture. Echoing simpler times, the objects may look commonplace in their original contexts, but once placed in contemporary settings, they become multifaceted, standing on their own as thought-provoking sculptures and furniture whose decorative details proved a pleasing reminder of Mexico’s rich history and skillful craftsmen.

Even unassuming objects, many no longer in use, beautifully ornament their surroundings with wit and charm when placed in new contexts. Old hacienda machinery molds when grouped together in multiples, acquire a whole new decorative dimension. A row of old lock plates on a mantel, or a threesome of old painted spindles–salvaged from broken window guards—displayed on a colorful wall emphasize the subtle structural distinctions existing in a single form.

The delight is often how these objects hold our attention in new contexts, adding a refreshing flavor to our personal spaces. In a modern Florida home, old wheat mortars play subtly with a pair of sculptural stepladders beneath an abstract painting. In Banana Republic stores, Mexican coffee and grain mortars have been used to display classic sweaters and clothing.

On a remote ranch in Jalisco we photographed mesquite workbenches–designed with hearty proportions to withstand heavy wear—along with beautifully carved ox yokes and bebederos (troughs) which held livestock feed. Over the years, many of these objects have been adapted to new functions as bebederos now flower as planters and ox yokes are easily fashioned into table bases. Old filter stones, once used for filtering water, have also been given extended lives as decorative flower vases, with the addition of new iron stands. Even old worn wheel hubs have evolved into simple lamp bases.

TRUNKS

One of the most common pieces of furniture found throughout all the states of Mexico, the baúl, or storage trunk is a treasured piece in the home. Crafted from Spanish cedar, sabino and mesquite, many baúles feature rounded or domed tops, detailed chapas (lockplates) and matching bases with simple turned legs. Inside, they often bear the personal signature of their owner(s). Interior lids are usually lined with decorative paper or prayer cards, and often feature small photographs of family members and paintings of patron saints.

In colonial times, large arcónes, or wide chests, were used in churches and convents to store vestments and chalices as well as sacred documents. Many arcónes featured feet at the corners, ornate lock plates and iron strips used for joint reinforcement.

ARMOIRES

Armarios (armoires) are used in both in homes and businesses to store valuables, records and sometimes clothing. These enormous cabinets are crafted with built-in drawers and carved, or raised-panel, full-length doors. Many early armarios were painted with decorative floral designs, religious icons, or city scenes, and were usually the most important and valuable pieces of furniture in the home. As they were expensive, armarios were often out of reach of many Mexican families and only found in the wealthiest households.

DOORS

There is no end to the style and variety of doors seen in Mexico. The only constant is that most doors come in pairs, the planks held together by iron braces and large round-headed clavos (hand forged nails). The larger the door, the heavier and thicker the wood used. The massive doors of haciendas, churches, and government buildings required oversized clavos, often three to four inches in diameter, their decorative heads filled with brass. These larger chapetones were often shaped into stars or ornate designs. The grandest in scale, záguan entrance doors still exist in the old colonial towns. They radiate a compelling sense of history, for they were built large enough to admit wagons into a home’s inner courtyard and usually had smaller doors set within the larger ones, allowing pedestrians to enter without opening the larger pair.

As the homes in most villages and towns were built close together for security, the colors, textures, and details of their doors can be viewed directly from the sidewalk. From walking a single block, one can experience centuries of wear, old braces, native repairs, and heavily adzed surfaces. The various designs range from raw unadorned wood to raised rectangular panels, raised diamond patterns, grooved-panel outlines and fluted doors. On some, important occasions, dichos (pertinent sayings), or names of respected or noteworthy family members are carved into lintels above the front door.

Today, weathered Mexican doors are being restored and adapted to a variety of architectural settings. They make the transition to doors on entertainment units, closets, and master bedrooms, and are designed into headboards and tables as their simplicity and time-honored presence compliment many interior design styles. Single shutters and doors make the transition to headboards with the addition of clean-lined contemporary iron bases and iron finials. The simplicity of the iron complements the warmth of the old wood, a comfortable coexistence in contemporary interiors.

