Decorating & Design
Escape To An Exotic Mexico Vacation Home
Updated on March 17, 2022
Located in picturesque San Miguel de Allende, a four-hour drive northwest of Mexico City, this 3,000-square-foot home is one of San Miguel’s rare, contemporary 1980s houses, built high up on a rock. Designed by Patricia Larsen, owner of gallery and shop Pilar Studio in San Miguel, the villa has a muted palette and natural textures that provide a tranquil retreat from the lively arts scene outside.
Escape to the exotic oasis with our virtual tour below!
Inside in the living room, a supersized sofa and woven chairs combine traditional Mexican materials with contemporary lines.
The living room’s original iron-framed windows and doors were left unpainted.
In the dining room, the glow of the bird’s-nest chandelier made by Patricia is reflected in an acid-washed mirror inset into the wall. The tops of the dining table and wide bench were made from repurposed doors found locally. The original puny, stepped fireplace had no presence, so Patricia had the wall in the dining area rebuilt to incorporate a larger fireplace.
Patricia played up the Cantera stone floors with floating concrete shelves. She replaced a bulky island with an old table, and hung a copper light fixture, made locally, overhead. “You can manifest any idea here; there’s always a metalworker or a weaver, or stone mason to help. It’s an artist’s heaven,” Patricia says.
Dishware by local artisans is displayed on the kitchen’s open shelving.
In the principal bedroom, a kitschy vintage tapestry depicting swans adds personality and pattern to the neutral linens. Patricia impulsively adds garden vines or Christmas lights to the chandelier she made, depending on the season.
A glass jug of white tiger lilies dresses up the desk in the principal bedroom. Waterfall drapes, made from layers of cotton, filter the light.
The spire of the famous Parroquia de San Miguel Arcangel is visible from the terrace. Patricia stacked two wooden pallets to create an impromptu coffee table, and added Acapulco chairs and poufs in natural woven fibres to establish a laid-back vibe.
A row of petite lanterns and a pillow accent a cozy seating nook on the terrace.
San Miguel is famed for its Spanish Colonial architecture and jacaranda trees (foreground), which bloom bright purple in spring and give the terrace view an otherworldly quality.
Virginia Macdonald
House & Home February 2017
Patricia Larsen