House & Garden Tour
By Jennifer Hamilton

A canyon view, a collection of keys and overheard ''olés''

1. Featured in a past edition of Casas & Gente, this enchanting home lies high atop a steep rocky hillside overlooking Centro and beyond.

Through a charming front patio with its water wall, pepper tree and other greenery, the sala contains walls soaring upwards two and three stories. A piano nestles in one corner, and a sculptural V-shaped open fireplace built out of volcanic rock heats the four spaces surrounding it, including an exotic dining area. Impressive steel columns and crossbeams divide the large open living space, while an intimate seating nook overlooks the canyon and town below. A large entertainment room complete with home theater contains a plethora of books and a substantial video collection. Behind it is a massage table with magnificent views down the hill to the town, and huge windows overlook the multi-leveled garden, which retains the original rocks in this hillside neighborhood with a large infinity pool and two palapas for entertaining. 

2. This delightful home lies on several levels on a very hilly street, stretching an entire block. Beautiful tejamanil ceilings crown subtly lit, comfortably decorated rooms, accentuated by an abundance of beautiful artwork and rich, burgundy colored walls.

A comfortable seating area is sided by glass walls and doors leading to the expansive and beautiful flower and tree filled property. A flight of stairs ascends to a wonderful collection of hotel keys, which the owners collected during their many decades of traveling. The second level provides a balcony view of the sala. It includes a cozy den with an entertainment area and sports comfortable rattan and leather seating. The guest bedroom doubles as an office with many multi - generational family photos. An outside covered veranda is the perfect place for outdoor entertaining with a bar, barbecue and two separate seating areas. A dramatic outdoor sculpture was created by Elaine Smith and thus begins the adventure of an extraordinary multi-leveled garden with i
ts winding stone walkways, many steps and a private self-contained casita below.

3. Directly across the street from San Miguel’s bullring lies this elegant home. The long, narrow entrance hallway, filled with outstanding black-and-white bullfight photos, looks directly through to a cantera statue of San Francisco with a small fountain fronting it, and backlit from light shining from the garden and a retractable roof.

Facing the garden is the sala with its deep white sofas in front of a large wood panel on the wall and carved Moroccan - shaped fireplace topped by antique Guatemalan fabric pieces framed behind glass. On either side of this wall are large glass doors, which open to the garden, with a heated pool and a stunning beveled glass mirror reflecting the large tree and views to the west. The master suite is filled with books and overlooks the town to the west and further in the distance to the Picacho Mountains. There are two roof decks, the first with two separate seating areas, a bar and outstanding views of La Iglesia de la Concepción (Las Monjas). A stone slab fountain emits the sounds of trickling water. On the east side, facing the street is a studio or exercise room with a raised fountain and a flood of plants and flowers. Up one more flight of stairs is the top roof deck with unsurpassed 360 degree vistas and close-up views of both the Parroquia from the back, with its impressive yellow domes, and Las Monjas further to the west.