There is something amazing about the home of Erik and Lisa Gonzalez. When I walked through the front door, all my senses were awakened. Vibrant colors complimented each other while fighting for attention and various textures called out to be touched. Fresh fruit flowing over ceramic bowls on the counter begged to be eaten. Mariachi music streaming through the rooms made my feet tap and the smell of incense instantly relaxed me. What made the house even more comforting were Erik and Lisa, and the personality that flowed through the home, with all the color and character they have within themselves.
Erik and Lisa, who moved to Las Cruces seven years ago, spent a year working on the design of their home, which can be seen as a home-sized replica of the cultural and festive Day of Dead celebration. Once designs were complete, they waited for a year while the intricate home was built. With the help of interior designer Nancy Charles-Byers of Charles, Inc. and builder Gary Rogers of Planet Development, the couple walked into their new home in August of 2006. “It took a long time, but we knew just what we wanted. We wanted a lot of color and character. We wanted it to be a part of us,” Lisa says.
The couple, who are both artists, met when they were 15 -years-old, then later found themselves wanting to spend the rest of their lives together. On October 29, 2005, they married at a romantic destination wedding in Cuernavaca, Mexico, where Erik’s family lives. Lisa, a graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design, spent six months designing then creating her gown – sewing a stunning long-pile velvet gown then shipping it to Mexico to be embroidered with colorful flowers by the native Indians of the area. “It was very time consuming. I had to sew the outline of each flower where the embroidery would go,” Lisa says of one of her greatest creations.
The dress, with all the colors and sophistication any one dress could have, fits well in the home. Their home is full of detail and color, concrete and clay. The kitchen counter, and smaller shelves throughout the house, were created with poured concrete, and then painted. Floor tiles in the dining room and hallways were designed by Lisa and Erik then created with poured colored clay. Painters worked with 17 different paint colors throughout the home, including reds, blues, greens and purples. Even the sombraje cabinets in the kitchen and living room are unique. Sombraje, meaning “branch covered screen”, are colorful and like the tile in the home, made by hand. The branches from willows and salt cedars are handpicked along the streams in Northern New Mexico in the summer, peeled and then painted with fine pigments before they are cut and fit into panels. They add to the cultural, rustic and beautiful look of the home.
Throughout the home, traditional calacas, or skeletons used for decoration during Day of the Dead celebrations, are seen. Since traditionally the calacas are shown wearing festive clothing, dancing and playing musical instruments to indicate a happy afterlife, having them around only adds to the beauty and character of the home. Colorful paper flowers (used in the couple’s wedding) and a bright Tree of Life entertwine with the elaborate art collection the couple displays and the trinkets they have brought home from all over the world.
The home is open for the most part, with one large great room where the dining room, kitchen and living room flow together. “We love to have our friends over and entertain,” Lisa says. “That’s why we wanted a big open space.” A theater room is just off to the side, and bedrooms, bathrooms and offices surround the great room, each with its own character.
“The things that make this house so unique is eveything about the house,” Gary Rogers says. “Everything in the house was customized to Erik and Lisa’s wants and needs.”
One bathroom brings all the character of the home together with black walls, red and black tile and a red skylight that brightens the darkness in an incredibly unique way. Clay calacas adorn the vanity and tiles depicting the vibrant skeletons are intertwined along the wall. It magnifies the cultural traditions flowing through the home.
“This place says a lot about us,” Erik says. “It’s exactly what we invisioned.”
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