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We've all seen the flat roofs, the adobe walls, the curved corners, the flat roofs, and the exposed rafter ends of traditional Santa Fe architecture. Enter any hacienda in Northern New Mexico, and you will see a hodgepodge of rooms at odd placements and strange angles not seen in modern European and ranch style homes. The reason for this is that the rooms were added as families grew and more ranch hands were employed.

These buildings were all made with the most plentiful resource available--earth. Foundations were laid with bricks and tile. The walls were made with adobe clay bricks made on site. The roof was buttressed with long logs running the depth of the building. And the walls, inside and out, were plastered with adobe. That was the ancient way to build an adobe house.

Amazingly, aside from the pre-fabricated bricks, sheetrock interiors, and concrete foundations, this is very similar to the way the adobe house is made today. The feature of all adobe buildings is the thick earthen walls which prove to be very energy efficient. Concert halls, government buildings, and mansions have been fashioned after the Santa Fe style of architecture represented in the ancient adobe building method.

Today Santa Fe style homes can be found throughout the Southwest and in California and Florida. This architectural style is more popular than ever for the attractive earth-tone exteriors and energy efficient construction. Though the Santa Fe style is popular throughout the United States, the flat-roof construction of most Santa Fe Home designs is impractical for climates that are prone to heavy snowfall.