Featured Home: History lives on with loving care
May 1—Back in 1935, when Casa Del Monte Sol was built, Camino Del Monte Sol, or "Telephone Road" as it was called then, was a sleepy dirt road surrounded by piñon-dotted hills and meandering fields. New Mexico had been a state for just 23 years. The "El Portal" Indian arts and crafts market was about to open for the first time (1936) on the porch of the Palace of the Governors, the oldest public building in continuous use constructed by European settlers in the continental United States. And the Konapak family from Ohio decided to make this solitary adobe hacienda their home for more than 50 years.
With its wonderful combination of alternating intimate and grand rooms, one can see why.
Casa Del Monte Sol is a home in which to escape as well as entertain. A private front entrance with stone courtyard and art garden welcomes you into a small foyer with Old World charm and grace. Immediately to your right, a palatial dining room with long banco, centerpiece fireplace and deep-silled windows reminds guests that wining, dining and visiting together is part of the plan here. Fourteen can sit comfortably at the table in this elegant room.
"We had our sights set on this house for its history and authentic design and detail," said current owner Jim Hailey, an active trader and collector of antique automobiles. He especially appreciates the double adobe construction and original handwork evidenced in the carved doors, decorative-stamped lintels and iron hardware throughout the 6,200 square foot home. Touches of antique are everywhere.
Standing discreetly yet solidly on a gated corner lot in the most enviable neighborhood walkable to Canyon Road, Casa Del Monte Sol boasts 12 woodburning fireplaces, a three-car heated garage and a John Midyette-designed master suite addition.
Bright rooms fan out from a formal living room — which features impressive ceiling beams and coves — to multiple levels, with steps down to sitting areas and several outdoor secret nooks in a terraced yard. In April, the scent of warmed pine could already be detected.
A large master suite with a generous mahogany deck offers a lush, treed retreat with Sangre de Cristo views from a large Balinese-style wooden swing.
A decked-out media room and guest suite, with its own kitchen, are situated below by way of a nautilus-inspired spiral staircase. A free-standing full, two-bedroom guest house is a short stroll across the side patio.
At last, we must talk about walls. All the walls. It is difficult to resist reaching out and running a hand along them. So smooth and lustrous. Hand-troweled diamond plaster softly shines and seduces, room after room, floor to ceiling, with a warm finish that comes from rubbed beeswax. They are works of art, these walls. Encircled in a glow is how one feels standing in every room in this venerable casa. At 605 Camino Del Monte Sol, history comes with a hug.
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For more information or a private showing of 605 Camino del Monte Sol, please contact Ashley Margetson, Senior Associate Broker, Sotheby's International Realty, 505-984-5186 or 505-920-2300 (cell), ashley.margetson@sothebys.realty.
Historic hacienda offers Old World charm
