The presence of the past: a wall washed in sunlight enhances a traditional backdrop for contemporary living

* This gracious living room in Tesuque, New Mexico, achieves a balance between past and present. The design integrates traditional details of Southwestern architecture - heavy log rafters (vigas) spaced by gently coved channels - with a contemporary approach to daylight. Although the beams span the room, the channels stop short of the end wall to create a slender, room-wide light well. The skylight reflects off the warm-toned plaster wall, filling the room with diffused, indirect daylight. Built-in downlights set into the plastered channels provide illumination after dark. Other details reinforce the room's traditional-contemporary theme. The naturally pigmented mud plaster that covers the adobe walls and long benches (bancos) flanking the fireplace makes an elegant foil for colorful pillows and contemporary paintings. The fireplace facade contrasts smooth horizontal bands of plaster with a mantel of rough, whitewashed ponderosa pine that was hand-carved by a local artisan. It's the kind of room that feels both fresh and familiar.

Design: Robert Nestor, architect, Santa Fe (505/983-5497)