Casa Bella de Medanales
At the end of a long, meandering driveway atop a mesa in the
village of Medanales, you are welcomed to the home of your
dreams: Casa Bella de Medanales.
East and Southwest meet in the front courtyard, where the principles of the ancient art of Feng Shui have
been applied to create a most auspicious entry. The gentle curve of the foot bridge leads you from the iron
gate at one end, to the front entrance at the other.
You and your guests are welcomed by a curious group of
koi, and a floating bouquet of water lilies
Time for meditation is abundant here. The front
courtyard contains a large Zen rock garden.
Small pockets of vegetation invite the gardener,
while not overwhelming her or him with work . . .
The views here are spectacular, and you could easily spend
the entire day here breathing in the clean air, and basking in
the scenery. But there's so much more to see.

Let's go inside.
Just inside the entry, you are met with sunlight, splashing across saltillo tiles, and a custom built
Anasazi wall. Attached to this is a colorfully tiled indoor aquarium which beckons fish or, in this
case, live plants. Solar windows overhead insure that either scenerio will be met with success.
The large overhead vigas, and hand-carved entry posts signal high quality construction.
You notice a small
nicho on the west
side of the Anasazi
wall. This is just
one of many small
details that make
this home so
special.
(Left)
Accordian-style shades cover the solar windows; letting in as much, or as little, sunlight as you desire.
(Right)
Before we continue with our tour, let's step back into the foyer for a moment and remove our shoes.
Interior view of front door, with hand-carved panels
If it's Winter time we'll enjoy the nurturing feeling of warm radiant heat against the soles of our feet.
During the Summer time, the coolness of the saltillo tiles brings us instant comfort.
Adjacent from the foyer, and just behind the Anasazi wall, is Casa Bella's living room. The wall of windows
offers not only breathtaking views; it also provides passive solar benefits. Clearstory windows sit atop
oversized windows and doors, offering a panorama of high-desert majesty. Soaring ceilings mirror the
expansive world outside, blurring the lines between home and nature.
Want a cozy or romantic night at home? A few cushions
or pillows placed in front of this new pellet stove could be
the answer, then. High quality construction, along with
new technology, ensure that you can use it without
worries. This clean-burning, smoke-free Quadra-Fire won't
harm the environment.
Another nicho appears in the living room. This one has been decorated
with art glass and hand-cut stained glass by a mosaic artist. Mirrors set
into the back create a wonderful effect when a burning candle is placed
inside.
Casa Bella's
open floor plan
is most evident
in this area.
While enjoying
the spectactular
views from the
living room, you
can easily see
through the
dining room
and into the
kitchen.
Custom features continue through the home, with an additional pair of hand-carved posts between the living and dining rooms. The subtle transition of color in the living room is an artist's rendering of "Sunset on the Mesa."
To the left, we see the same doorway, as seen from the dining room. Expansive ceilings draw our eyes up to the vigas overhead.
The dining room boasts a beautiful fireplace with a built-in banco, and a built-in firewood storage nook (to the left). Sunlight streams in, offering a perfect place to cuddle up with a good book. Windows look out through the south screened-in porch, which we'll see later, and into the back yard. This location offers a happy view of Black Mesa.
As we pass through the dining area, we enter the kitchen. This is a true "cook's kitchen," with a 5-burner Jenn-Air gas cooktop, a Jenn-Air electric double oven, and more storage space than one can use. The center island features a prep sink, with plenty of counter space for working; and a bar area for quick meals.

Another set of sinks can be found along the south wall, overlooking the screened porch and back yard.

This huge, sunny kitchen features traditional Southwest style tiled countertops, and has an additional granite surface for bread and pastry preparation.
Casa Bella's open floor plan makes it easy to entertain guests; one can socialize and cook at the same time. Better yet, there's plenty of room for friends and family to pitch in.
For special occasions, or when you're feeling particularly festive, you might want to cook outside, instead. A short walk out the kitchen door takes you to the east patio.
East portal, with entrance to kitchen
East portal, with entrance to garage
East patio
Custom built horno on east patio. A large fenced vegetable garden sits directly behind the horno.
And here, you'll find a custom built horno, with attched banco, perfect for outdoor cooking. The horno, or outdoor oven, is a quintessential New Mexico landmark. Horno baked bread has a taste all its own. But this oven isn't just for bread. Entire meals (including dessert) can be prepared here.
Perhaps you don't feel like cooking, and would prefer to relax, instead. Well, you're in luck, because the hot tub is set at 102*, the jets are going, and it's inviting you to step in and soak.

