Casa Lloreda

A Villa Celebrating Local Design

The architectural equivalent of farm-to-table cuisine, this restored villa and panoramic penthouse yoga studio by renowned Basque architect Miguel Arregui, the creative director of Tao Studio, reveals Michoacán’s wealth of traditional craftsmanship. The heritage property in Patzcuaro’s historical center is richly constructed of classic adobe walls from Tzurumutarothe, signature ironwork from Patzcuaro, and Cuanajo’s ancestral woodcarving technique.

The heritage craftsmanship continues inside, behind the villa’s unassuming, classic façade, where French owner Sandra Chollet, previously a buyer for Barney’s New York, collaborated with Arregui to combine local artisanal traditions with her personal heirlooms and design preferences. Coppersmiths were commissioned to create custom calla-lily-inspired lighting. Handmade furniture was woven in Ihuatzio and linens spun in the local Fábrica San Pedro in Uruapan. These are melded with family antiques from Algeria, a tactile Moroccan plaster technique, and contemporary spaces like the sleek kitchen, bright, top-floor yoga studio, and the fountain-filled courtyard garden, lush with lemon, mandarin, and heady flowering jasmine.

AROUND

Located in the historical center of Patzcuaro, a two-minute walk to the town’s two principal plazas, the villa makes a great base for exploring this Pueblo Mágico. Patzcuaro is of 100+ such towns in Mexico, designated as “magical” for their natural beauty, cultural riches and historical significance. Renowned for its rich craft traditions, the area is also celebrated for its rich indigenous culture and strong colonial architecture. Dramatic landscapes surround Patzcuaro, beginning with its namesake lake with its Janitzio Island, where the hosts recommend butterfly net fishing. The majestic Tzintzuntzan pyramids offer views over the region’s many lakes and the archeological site is also home to a Franciscan monastery with a 500-year-old olive grove. Additional pyramids are located at Ihuatzio, also an artisanal center, and the area is known, too, for its volcanic landscapes, including the molten, lava-covered village of San Juan Nuevo at the base of the Paricutin Volcano, with its well-marked walking trail and the Estribo volcano path, great for early morning runs. 

Not to missed are the area’s many masterful indigenous artisans. The Friday market on Patzcuaro’s Plaza de San Francisco features the works of many indigenous artisans from the surrounding area, and the town’s Casa de los Once Patios also offers a wide selection of regional arts and crafts. Visiting the surrounding villages can be done according to the type of craft sought—pottery in Santa Fe de la Laguna, embroidered textiles and wooden furniture in Erongaricuaro, and copper ware, similar to the lighting in the villa, in Santa Clara del Cobre.

LOCATION

Patzcuaro, Michoacán, Mexico. Nearest airports: Uruapan (50km), Morelia (45 minutes)

BEST TIME TO VISIT: Year round