Santa Fe style is an eclectic architectural language, a fusion of Old World and New World traditions. Sometimes called Pueblo Revival, it has always defied definition, evolving to become known simply as “Santa Fe style.”
What is Santa Fe Style?
It is an architectural style that incorporates Pueblo earthen forms, Hispanic vernacular rooms, Territorial brick copings and pediments, Mission arches, canales (roof drains), and occasional Victorian flourishes.
Together, these elements create the recognizable Santa Fe style feeling — grounded, handcrafted, and entirely within its place of origin.
Santa Fe style is one of America’s most distinctive regional aesthetics. Below, explore the many facets of this quintessentially Southwestern design and how it achieves high-desert living at its best.
The Timeless Appeal of Santa Fe Style
A living aesthetic rooted in centuries of cultural heritage, Santa Fe style highlights artisan craftsmanship expressed through materials and methods refined over generations.
Its design language is shaped by Pueblo ingenuity, Spanish Colonial craft, and the rugged poetry of the high-desert landscape. Wander the lanes off the historic Santa Fe Plaza and you’ll see adobe walls glowing at sunset, hand-carved doors set beneath viga-and-latilla portals, and turquoise-trimmed windows catching the evening’s red glow.
These elements are a part of what makes Santa Fe style.
What Defines Santa Fe Style?
At its core, Santa Fe style harmonizes Native American traditions, Spanish Colonial artistry, and the rustic practicality of the western frontier. The City of Santa Fe codified the style’s key characteristics in a 1957 ordinance to preserve heritage in every courtyard and corner of its historic district.
The term now appears nationwide in marketing for paint palettes, fabrics, furniture, clothing, and even food, which can blur definitions. That popularity raises the question: What truly defines “Santa Fe Style”?
Thick earth walls moderate desert heat and mountain frost; natural pigments echo red earth mesa, desert sage, and winter sky. The style resonates with modern seekers of authenticity and mindful connection to place.
Walk the narrow lanes off the Santa Fe Plaza, with hand-built adobe walls in Santa Fe’s historic district, and you’ll experience firsthand how the balance of cultural respect and sustainable materials creates grace and elegance in design.
Use the guide below to explore and implement authentic Santa Fe style across your home and lifestyle. You’ll also find tips for sourcing authentic pieces and simple techniques for incorporating Spanish Colonial elements.
The Essential Elements of Santa Fe Style
Adobe Homes: The Foundation of Southwestern Architecture
Earth-based materials create naturally insulating spaces adapted to the region’s climate, keeping interiors cool in summer and warm in winter.
A technique perfected over centuries, authentic adobe construction yields thick-walled, rounded-edge homes with ceilings made of vigas (exposed wooden roof beams) and latillas (cross slat, either slender raw wood poles or finished flat).
Although not necessary for structural support in many modern stuccoed “faux” adobe homes, the viga and latilla finishes create welcoming portal entrances to living spaces, both indoors and outdoors.
Read more about the history and enduring beauty of pueblo-style construction: Santa Fe’s adobe architecture.
Spanish Colonial Influences: Old-World Craftsmanship Meets New World Style
Hand-carved vigas, painted furniture, wrought iron details on entrance gates, and carved wooden doors are hallmarks of Santa Fe’s Spanish Colonial legacy. These details enrich homes with craftsmanship and character, and they serve a practical function.
Before the 20th century, the solid earthen walls and flat or rounded roofs of adobe homes meant no built-ins such as cabinets or closets, and no basement or attic spaces, as modern residents might expect for storage and daily use.
But Spanish settlers brought their traditions for carving wooden furniture, which became part of the Santa Fe style for modern homes. A few of these interior elements are noted below.
Rustic Furniture: Celebrating Handmade Beauty and Function
Contemporary Santa Fe’s interiors are defined by artisan-crafted, locally sourced furniture. Typical historic and modern pieces include:
- Carved wood: bed frames, trunks, chests, benches, tall cabinets (armorios) for clothing storage
- Handcrafted tile tables
- Equipales (of Aztec/Mexican origin): chairs and tables in pigskin leather and cedar (also pine, balsam, and alder)
- Trasteros: freestanding carved wooden cabinets for food, kitchen, and linen storage, with open slats, carved spindles, or punched tin panels with little holes, called crusitas (little holes sometimes in the shape of crosses); all are made for airflow.
- Religious art: santos (devotional images of saints), bultos (carved wooden saint statues), and retablos (painted devotional panels/altar screens)
You can source authentic pieces from galleries and consignment shops in Santa Fe and across Northwest New Mexico. Talk with dealers and artists to learn what inspires you and how to recognize quality. The more you observe and listen, the easier it is to spot the authentic touch in Santa Fe style furniture, crafts, and artwork.
Look for: tool marks on carved furniture, doors, and cabinets; subtle irregularities that signal handwork, not mass production.
Look for: tool marks on carved furniture, doors, and cabinets; subtle irregularities that signal handwork, not mass production.
Artful Interiors: Where Fine Art Meets Everyday Living
Santa Fe’s national reputation for the arts comes to life in curated living spaces, with gallery walls, sculptural displays, and collections that blend fine art with daily rituals. For a classic example, visit La Fonda on the Plaza.
