A San Miguel-inspired
hacienda is a sueño come true
by Janis Turk
photography
by Robert French
Simple and stylish, this modestly sized but surprisingly spacious casa just east of San Antonio is softly reminiscent of the McNay
Art Museum — on a much smaller scale. And while it’s not unusual for San Antonio-area decorators to rely on frontera finds and Mexican folk art to supply a south-of-the-border sabor to their decor, Design Associates partners Koehler and Stevens refuse to take such border-line shortcuts. Instead, they headed south and just kept going, voyaging deep into the interior of Mexico in search of inspiration — and exquisite treasures.
“After our second consultation about the kind of house she wanted us to create for her, Margaret said, ‘I think this is going to require a trip to San Miguel,’” recalls Stevens. And so they went — leasing a quiet villa in the heart of San Miguel, where they would remain until they had steeped themselves in the spirit of that place and their plans became infused with it. There they mixed colors and designed tiles with craftsmen in the tiny pueblo of Santa Rosa, found antique doors and pottery in San Miguel, acquired antique artifacts from an old cathedral, admired fabrics and paintings from local artisans and came back with crates and crates of unique and lovely pieces.
The concept for the house, to be built in a crescent shape embracing a central courtyard with an outdoor kitchen and fireplace, first took form in the imaginations and drawings of the Design Associates partners before the San Antonio architectural firm of Thorn & Graves put the plans on paper. With the custom work of the Koehler Company of Seguin on cabinetry, doorways and other features, Design Associates went to work creating Hopkins’ dream, completing the project in 2005, around the same time San Antonio celebrated Fiesta.
“Margaret gave us only one directive: create a Mexican-style dwelling like those she’s enjoyed in San Miguel, so our trip there inspired all that we did in this home. We didn’t want to do the ‘typical’ Mexican-themed San Antonio house. Instead, we wanted to evoke the ambience of San Miguel and the tranquil joys that place awakened in us, and I believe we accomplished that. With Margaret’s green thumb and love of color and her gracious heart, it seemed to happen effortlessly,” says Stevens, though admittedly, a great deal of effort went into every aspect of this house.
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