COLOR & TEXTURE

For centuries, Mexico’s compelling colors have provided a vibrant and powerful presence to its architecture and traditional arts, beginning with the pre-Hispanic civilization’s boldly painted pyramids, colorful murals and stucco ornaments, through the Spanish Colonial haciendas awash in deep reds, ochres or blues, to today’s modern houses splashed in watermelon pink and pistachio green, the color legacy in Mexico is long and rich.

An essential form of self-expression, color has long been used to represent spiritual beliefs and cultural traditions. In fact, color and its attendant symbolism remain pivotal to the Mayas’ view of their cosmos. A color diamond signifying the physical world was at the core of their view of the universe. White, yellow, red and black each had a place corresponding the four cardinal directions of north, south, east and west, along the path of the sun.

In Mexican architecture, interior walls bathed in vibrant hues are given texture with the addition of colonial style stencil patterns or wainscots in contrasting colors. Many exterior stone walls, stuccoed and painted with traditional lime-based recipes, feature ornate stucco and stone details around doors and windows and stone-chinked surface patterns. Called rajueleado, this masterful stone-chinking tradition reinforces stuccoed surfaces and adds textural dimension and depth to walls.

Today’s architects and preservationists working in Mexico continue to herald the benefits of natural color pigments, lime-based paints and stucco finishes. As lime-based paints and stuccoes are compatible with stone walls, cal (lime)-based recipes encourage walls to “breathe,” allowing moisture to escape without damaging painted surfaces. Natural paint pigments are also highly favored, as they are more resistant to ultraviolet light, making them more lightfast than synthetic paints.

As our world grows increasingly complex and technology distances us from our own traditional ways, it makes sense that we are drawn to the qualities manifest in traditional Mexican architecture and antiques. There’s no denying the appeal of handcrafted wood and chiseled stone. We believe in the beauty and artistic power of the designs, in their lasting value, and in the skill of their creators. The character they bear from the effects of time, weather, and touch reassures us, perhaps tapping into a distant longing for simpler times when craftsmen took pride both in the quality and the sturdiness of their work.

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Mexico Design & Style

Restoring a Mexican hacienda

In the late ’90s we became captivated by the richness of the Yucatan region’s hacienda architecture and the history of its multilayered civilizations. Trailing through myriad Maya villages and down overgrown dirt paths, we encountered many hacienda revivals in full force, as well as dormant treasures untouched by modern hands. While researching our second design book, The New Hacienda, the idea of rescuing a hacienda from ruin and bringing it back to life took firm root – we were on a quest for a colonial hacienda that showed potential for restoration.

In early 2000, Hacienda Petac found us. An 18th-century estate in close proximity to Mérida, Hacienda Petac was a colonial cattle hacienda before its conversion to a henequen plantation in the late 1800s. Unlike many of the peninsula’s haciendas that were altered over time, Petac’s architectural integrity was surprisingly intact, without any 20th-century alterations. The fact that Petac predates many Yucatan haciendas that were built during the henequen boom of the late 19th-century endows the estate with a rich colonial history. The juxtaposition of the colonial casa principal to its later-built 19th-century casa de máquina created a unique testimonial to Yucatan’s diverse hacienda epochs.

Despite its critical need for a new roof and massive facelift, Petac’s potential for revival was immediately apparent. We saw a jewel in the overgrown jungle – rich in original architectural elements and design details that had been essentially unaltered through time: baroque stone entrance arches, stucco ornamentation, exquisite Moorish-style arcades, interior wall stencils and hand-turned spindles on windows and doors. A stone lime kiln once used for making lime plaster and stucco was also intact. The property was comprised of numerous worker’s buildings, a chapel, water storage tanks, and a stone aqueduct system once used for orchard and field irrigation. The presence of some existing infrastructure (water, electricity, good roads) was an added attraction. The combination of these unique elements on a single property prompted us to consider the hacienda’s value as a future showcase for Mexican design and hacienda restoration.