Look for: kiva fireplaces, usually built into the corners of interior walls or outdoor portals to provide both warmth and visual focus.
A classic component of Santa Fe style is the meld of indoor and outdoor spaces with the use of portals and courtyard spaces.
Outdoor Living: Embracing the High Desert Climate
Drought-resistant landscaping uses desert garden design principles: smart plant selection and water conservation. Santa Fe’s high-desert climate makes year-round outdoor living elegant; even with high-elevation winter snows, you can sit on the portal in the sun (perhaps while enjoying an outdoor kiva fireplace), and on summer evenings, enjoy the cool night air.
Features that add shade, block wind, and create privacy include:
- Portal: a covered patio with latillas and carved corbels, providing summer shade and winter sun
- Outdoor kivas: for warmth and ambience
- Drought-tolerant landscaping: rain barrels, cisterns, drip irrigation, and ollos (unglazed clay pots partially buried to slow-water roots).
- Stone or adobe walls: temper sun and wind while casting shade
- Recirculating water features: sustainable water use with the benefits of the spirit-rejuvenating sounds and cooling of the air, plus attracting songbirds and other wildlife
You might be surprised how many beautiful gardens thrive in Santa Fe utilizing these simple, essential, desert garden design principles.
Native American Art: Honoring Indigenous Cultural Influence
Authentic Santa Fe interiors integrate Native American art with respect for Indigenous heritage and craft techniques. Pueblo pottery, Navajo textiles, and silver-and-turquoise jewelry, some with exquisite inlay work, are hallmarks of authentic tribal crafts and artwork.
Supporting Native artists and understanding cultural significance is key to creating meaningful, ethical living spaces. Respectful home decor reflects the depth and authenticity of Santa Fe culture, no matter where you live.
Collecting Treasures: Curating Authentic Santa Fe Style
Build meaningful collections of handmade pottery, textiles, folk art, vintage finds, and contemporary Native works. Invest in heritage craft and artisan-made pieces, but most of all — build relationships with the artists who inspire you.
Southwestern Textiles: Patterns, Stories, and Traditions
Handwoven Navajo rugs, Chimayó weavings, and Rio Grande blankets add warmth and cultural narrative to your home, connecting interiors and your place to Indigenous fiber arts and storytelling.
Common pitfall: Don’t hang Navajo rugs in direct sun because UV fades plant-based dyes. Use UV window film or hang them behind museum-grade acrylic.
Desert Colors: Nature’s Palette in Southwestern Design
Santa Fe’s high desert surroundings inspire a color story of clay reds, sage greens, desert blues, turquoise, and sunset orange horizons. Overall, these hues create warm, organic environments and connect interior spaces to nature’s rhythms (felt even in non-adobe homes).
Pro tip: If you love bright turquoise, confine it to accents (doors and nichos) so earth tones remain grounding. Likewise with clean whites and cool colors: use these energetic sparks as relieving accents.
Modern Twists: Updating Classic Santa Fe Style for Contemporary Living
Today’s designers reinterpret traditional Santa Fe elements with minimalist plaster and crisp accents of steel, concrete, or glass, updated desert color palettes, and streamlined furnishings made with sustainable materials and modern methods. The result feels fresh and contemporary while preserving the style’s earthen, grounded, high-desert character.
Santa Fe Fashion: Style That Transcends Home Decor
Santa Fe’s aesthetic influences personal style. Turquoise jewelry, concho belts, bolo ties, and hand-tooled boots signal a regional fashion identity in western wear. Seasonal adaptations and artisan accessories bring the look into modern wardrobes.
Creating the Vibe: Bringing Santa Fe Style to Any Location
Santa Fe design principles — color palettes, natural materials, and authenticity — can transform homes worldwide. With thoughtfulness and creativity, you can bring the spirit of the Southwest into any environment.
Why Santa Fe Style Endures Across Generations
Santa Fe style endures because it is a timeless design born of place. Adobe’s thermal mass steadies interiors through heat and frost, portals invite shade and breeze, and xeric gardens honor scarce water.
The style lasts in the hands of artisans through craftsmanship and genuine cultural appreciation. You see it in micaceous clay bowls glittering by the hearth, and adzed corbels still showing their tool marks.
Rooted in Pueblo, Spanish, Mexican, and Anglo traditions, the Santa Fe style forges authentic connections and invites a way of living that prizes quality, longevity, and story.
- Sustainable lifestyle choices: climate-appropriate design (including passive solar), local sourcing, and durable natural materials that reduce waste and honor place.
- Mindful living practices: thoughtful workmanship, buying fewer-but-better pieces, and supporting community markets and artists.
- Enduring design principles: balanced proportions, honest materials, and careful stewardship that keep homes beautiful and functional across generations.
At its heart, Santa Fe Style is authentic living — a sustainable style that feels good to live in every day.
Create Your Own Santa Fe Style
Ready to experience Santa Fe Style and create a personally meaningful interpretation rooted in the history of Santa Fe, its artistry, and the spirit of New Mexico?
Check out Santa Fe relocation tips for cost-of-living insights and neighborhood snapshots. Learn more about the capital city of New Mexico, the end point of the Old Santa Fe Trail.
See how cultural exchange shaped lives in the Southwest. Breathe it in, and live joyfully with the beauty, elegance, and enduring traditions of Santa Fe style.