This also happens to be the best place for star gazing. If you don't see at least 10 to 20 shooting stars in one evening, all while soaking in the healing warmth of the hot tub, you're not looking up. The skies are so clear, the view of the stars so sharp, you'll need nothing stronger than the naked eye.

But don't turn down that invitation to a local "star party," where you can view constellations through high-powered telescopes, with the guidance of amateur (though near-professional) astronomers.
Let's go back inside now, and see the rest of the house. This time, though, we'll take a different route--through the south-side of the house. You haven't seen the screened-in porch yet, and we can see that on the way.
Here we're facing east, and can see the horno (left) and the hot tub (right) on the east patio.

The windows on the left sit just above the double sinks in the kitchen.

On the right, and in the distance, we can see
Black Mesa and the Sangre de Cristos.
And now we're facing west. To the left, we have a clear view of the Jemez Mountain range in the distance.

To the right, we see the set of windows that sits above the fireplace banco in the dining room, and also the door that will take us back into the house.
Before we go inside, though, let's step out to feed the birds, which are abundant here at all times of the year. Be sure to put humming bird feeders out during "hummer season," and you'll have a wonderful show.

To the right we see the area just ouside the living room doors and windows. Just beyond is the private patio that adjoins the master bedroom and, beyond that, another view of the Jemez Mountains. Gorgeous!
We're back inside now, standing in the dining room and looking at the wall opposite the fireplace. Here we find the stairs that lead to the upstairs loft and deck. Notice the inset shelves below the stairs; another one of those details that we find so appealing.

Shall we go upstairs and have a look around?
Up in the loft, we are welcomed by sunlight pouring through the windows. Patio doors (far right) open out to the deck, where we get another spectactular view of Black Mesa to the east and south. Here, we're facing due east, and the east patio sits directly below.
Heading back down the stairs, we get a nice birds-eye view of the front hallway

Let's go back through the dining room and kitchen, and check out the laundry area.
On the left is a view of the laundry area as seen from the kitchen. The door at the far end leads out to the garage.

Below, are two more views of the area. The window looks out to the east patio.

Cabinets offer ample space for laundry soap and cleaning supplies.
A terrific feature of the laundry room is that of gray water recycling.

Water run-off from the washing machine and laundry sink (to the left of the washer) go directly outside to fruit trees that grow beyond the fenced in garden.

These trees provide fresh cherries and apples. All that's needed is some pie crust, and you're set!
Next to the laundry area, directly across from the windows, is the powder room. The pocket door, hand crafted with tin-work inlay, is a beautiful designer touch--one that we'll see again with the 2nd bathroom.

This fine detailing is continued inside with a beautiful tinwork mirror that hangs above the pedastal sink. Ironwork towel and tissue holders mirror the iron hardware on the door handle.

No detail has been overlooked here!
If we go back through the kitchen and dining areas, and turn right, we'll see a door at the base of the stairs. This door opens into a bedroom. As with all of the bedrooms here at Casa Bella, it has a private exit to a walled patio. In this case, the outside door (not shown) opens to the front courtyard. The window (below) overlooks the waterfall feature of the pond.
The second bedroom is just past the foyer, at the end of the front hallway, and to the right:
Now we're inside the second bedroom. A transom window (closed in this photo) sits directly above the entry door, and can be opened for ventilation. Patio doors lead out to the west side of the house, into the front courtyard. A private patio area features a bench and tables, and a breathtaking view of Sierra Negra; the mountain directly to the north.

A beautiful, mature Russian olive tree offers shade to the private patio during the summer months, and is a favorite home to local birds.

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