Inside

To access pictures of "before the rehab" check out Sotheby. Viewing these before pictures one can fully understand our neighbor's comment that this house "has had a hard life". I love having the original Stamm home closets with built in drawers beneath. There is a feel of authenticity however I know others think they are "old fashioned" and have them removed. 

When we were looking for a Stamm home to purchase in Santa Fe, energy efficiency was important to us. As I shared in the previous blog my (our) caring for Mother Earth is paramount in how we live our daily lives. So we were drawn to 1832 San Felipe Circle since it was rehabbed. The three individuals who completed the rehab. included the following that were to our liking: 

• major electrical upgrade with a new panel, grounded outlets,  and recessed lighting 
• dual pane windows, 
• on demand hot water heater, 
• remodeled kitchen with a pantry/utility room addition,
• refinished hardwood floors with matching hardwood floors in the kitchen and the pantry/utility,
• a single car, finished, insulated garage with new garage door and storage shelving, 
• and a new torch down roof which now still has a full year left on its warranty. 

The beauty of the whole house with new elastomeric stucco was augmented by a new front portal boasting a stunning mailbox. All of this visually very ascetically pleasing to "the eye".

View out the living room window.
"Zen curtains" were hung on the
outside of the 3 windows to
prevent bird collisions and deaths.

When we were moving into 1832 San Felipe Circle, we were greeted as we unpacked by two of the neighbors living in two different houses across the street. They were both very warm and welcoming. As one of them says, "this is the best neighborhood in Santa Fe." She is living in the house she grew up in so she does have a valuable perspective. We have been most impressed with the neighbors, their friendliness and willingness to chat when we see them . . . when meeting up on walks or just outside in the gardens when they walk past. San Felipe Circle is a cul de sac so there is minimal traffic on the street.

After spending almost 3 months in two different rentals, I was immediately confronted with the EMF's from the LED lights inside and out our entire, new to us home. Both Shasta and I are extremely sensitive to electromagnetic fields of these "new" lights that produce light up to 90% more efficiently than incandescent light bulbs so it is understandable why people are installing them. When we consulted an electrician, we were told the entire house's light fixtures would have to be replaced since specific wiring was done to allow for them. And he went on further stating that there was a federal mandate/law that when an old house is rehabbed and new lighting is installed, LED lights must be used. EEK! So after a home consult with a lighting expert no longer in business here in Santa Fe, we went off to her lighting store to purchase all new fixtures to be delivered directly to our house. Back came the electrician to install and take them away. 

Simultaneously Dwight investigated the best whole house water filter system. He identified one that removes both the fluoride and chlorine that is added to the Santa Fe water. Then came a plumber to provide a water line and install the system in the garage. Dwight built a "box" in which to enclose the system along with heating to insure in the Winter no freezing of the pipes through which the water flowed for filtration.

Window coverings were no where in the house windows. So since we had had such stellar experience with Hunter-Douglas wood blinds at MuRefuge, we had an excursion to Coronado Paint and Decorating on Cerrillos Road. We asked about the most energy efficient window coverings and went with their suggestion: Hunter Douglas honeycombed insulating blinds. It took several weeks before the installation occurred but we were glad to finally have some "privacy" inside the house. 

The faux Kiva fireplace was done by Sotelo, JM Construction and the color and texture is lovely to look at. Now the chimney sports a spark arrestor chimney cap we had installed when a chimney specialist came to evaluate the fireplace. The lovely color of the fireplace was the exception to the stark white throughout the rest of the house. This bright white offered no soothing of the soul. Oh my gosh: many, many, many trips to Coronado Paint and Decorating to secure first paper samples of color then pint containers of possible colors to paint various rooms; and then a return to buy enough paint for the entire house. This happened in May so we helped with moving furniture then made ourselves scarce during an entire week+ of painting. One day we had an outing to Georgia O'Keefe's Ghost Ranch which has a stunning landscape that often appears in her paintings.

At the same time the inside of the house was painted, so was the shed, pictured above, after it was mouse proofed. Some of the side panels, which contained huge rusted out holes, had to be replaced before the painting could be done.

