The Origins of the Santa Fe Style of Interior Design

A Salon Talk by Lillian Makeda
Thursday, October 16, 3pm
Thaw Education Center
553 Canyon Road

Free for Members, $10 for non-members

During the early years of the 20 th century, the Pueblo-Spanish Revival or “Santa Fe Style” became an important influence on the architecture of northern New Mexico. The style combined elements from regional vernacular idioms in a way that was unprecedented. But its unusual appearance prompted an important question: What should a Santa Fe Style interior look like? In 1915, archaeologist Sylvanus Morley claimed the interior design of these new buildings should be “a matter of personal taste.” Neverthless, a very specific ensemble of decorative art soon became characteristic. Inspired by the Arts and Crafts movement, Native American design, and the traditional arts of Spanish New Mexico, Santa Fe Style rooms signaled New Mexico’s cultural identity as intentionally and effectively as the buildings that surrounded them. During the 1920s, an iconic New Mexico interior became formalized with a series of important designs including the de la Peña House. Artist Frank Applegate furnished the house which was featured in several publications, including the December 1930 issue of Ladies Home Journal (the most popular women’s magazine of the era). By the mid-1930s, the style had spread throughout New Mexico, where it appeared both in small domestic contexts and in large public commissions. In this illustrated talk, Lillian Makeda will discuss the historic designs that shaped the Santa Fe Style and that continue to epitomize the New Mexico room at its most distinctive. 

ABOUT THE SALON

Lillian Makeda is an architectural historian who writes about the architecture and interior design of the American Southwest. Her academic credentials include a master’s degree in architectural history from the University of Virginia and a PhD in art history from the University of New Mexico. Lillian has taught architecture, art history, and architectural history courses at the University of New Mexico and Colorado College and her work has appeared in a variety of journals, including The Architectural Review; Buildings and Landscapes; Journal of the Southwest; and Kiva: Journal of Southwestern Anthropology and History. Her first book, The Diné Hogan: A Modern History, was published by Routledge in 2024 and will be available as a paperback at the end of this year..

ABOUT THE SPEAKER

The de la Peña House, Santa Fe, New Mexico, photographed by Theodore M. Fisher for House & Garden in 1929