This charming Taos adobe overlooks the Ranchos Valley from a private site 1.5 miles from the intersection of Taos's main street - Highway 68/Paseo del Pueblo Sur - and Highway 518, the High Road to Santa Fe. The home's 3 bedrooms and 3 full baths can easily accommodate six and will transport you to another place in time.
Nestled into the hillside, this historic home provides classic New Mexico elements - vigas, saltillo tile, wood floors, 3 kiva fireplaces (decorative only), and several native stone terraced berms, patios and overlooks. It has been extensively renovated with in-floor radiant heat, new windows, kitchen and baths. It combines the ambiance of authentic adobe architecture and culture with modern comfort and convenience. Occupied for decades by acclaimed Taos artists Barbara Latham and Howard Cook, this home evokes feelings of relaxation, peace and creativity.
Sleeping in an true adobe home with feet thick walls, viewing moon and stars free of city lights, sipping morning coffee while watching horses graze and listening to the tumble of water in the Rio Chiquito will soothe the psyche.
The Master Bedroom has a California King bed and en suite bath. The 2nd bedroom has a queen sized bed and en suite bath. The 3rd bedroom has a full sized bed and adjacent private bath. There is Internet, wifi and two smart TV's for streaming.
What sets this house apart is its special perch on a ridge that overlooks the agricultural Ranchos de Taos Valley. The valley connects two of Taos's original settlements - Talpa on the north and Llano Quemado on the south. This area was home to many of Taos' reknowned modern artists during the 1940's, 50's and 60's. The working landscape provides a restful contrast to urban life and timeless subject matter for Taos artists: diagonally plowed fields, pastured horses, fall hay bales and rustling cottonwoods. The Picuris Mountains draw the gaze up from the green valley floor to the blues and purples of mountain and sky.
The setting is both quiet and private, removed from the road, but with easy access into Taos and the Ski Valley to the north, or to the Sipapu Ski Area due south, along with Penasco, Trampas, Truchas, Chimayo, and other High Road destinations. A short 5 minute drive south delivers you to several good hiking and cultural destinations - including well marked and sparsely traveled Forest Service roads and the Pot Creek cultural site with ancient Anasazi settlement remains and interpretive paths.
The dirt road traversing the valley below, Camino de Abejo de la Loma to Valerio, provides a lovely walk to the historic Ranchos de Taos plaza, where one can explore the iconic San Franciso de Asis Mission Church, galleries and restaurants including Old Martina’s (modern Euro-American cuisine), the Ranchos Grill (traditional New Mexican breakfast and lunch plates), the Garden Coffee Shop and the acclaimed Trading Post.
This home's interior and exterior beauty set an inviting stage for retreat, inspiration, romance or adventure.