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 Entertainment | Books | May 2007 
Love that Mexican style? Adapt it for Your Home
 Claire Whitcomb - Universal Press Syndicate
| Just a touch or two of the warm, color-infused look might be enough to transform your abode, Annie Kelly writes in her book 'Casa Mexicana Style.'
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The hothouse colors, the hand-painted tiles, the lazy drift of hammocks and mosquito netting: If you visit Mexico, it's hard not to fall in love with the look and the lifestyle.
But unlike a craft or a curio that you can pack in your suitcase, Mexican style isn't always easy to bring back home. And if you do, it might not look the same. Hibiscus pink, you might say to yourself. What was I thinking?
Perfectly sensible thoughts, says Annie Kelly, a Los Angeles writer and decorator. With her husband, photographer Tim Street-Porter, Kelly has visited some of Mexico's most beautiful houses in the course of writing a book, Casa Mexicana Style (Stewart, Tabori & Chang, $40).
The trick to bringing Mexican style home, Kelly says, is to translate it so it works for your life and your house.
In terms of color, that means taking a lesson from midcentury modern architect Luis Barragan, who was famous for his use of pink. Rather than saturate a room with color, he would use pink on one wall and keep the rest of the interior neutral.
If a wall is too daring for you, Kelly suggests giving your house a dash of Mexican color - sky blue, lilac or sun-kissed yellow - by repainting your entry. Because you're only passing through, you can enjoy a pulse-racing blast of color without having to live with it full time.
Another good way to play with color is to paint the inside of your bookcases. Kelly points out that Mexican interiors often show bright colors lining window recesses and niches designed to display china.
Of course, the simplest way to get a south-of-the-border fix is with pillows. Try adding hot pink ones to a white sofa - with or without a pink wall behind them.
Here are some of Kelly's other suggestions for bringing Mexican style home.
Add beautiful neutrals to your rooms. Mexico's earthy beiges, ochres and grays are often created by mixing lime or dirt with paint. An easier solution for Americans is to choose sophisticated neutral shades from some of Kelly's favorite paint purveyors. They include Old World Paint Co., Donald Kaufman Color Collection, Farrow & Ball and Fine Paints of Europe.
If you're using colorful, hand-painted tiles, "get the most authentic ones you can find," says Kelly, who prefers primitive, handmade originals to copies. "And be sure to butt the tiles up against each other so the grout lines are thin. The look is more authentic, and your tiles will be easier to clean."
Choose your terra cotta carefully. You want good-quality tiles that don't create a cheap, restaurant look, Kelly says.
Color your grout the same color as your tile. If you're using terra cotta, your grout should be terra-cotta colored.
Keep clutter to a minimum. Mexican houses generally aren't filled with collections and knickknacks. "They save their decorating for Christmas, Easter and the Day of the Dead," Kelly says.
Let little things say a lot. Line a wall with Mexican cowboy hats or display ornately carved chess pieces on a mantel.
Incorporate natural materials. Many of the houses in Casa Mexicana Style have earthen or stone walls and textural beamed ceilings. The former might be difficult to acquire, but in many homes, it's possible to remove plaster or drywall and expose the supporting beams. The beams probably will be second-grade wood, but never mind. Just stain them a rich dark brown, Kelly says.
If a window doesn't have a view, skip elaborate curtains and cover it with a lattice grid, as architect Manolo Mestre did in his apartment. You'll let in light and create the sense of mystery that many Mexican interiors possess.
Take a cue from Barragan and focus your house inward.
"He failed to see the point of large plate-glass windows that other modernists liked to use on the street facade," Kelly says. "He believed that these took away from the essential privacy of the house."
Instead Barragan used courtyards and skylights to link indoors and outdoors.
So find a hammock and read Casa Mexicana Style. It's a luxurious vacation that will stay with you |
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