By Brett Chudá
Photography by Camila Cossio
Take a drive into the hilly, forested countryside not far from Mexico City, and you’ll find mountains made of rich red clay. Here, Casa Colorada pays homage to this special material and Mexico’s permeating beauty as it overlooks the lake beside a historic colonial town. This weekend retreat is more than 5,000 feet above sea level and enjoys a privileged microclimate. Year-round average temperatures here are 72 degrees Fahrenheit.
The Land’s Demands
This is where Mexican design firm Once Once Architectura began its assessment of the challenging lot that would one day become the spectacular and secluded Casa Colorada. It’s an irregular-shaped plot with steep slopes and plenty of pine and oak trees. The team opted to incorporate into their design as many of the property’s mature trees as possible and only transplant smaller ones.
The long lap pool appears to plunge infinitely off the edge of the lush Mexican mountainside, underscoring the lake and mountain views beyond. Carefully preserved oaks provide shade on hot days while a Jacuzzi heats things up at night and in the early mornings.
To achieve their vision, the designers played with geometry until something truly wonderful took shape. The result is an oasis with serendipitous natural shade screens and plenty of verdant textures. To situate the main structure among so many trees, they placed parts of the house on columns to allow the trees below their freedom. Other trees were blended seamlessly into the patios and terraces.
The Feeling Inside
Casa Colorada’s main entryway is accessed through dense vegetation that sits against the voluminous but minimalist facade at the back of the home. Visitors’ first experience here is one of anticipation and discovery.
Once inside, the foyer offers a peek-a-boo view of the lake through the trees, a preview of sorts. This leads to the living room, dining room, and kitchen before opening onto a large terrace flanked by a lap pool and Jacuzzi. Exposed beams propel the eye from the entryway all the way to the terrace. The beams are made of local oyamel wood, certified by the Forest Stewardship Council, and the walls are annealed red partition plastered with cement and sand. The overall feeling here is one of simplicity and practicality that makes way for luxurious views and experiences.
The graphic ceiling lines that lead to the angularly framed view make the natural landscape a striking presence from the living room. Oyamel wood beams connect the interior space to the wild native plant life outside.
The 6,674 square-foot house is oriented around two generous verandas, one atop the other. The upper floor is where residents go to rest and recharge. Each of the four bedrooms has its own en suite, and the master bedroom has an additional dressing room. Each secluded area looks out onto a different view and provides a living space that’s unique from the others.
The home’s designers ensured that each of the four bedrooms enjoys its own view and a special touch, providing a unique and restful experience for sleeping and living.
Outdoor Spaces Aplenty
Casa Colorada conceals some of life’s inner workings thanks to built-in service rooms and a service stairway. This lets the main living area become an uncluttered stage for life’s important moments. There may be no better place that exemplifies this than Casa Colorado’s indoor-outdoor kitchen and bar area that opens onto its own leafy terrace. Oak branches bend overhead, creating a green roof. Cooking outdoors is common during Mexico’s hottest days, so Once Once Architectura equipped this terrace with a wide bar, grill, and sink for cooking al fresco. It also serves as a warm gathering place when evening temperatures dip.
The kitchen opens onto a leafy terrace where a grill and sink are ready for cooking alfresco.
For variety, Casa Colorada has another, more secluded outdoor space accessed from the dining room. It’s known as the interior patio. It has an introspective, almost monastic quality, surrounded by tall vegetation and exterior walls on all sides. The patio is the perfect place for morning coffee since it’s warmed by the early sun. But it becomes a cool and shady sanctuary in the heat of the afternoon.
The interior patio is hugged by vegetation and clay-colored walls on all sides, lending itself to quiet introspection. Its unique location provides variety in outdoor settings: warm in the morning, sheltered from the heat in the afternoon.
The most crowd-pleasing spot on the property may be the covered patio nook at the end of the lake-view terrace. Here, settees surround a fireplace just steps away from the Jacuzzi and open-air entertaining spaces beyond. It’s the ideal place to sit back and watch the sun and clouds roll across the hills while enjoying just enough protection from heat or rain.
