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Enhancing the Sense of Place: Sharon Woods of Santa Fe's Woods Design Builders Talks of a Home's Soul

Many great writers have defined, as best as they could, the poetry and mystery of Santa Fe, New Mexico, and even more artists have called it home (George R.R. Martin, Cormac McCarthy, Georgia O'Keeffe, to name a few). It is the oldest capital in the United States and at 7,000 feet above sea level, it is also the highest. The early cold and the bracing, high altitude air, as D.H. Lawrence once wrote, makes "the stars snap like distant coyotes, beyond the moon."

With two distinct cultures (the Spanish and the Indian) and two different mountain ranges (the Jemez and the Sangre de Cristo), Santa Fe is rife with history and beauty. People have lived here since 1000 AD and in 2005, Santa Fe became the first U.S. city to be chosen by UNESCO as a Creative City, one of only nine in the world to hold this designation. The high altitude combines with the history of the land to make this a special, almost spiritual place—Santa Fe actually means Holy Faith. It is a labor of heart and mind to have a design/build firm here, since in order to be successful, a company has to have the preservation of land in mind and Woods Design Builders (WDB) has just that.

As the oldest family-owned design build firm in Santa Fe, Woods Design Builders is managed by CEO Sharon Woods and her family—most notably with her two sons, Shane and Rob. As a 40-year resident of Santa Fe, Woods has an in-depth knowledge of the city's history, unique architecture, and most importantly is able to incorporate these poetic elements into creating and/or remodeling a client's luxury home. Woods’ structures are built in several styles, from contemporary and pueblo to traditional and territorial. In fact, more than 200 homes have been built and over 50 have been remodeled by WDB.

Susan Kime

Susan Kime's career combines publishing, journalism and editing. She was the Destination Club/Fractional Update Editor for Elite Traveler, and senior club news correspondent for The Robb Report's Vacation Homes. Her work has been published in Stratos, Luxury Living, European CEO, The London Telegraph, Caviar Affair, ARDA Developments, and Luxist/AOL. She was the Editor-in-Chief of Travel Conno...(Read More)