The lone beauty on Rainbow Circle
Mar. 7—The heart of this beautiful house by Jay Parks is a central courtyard, open to the sky and surrounded by plenty of glass to brighten the living areas. "You never feel like you're inside when you're inside," said Patricia Penwell, owner with her husband, Fritz Penwell. "I think it's liberating."
The house, built in 2003, is 4,067 square feet. The address is 6 Rainbow Circle, in Las Campanas Estates III, and it is the only house on Rainbow Circle. It is perfectly sited to pick up views of the Sangre de Cristo, Jemez, Ortiz, and Sandia mountains.
It is basically Spanish-Pueblo Revival style, but with sloped, mission-tiled roofs on the portáles surrounding the central courtyard. The home, then is tradtional Pueblo style modernized with lots of glazing: All of the windows (and French doors) are minimalist Prairie-style, each one with four muntins forming a glazed frame around the main pane, and all topped with wood lintels.
The entrance is through a lovely gate and brick-paved walkway through a walled garden planted with roses and ornamental grasses and with a piñon tree and a juniper tree, a miniature version of the surrounding ecosystem. A flagstone-paved portál shades the front door. Opening it, you can see straight through the house and the courtyard with its 8-foot-square infinity-edge, copper plunge pool in the center.
The house has beautiful plastered walls and tile floors throughout. There are no steps, a most beneficial "universal design" feature. There is radiant heating and air conditioning.
The stately living room has 16-foot ceilings — planks-on-beams with carved corbels — and a big corner fireplace.
One side of the gracious dining room holds a wet bar, and there is a thoughtfully practical pass-through to the kitchen.
The kitchen boasts a coved-plaster ceiling, wood cabinets and granite tops on the surrounding work surfaces and on the large island with 5-burner range and prep sink. All appliances are GE Profile except for the refrigerator, which is a Sub Zero. The bright adjoining dining nook has another of the home's may fireplaces.
The ceiling of the master suite is softened by the structural vigas (rather than squared beams in most of the house) and has more of those Prairie-style windows. One dominant wall is rustic stone with a central fireplace. In the master bathroom are a spacious shower, and dual vanities with large mirrors flanking a jetted tub with tile surround.
Two en-suite bedrooms, comparably appointed, occupy the house's guest wing.
The rear, wraparound, brick-paved portál is outfitted with a fireplace and a barbecue station. Aspen trees stand at the frontier of the 1.7-acre property.
There are two fully finished garages, the one immediately adjacent to the master bedroom heated.
The residence at 6 Rainbow Circle is listed by business partners Craig Huitfeldt and Michaelann Huitfeldt, Keller Williams Santa Fe, for $1,572,500. The adjoining vacant lot, also owned by the Penwells, may also be available.
