As a break from my usual daily postings, I thought you might enjoy a description of our home here in San Miguel. It was a little unclear to me before our arrival as to whether we were in an apartment, condominium, or a house. It turns out to be a separate stand alone home, but in the sense that all restored houses are built flush next to each other, and they may be of different heights widths and design, even though attached to one another. I assume this is due to different builders and construction dates. Our casa has been recently remodeled. From the exterior photo previously published you can see it is flush with the cobblestone street with six outside steps on the down hill side and two steps on the up hill side. Clearly this will give you a clue we are on a pretty steep grade. The photo is a little deceptive as to its height. The guest suite level is what shows as the roof, and the master suite is up another level which cannot be seen as it is set back the distance of the guest patio.
In any description of this casa, and I suspect any casa in San Miguel, it is impossible to describe all the bright colors used in every room and space. No soft off-whites for the Mexican people. Even with my blue-green color blindness, I just love the vibrant colors. It somehow speaks to me. This tendency is confirmed when we are in the pottery stores and Mary Ann throws cold water on my bold selections, with the comment that it just won’t go with the colors of the Chelan condo.
As you enter the casa through the rough wooden door, you enter into a wide entry way, rich burgundy in color with steps up to the dining room, kitchen, and then left to the outside entry way with steps to the upper bedroom levels and patios. To the right as you exit the entry way there are steps up to the living room and a half bath. All the floors on the dining, kitchen and living rooms are flag stone. Each of the three bathrooms in the casa is done in Mexican tile. The main floor bathroom is designed with a butterfly pattern. The washing machine and dryer is hidden behind a door as you go to the outdoor stairs up to the bedroom levels. The ceilings in the entry, dining, and kitchen are rough cut timber. The ceiling in the living room is a brick boveda. A boveda is a rounded traditional Mexican ceiling made with bricks. There is a skylight, ceiling fan, and small chandelier in the living room boveda. The living room has a large gas fireplace, TV set, stereo and some very comfortable furniture. We spent a lot of time in this room, particularly in the evening. The room also has a desk and a high speed DSL connection for the laptop.
The kitchen counters and walls are all done in Mexican talavera tile. It is fully stocked with all the necessary large and small appliances to include a very new gas stove, refrigerator and essential things like a microwave, toaster oven, coffee pot, and blender (for the occasional frozen margarita). Dish washing is done by your humble writer, as the least he can do for the cooking and eating process. Mary Ann has advised that the pots and pans are of a better quality than we have at home. What an insult, considering I gave her new pots and pans for Christmas. Such an ingrate! Although the kitchen is not large by U.S. standards, it is large by Mexican standards. When on the home and garden tour, we have rarely seen any kitchen that was as roomy as ours. The rest of the casa will be described in my next article.
In any description of this casa, and I suspect any casa in San Miguel, it is impossible to describe all the bright colors used in every room and space. No soft off-whites for the Mexican people. Even with my blue-green color blindness, I just love the vibrant colors. It somehow speaks to me. This tendency is confirmed when we are in the pottery stores and Mary Ann throws cold water on my bold selections, with the comment that it just won’t go with the colors of the Chelan condo.
As you enter the casa through the rough wooden door, you enter into a wide entry way, rich burgundy in color with steps up to the dining room, kitchen, and then left to the outside entry way with steps to the upper bedroom levels and patios. To the right as you exit the entry way there are steps up to the living room and a half bath. All the floors on the dining, kitchen and living rooms are flag stone. Each of the three bathrooms in the casa is done in Mexican tile. The main floor bathroom is designed with a butterfly pattern. The washing machine and dryer is hidden behind a door as you go to the outdoor stairs up to the bedroom levels. The ceilings in the entry, dining, and kitchen are rough cut timber. The ceiling in the living room is a brick boveda. A boveda is a rounded traditional Mexican ceiling made with bricks. There is a skylight, ceiling fan, and small chandelier in the living room boveda. The living room has a large gas fireplace, TV set, stereo and some very comfortable furniture. We spent a lot of time in this room, particularly in the evening. The room also has a desk and a high speed DSL connection for the laptop.
The kitchen counters and walls are all done in Mexican talavera tile. It is fully stocked with all the necessary large and small appliances to include a very new gas stove, refrigerator and essential things like a microwave, toaster oven, coffee pot, and blender (for the occasional frozen margarita). Dish washing is done by your humble writer, as the least he can do for the cooking and eating process. Mary Ann has advised that the pots and pans are of a better quality than we have at home. What an insult, considering I gave her new pots and pans for Christmas. Such an ingrate! Although the kitchen is not large by U.S. standards, it is large by Mexican standards. When on the home and garden tour, we have rarely seen any kitchen that was as roomy as ours. The rest of the casa will be described in my next article.
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