In the spring of 2000, we teamed up with fellow Mexico enthusiasts, Dev and Chuck Stern to partner a future for Petac. As a foursome, our shared passions for Mexican history elevated the project into a dream in the making. From the beginning, our vision was to preserve Petac’s architectural legacy. We wanted to create a venue for educating homeowners and designers in the spirit and details of an authentic 18th-century hacienda, while also forging a comfortable retreat that would hail the original richness and splendor of the Yucatan lifestyle. To these ends, we have sought unique antiques and elements that would best echo the hacienda’s origins and reflect its rural surroundings. We imagined a place where homeowners and designers could come to discover architectural restoration and building techniques, Mexican antiques and local design resources-all a step away from the estate’s luxurious pools and gardens.

With these goals in mind, we devised an overall vision for the property that would accommodate our dual missions. The casa principal would be used as a library and as common space for entertaining and dining. The machine house would be renovated for guest suites, an owner’s apartment and a 1,200 square-foot billiards room. Additional guest rooms and Mexican Design Center would be housed in revitalized buildings adjacent to the casa principal. The nearby village was a significant asset in the plan, providing local labor and staffing for hacienda projects.

Clean up and restoration

In June 2000, initial work began with extensive clean-up and careful evaluation of what elements would be salvageable for reuse during the restoration. Original paint colors were excavated and old beams, wood, stone and iron were meticulously sorted and stored for later use. Doors and spindled window-guards were cleaned and restored with special finishes, and traditional cement tiles were selected for floors. We established a comprehensive interior design plan for the casa principal that would be true to the hacienda’s roots and evoke a luxurious timeless air. Traditional design elements were sought that would establish an air of authenticity and reflect the country setting. In keeping with the belief that it is color and architectural detail that truly furnish a room, the interior design focused on accenting rooms with simple colonial antiques and santos to achieve an understated elegance.

Architect Salvador Reyes Rios, in partnership with a group of architecture and restoration professionals, worked with us to orchestrate and fine-tune the hacienda’s new presence. The foundation for all the architectural design and engineering work was the maintenance of balance between historical restoration and modern adaptation. In addition to restoring the roof and installing air conditioning, technical issues included updating electricity and plumbing. The restoration plan integrated many traditional methods and masonry techniques, including the use of cal (lime-based paint) and ancient Maya stucco finishes.

The roof restoration spanned three months and required removal of its original fifteen inch packed lime-and-stone base. As the old roof surface was removed, it expanded, eventually yielding a 3-foot deep refuse field of caliche that became the base material for a porch extension on the back portal. Removal of the original stone exterior’s weathered stucco and careful restoration of its chinked-wall surface (rajueleado) was a 6-month project. Technical issues included updating the electricity three times to accommodate air conditioning and a system of wells dependent on electrical pumps. The plumbing required new wells and septic systems in addition to five miles of pipes and trenches to support new bathrooms and garden irrigation. Despite the enormity of the task, the long-term restoration project proceeded, thanks to the fortitude of a partnership enchanted by the old-world charms of Hacienda Petac.

Sharing the partners’ interest in creative reuse and salvage, Reyes and his group devised innovative solutions that would employ existing elements. To support the shade-giving pergola, creatively designed to extend over the pool surface, old round beams were installed as posts, enabling sun cover for the hammocks that dangle just above the water. Another massive beam and corbels found in the casa de máquina were recycled for decorative use above the kitchen counter. The colonial-patterned tiles discovered in one room of the casa principal were an assembly of useable and damaged cement tiles. Wanting to preserve this colonial-patterned tile as a testament to the hacienda’s decorative past, the pattern was replicated and new molds fabricated. The original useable tiles were moved to the casa principal’s chapel and laid in a central field surrounded by a polished cement floor.

