Landscape painter Kate Palmer and husband Robb Habbersett live in this turreted, two-story passive-solar house designed by famed Santa Fe architect William Lumpkins. Kate and Robb's home is wonderfully unique, embracing the architect's penchant for asymmetrical design and flowing room blocks. Lush gardens and open patios - designed and created by Kate and Rob on each of the home's three levels, offer grand solitude and gorgeous vistas.
Photos by C. Whitney-Ward
The house was designed to be in sync with Mother Nature. Two-story exterior windows capture sunlight, and a series of sliding glass widows on the interior can be opened or closed - depending upon the season - to regulate the temperature. And as the sun drops in winter, sunlight pouring through the front windows goes deeper into the house.
As you enter, a sculptural spiral staircase takes you to the second level. The beautiful iron railings were designed to store heat...
The only other source of heat is this sleek wood-burning stove, purchased from a neighbor and moved to the second floor with a lot of help...
Each room is filled with much-loved art.
And lots of sunshine.
Kate's beloved pottery sits on every surface...
And her soaring 1,100 sq. ft. studio - added on to the north side of the original house - is filled with light from 18 ft. floor to ceiling windows that face the Sangre de Cristo Mountains and foothills. There are framed landscapes on every wall, and large and small easels cradle canvases in various stages of completion.
Kate received this behemoth easel as first prize in a show at the Salmagundi Club in New York.
"I was always an outside person," explains Kate who grew up in Oklahoma City. "I used to make small pots out of red clay down by the stream near my house," she recalls. "My parents had to use a grappling hook to bring me home."
As a result, she is passionate about landscapes and travels and paints in Tuscany, Charleston and the Monteray Coast when not capturing the beauty of New Mexico. She is formally trained and has won numerous and prestigious awards and has been featured in a myriad of art publications.
"Losing myself in the landscape - finding still passages of time there - is my bliss."
G R E E N B E R G F I N E A R T
205 Canyon Road
Santa Fe, New Mexico
505.955.1500