Also, simultaneously the wooden door from the small room addition (pantry) that leads to the outside back yard was sanded and revarnished. During the Winter it was evident the door was not sealed properly to be an outside door. Unfortunately, the sanding was only done with a mechanical sander and not finished by hand so the door is not pristine by a long shot. It has been sealed however and continues to withstand rain and snow.

Both bathrooms fixtures were upgraded with matching ones. In the small bathroom off the master bedroom the shower head was lowered to allow the average person to enjoy an adequate showering experience. Then a handheld shower head with three functions was installed for the ease of bathing Shasta, our four legged member of the family, monthly.

With the heat of this Summer past that had no respite since monsoon rains did not occur, we decided to install air conditioning and while we at it a furnace and whole house air filtration system as well as a state of the art thermostat. All of these are by the company Trane. Some while before our relocation to Santa Fe we had a new Trane furnace installed at MuRefuge and were quite please. We decided to stick with what we had experienced. Tru Air Systems, LLC installers completed the project in a week. They were unrelently diligent. The inspector was a dog lover (well, all of the men were dog lovers) and he returned when we had questions about the functioning of the air conditioning which was so appreciated with the unrelenting high temperatures. We have been quite satisfied with the furnace this Winter. Both the air conditioner which is located on the ground outside of the Master Bedroom and the furnace which is in a hall closet, typical of a Stamm home, are quiet. A bonus for me is the tiny bathroom off the master bedroom which is "mine" has been warm throughout this present cold Winter. The previous Winters it was too cold to take a shower in the evenings.

Air Conditioner Condenser
Model# 4TTV8024A
Serial# 201235D1IF
The coil is inside above the furnace.
Model# 4PX*BU30BS3
Serial# 203216EN5G

The Trane furnace: Model #S9V2B060U3,
Serial# 20265TL13G
and on the very bottom of the picture
is the Electronic Air Cleaner
Model# TFD175CLFROOOF
Serial# 18285UR5

State of the art thermostat
that can be accessed from 
a SMART phone.
Model# TCONT850AC52UB
Note the lovely color of paint 
in the background: a soothing warm yellow/gold.

We were pleased to note when we were considering purchasing the house that it had an on demand hot water heater. We replaced a defunct hot water at MuRefuge with an on demand hot water heater and heralded the efficiency reflected in the drop in our monthly PNM bill. Here we keep buckets everywhere to catch the cold water as the hot water kicks in and delivers hot water. All this water we save from going down the sewer is carried out to water the fruit trees. These young trees are so grateful to get any water we supply! I am quite surprised how quickly the fruit trees are growing. Water in this arid high mountainous desert is in scarce supply so our focus since arriving has been to use the least amount possible.

Another strong plus, in my opinion, is the entire house has hardwood oak floors. The slats are thin in the Stamm tradition. In the kitchen we found these instead of the old linoleum pictured in the before of the latest renovation.

The new cabinets in both the kitchen and the additional room are beautiful. I have so enjoyed using them especially the pull out drawers for pots and pans as well as the drawer for spices, etc. 

When we moved in all of the appliances were new LG ones. I, as many of you who read my blog know am not an "image" person but a "body" based one. These LG appliances seem to be very popular but not to my taste. So all the appliances were found a different home except the stove which remains. A Zephr stove hood fan with a charcoal air filter replaced the microwave. From my sensitive body's assessment EMFs are emitted from microwaves no matter how well insulated. The food cooked in a microwave is turned into an isomer thus the human body cannot extract the nutrients. The dishwasher was replaced with a Miele one. I love Miele products because their "build quality of all Miele appliances is amazing – every single part in a Miele appliance is made at the Miele factory in Germany where they test them to last for 20 years."  The Miele dishwasher is nothing short of amazing! And of course, it will remain in the house for the new owners. The refrigerator is an energy efficient GE which is small but meets our needs extremely well since we have a chest freezer which will return to California with us.

We love our Stamm home which we have "made our own" since moving in. When life threw us a curveball (just as devastating as Barry Zito's curveball) that moving to sea level was necessary for my health, we continue daily to