Addressing the placement of soothing water features was vital for surviving the Yucatan’s tropical climate. First, the estate’s former water storage tank was converted to a swimming pool and surrounded by a shade garden of native ferns and tropical plants. Original wells and aqueducts were retooled to feed the corral’s 40-foot bebedero (water trough), which now splashes water from multiple stone caños (spouts) in a fountain display.

For the casa de máquina, Reyes reconfigured the building into three spacious guest suites and an entertainment/billiards room. Outside, a lily pond was designed to surround the old chimney, as well as a 36-foot long water feature inspired by the water channels that once fed the orchards. Lined with Maya chukum stucco, a tree-resin blend noted for its permeability and natural translucence, the fountain’s trickling water circulates from an elevated water chamber to a second source at ground level.

Interiors

Although modest in size, the hacienda’s casa principal is a grand space with high-beamed ceilings, thick walls, and doors opening onto two portales that overlook the main corral and gardens. A simple yet richly inviting room, the long, narrow central sala features melon-hued walls, deep-blue wainscoting and mint-green cement floor tile. The warmth is echoed in the antiques and furnishings crafted from tropical woods. For the custom furnishings, special attention was given to choosing fabrics and leathers that evoked a modest gentility, thus blending well with the older elements. The sala’s narrow-width, multiple doors and protruding hammock hooks presented a design challenge for positioning furniture. In addition to a 9-foot sofa, a narrow coffee table offered an appealing spatial solution, as did the custom mirror that accentuates the room’s elongated shape.

The design of Petac’s kitchen projects an admiration for traditional Mexican cooks and cuisine by featuring a collection of Mexican culinary antiques and offering an inviting space for regional cooking demonstrations. Bright yellow walls surround a rebuilt counter covered with colonial-style Talavera tile. A recycled beam and corbels, original to the hacienda, rest above the colorfully tiled counter. Dressing up the space with a utilitarian touch are old Maya metates, sugar molds, a hand-carved coffee mortar, gourd-bowls, and a repisa (hanging shelf) for displaying glasses. A pistachio-painted copeti discovered in Merida has become a welcome “working” art object, reemployed with the addition of hooks for utensil storage. The kitchen’s original 18th-century treasure is an alacena, or built-in wall cabinet.

The original paymaster’s office featured a unique wooden grille that was adapted to become a decorative feature in the casa principal’s bar. Once a secure booth complete with a small window for money transactions, hacienda workers would receive their wages from their paymaster. In its original position, it divided a room in half and blocked traffic flow. The old booth was restored and newly positioned to form a central focal point for the custom-designed cocktail table.

One of the highlights of Petac’s restoration was the discovery of a small chapel in the casa principal. The former owner intended the space for use as a bathroom. Only after our restoration began on the walls did the space reveal a plastered-over nicho in the center of the room. As its position was a profound clue to the room’s original sacred use, we chose to restore the space as a chapel. Soon after, serendipity was with us in our discovery of a rare santo – perfectly sized to fit the tall nicho space. The blue hue of the hand-painted Virgin’s robe was the same hue as the room’s original paint, detected in the window jambs. Perhaps it was a coincidence, or perhaps, as we like to think, the color scheme of the original architecture and relics of this space was already perfectly worked out, just waiting to be brought to light.

Hacienda Petac is open as a luxury vacation rental. For information: www.mexicanstyle.com or call (512) 327-8284.

Hacienda Petac is featured in two of Carr/Witynski’s design books: Casa Yucatan (2002, Gibbs Smith Publisher) and Mexican Details (2003, Gibbs Smith Publisher). Preview

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Mexico Design & Style

In their sixth book, authors/designers Karen Witynski and Joe P. Carr travel through Mexico and the Southwest in celebration of the character-rich details of Mexican furniture, architectural elements and hand-crafted accents that resonate beauty and ingenuity.

From chip-carved benches and hand-hewn tortilla tables to painted trunks and carved-stone moldings, the soulful nature of Mexican design abounds. Decorative accents include intricately-woven textiles, glazed ceramics, wooden masks and folk art objects that bear evidence of the hands that made them.

