House Call: Shoring Up—and Unbuttoning—One of the Most Historic Haciendas in Galisteo, New Mexico

Dani Brubaker spotted artist Patricia Larsen’s handmade interiors here on Remodelista and on Instagram, and recognized a kindred spirit. Patricia specializes in using salvaged materials: she creates rather than buys what she needs and likes her rooms to have a welcomingly unbuttoned look. “Her work is very raw, it’s emotional, and she has this tendency to stop before it’s perfect,” says Dani admiringly. “I emulated her style before we met.”

Dani herself  is a creative force: a painter turned lifestyle photographer (with a fashion client roster that includes Paul Smith, H&M, and Hugo Boss), she’s been rehabbing old buildings as a sideline. For years, Dani was based in LA where the vast industrial space she converted into her studio became a popular wedding venue. Later, she turned an 1890 Texas ice plant into another event space that her daughter now runs.

In 2021, upended by the pandemic and ready to leave LA, Dani purchased a five-acre historic property in Galisteo, New Mexico, just 15 minutes from downtown Santa Fe. It was while taking a breather in San Miguel, Mexico, that Dani sent a fan message to Patricia, who lives in the nearby town of Mineral de Pozos. The two met up, hit it off, and Patricia agreed to come work with Dani on the Galisteo remodel.

Dani served as contractor and Patricia as creative director—Patricia was in residence for the first and last months of the six-month project and in the interim Dani oversaw nitty-gritty things like the installation of a new roof, new plumbing and electrical systems, and radiant heat. Dani and Patricia shared a rented house across the street from the hacienda, and together did everything from ripping out old carpeting to turning scrap beams into furniture.

Dani had intended to make the place her home base for years to come, but due to an unforeseen family development, she has to be in Austin, so the newly completed compound has just gone on the market. Here’s a look around. Scroll to the end for a look at the structure’s evolution and a link to the real estate listing.

Photography by Dani Brubaker, unless noted.

The abstract photograph by Lindsey Calla is of rock formations in the Galisteo Basin. In addition to serving as a setting for lots of Westerns (John Wayne stayed in the Galisteo Inn next door), the village has attracted prominent artists over the years: Agnes Martin and Susan Rothenberg were both long-term residents, and Bruce Nauman currently lives there.

The floors throughout are now concrete: Dani recruited “a friend who is a genius with concrete” to do the top coat.

At a resale store, Dani and Patricia found the armchair and curved two-piece sofa—they liked the fact that it’s the same shape as the fireplace. They temporarily draped these pieces in drop cloths—”we used uncoated cotton canvas, such as these“—and Dani decided she liked the way they look as is. They built the long bench along the wall from an old beam. A painting of Patricia’s called Galisteo Dust hangs over it.

The window opening was existing—after discovering that new windows would take months to arrive, Dani went with inch-and-a-half-thick storefront glazing that arrived in a week and has worked well. Patricia used leftover wood to build the table with the crew—and painted a diamond pattern on top.

Note the square cut-out in the wall: “It’s a truth window to show what the hacienda is built from,” says Dani. “You can look in and see adobe, stone, hay, and the many other things they used to bind the dirt.”

Before

In Progress

The property is known as 4 Magadalen; for many more details, go to the real estate listing.

More by Patricia Larsen and family:

• Artist Residence: Patricia Larsen Used Salvaged Materials to Reinvent Her Mexican Casa
• Patricia Larsen’s First Home in Mexico
• Peasant Chic: Janaki Larsen’s Atelier in Vancouver
• Shopper’s Diary: Vancouver’s Atelier Saint George