House & Garden Tour
Sun, Mar 22, tour departs at noon
Biblioteca Pública
Insurgentes 25
US$15 or 200 pesos
Breakfast at Café Santa Ana starts at 9am

House & Garden Tour 
By Jennifer Hamilton

Retractable glass roof, hanging burro tails, ancient baptismal font 

1. This delightful home is on a quiet street close to Guadiana, yet still in Centro. With hand-cut stone floors, a retractable glass roof and lush plantings inside and out, it blends the outdoors and indoors into a lovely setting. Entering through an outdoor sala with two seating areas, a polished cement fountain sits to the left, surrounded by columns and arches. In the corner is a hand-carved cantera fireplace and a collection of masks and religious objects.

The dining room also faces the ramada, with a dramatic arched ceiling above the dining table, a large tin-framed mirror on one wall to reflect the outdoors and archways, and a collection of “greenware” from Michoacán. An entertainment area contains a collection of antique Mexican sombreros and a beautiful retablo placed in the center of the mantelpiece. Large glass doors look out into the garden built on several levels. The master bedroom contains delicate draperies, a hand-carved wood bed and a nicho filled with colorful folk art. Upstairs is the perfe
ct guest get-away, a beamed ceiling and more colorful folk art. Another outdoor entertainment area with built-in seating and colorfully striped cushions, provides an unparalleled view of the domes of La Parroquia. The wide terrace wraps around the house, offering views to the north, east and west.

2. This home, a former tannery, was purchased in 1992 and renovated in the Mexican style. The entry has a cactus garden with its field rocks collected by the owners on their travels. A dining room display case shows off the more fancy specimens, many local. All the furniture in the house was custom made by Mexican craftsmen.

The long walls of the open, well-lit interior provide ample room for gallery-like presentation of paintings by the owner and many other San Miguel artists. The hallway to the bedrooms has a collection of 100 masks from Mexico and elsewhere. The patio-garden sports a fountain and impressive specimens of hanging burro tails and other succulents. The home features three fireplaces and an inviting outdoor sala. On the top terrace is a studio, a sun terrace and a garden house converted into a computer room and study. The home boasts of two architectural features borrowed from colonial Spain—vaulted ceilings over the dining and living rooms, and eight conchas handmade from wet concrete in the s
hape of a scallop shell, the emblem of St. James, patron saint of Spain).

3. One of the most beautiful new homes in San Miguel was completed in 1999, with splendid interior design by Marsha Brown.

A cozy two-floor apartment was built for guests and additional family, with five magnificently appointed upstairs bedrooms. Foliage fills the patios, the outside sala is heated by a large fireplace and the equipale furniture is covered in Indian fabrics. A dining room contains a large fireplace painted in soft reddish tones, while a long dining room table dominates the spacious kitchen with stressed wood cabinets. A sitting room with beamed ceilings off the romantic master bedroom is filled with books and old statues. An ancient baptismal font has been fashioned as a sink in the master bathroom. In the plant-filled pool area, jets of water spurt into the pool for extra drama. Going up the stairs, a niche has been carved into the wall and leads to another indoor/outdoor sitting room. All the upstairs bedrooms lead out to a walkway overlooking the patios and pool. A huge roof terrace with hibiscus trees and potted plants encompasses a view of all the major church domes of San Miguel.