Press review/Phoenix Home and Garden Magazine, July 2002
Authors and designers Karen Witynski and Joe P. Carr have been traveling throughout Mexico for years, doing research for their books. In their latest and fourth effort, Adobe Details, the two include the American Southwest in a cross-cultural pilgrimage that extends from Cuernavaca and other areas of Mexico into Texas, New Mexico and Arizona.

Concise, sparkling text traces the simplicity of adobe construction and the hand-wrought touches and furnishings that define it. Colorful photographs by Witynski detail such elements as portales, bancos, carved corbels and more found in old and contemporary adobe structures.

Casa Adobe

Casa Adobe

Press review//New Mexico Magazine, May 2002
Many people find the lines and textures of an adobe building at once seductive and compelling. This book is all about the unique aesthetic of houses made of mud. Third in a series of four books on popular residential design in Mexico and the Southwest, Casa Adobe contains photos of spectacular adobe homes, inside and out, in New Mexico, Arizona, Texas and various places in Mexico.

The book documents the evolution of adobe from its historic past to its most modern applications, including interior details and architectural elements. The authors chose well the buildings they use as examples for their premise that “adobe is an old tradition with a new future,” the recurring theme of the book.

Casa Yucatán

In Casa Yucatán, award-winning authors and interior designers Karen Witynski and Joe P. Carr travel under the Mayan sun to discover the vitality and virtues of the Yucatán’s rich design community. The fifth book in their Mexican design series, Casa Yucatán invites you to step into the cool, gracious galleries and gardens of colonial homes, old haciendas, and art-filled seaside escapes that dot the Yucatán peninsula.

In its mysterious mix of Mayan temples and Spanish Colonial architecture, the Yucatán region is undergoing a remarkable restoration renaissance, heralding the grandeur of its colonial epoch and the emergence of an innovative Yucatán design style. Today, ancient pyramids share the jungly landscape with revived haciendas, and colonial homes boasting high-beamed ceilings and cool tile floors posture amidst elegant plazas and renovated 19th-century mansions.

Mexican Country Style
Press review/Veranda Magazine, Winter, 1998

A …Mexican Country Style illuminates a subject on which little has been written. The authors compare furnishings produced in the city for people of means with those produced in the country. The well-written edition relates stylistic information on varying type of doors, tables, chairs and other objects, stressing the defining characteristics of each. Close-up photography reveals the time-worn patina of woods and distressed surfaces of the furnishings…

The New Hacienda won the prestigious “La Pluma de Plata” (Silver Pen) Award from The Mexico Ministry of Tourism. The award was presented to the authors in Acapulco by President Ernesto Zedillo at Tianguis/2000.

Hidden in idyllic isolation, the haciendas of Old Mexico have long struck a romantic chord with their rich mix of myth, history, and impressive architecture. Today, these once-abandoned treasures have surfaced in contemporary design, sparking widespread interest in their rescue and restoration.

Travel behind the scenes with authors Karen Witynski and Joe P. Carr as they open the doors to Mexico’s remote country estates and reveal innovative interiors, artifacts, and antiques that echo the hacienda’s original architectural splendor. Inside, ancient stone walls and arcaded portals are at home with modern art and colonial antiques. Cobbled courtyards and grand salons come alive with a spirited mix of once-forgotten objects and contemporary furniture.

Originally dedicated to coffee, sugar, mescal, henequen and wheat production, Old World haciendas have been transformed into myriad new roles–as country homes for artists, filmmakers, equestrians, and business entrepreneurs as well as eco-conscious resorts, art centers, riding schools, and twenty-first-century workspaces.

The hacienda lives on in the familiar use of natural materials and in the pared-down beauty of its interiors. Designers and architects have found inspiration in the viusal culture of the hacienda and have integrated Mexican elements into new homes on both sides of the border. The New Hacienda offers a rich entrance to the world of Mexico’s country estates and their influence on contemporary design.

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