LOS TALLERES is the home of visual artist Erica Daborn and filmmaker Dennis Lanson. The property was constructed originally as live-in artist studios designed by SMA architect Jose Luis Gonzalez. Dennis and Erica met at the MacDowell Colony in the mid-eighties and planned to run an artist retreat in their retirement.
 
However, after we both retired from teaching in the Boston area we decided to convert the property into a house which explains its somewhat unusual configuration.
 
The house is situated 7km outside of San Miguel de Allende in Guanajuato, Mexico. It is near the water park Xote and the Taboada Hotel. The Camino a Xote is accessed via the Carretera a Dolores Hildago. From this location the property has 360 views of the surrounding countryside and offers a quiet respite from the increasing busyness of the town.
The property is off the grid, powered by solar and water catchment. Propane is used for heating and cooking.
 
The footprint of the property is approximately 212 sq.metres (2282 sq.feet), situated on just under one hectário of land. The house is ideally suited to creative people offering a large light-filled artist’s studio on the ground floor and on the upper floor a secluded writer’s studio with its own private terrace.
 
The kitchen and living area is open plan and leads onto a plant-filled covered patio which has become for us our outdoor living-room. The main sleeping space is a loft above the sala with a second small bathroom adjacent. Between the living room and the studio is a bathroom with tub/shower. There is also a large storage area.
 
Through a separate entrance there is a casita with its own loft, small galley kitchen and bathroom.
 
The roof terrace leads to yet another deck where, from a carefully situated park bench, we sit every evening to watch the sunset.