Casa Todos

Kaleidoscopic Interior Design Updates a Rosy Todos Santos Retreat Under the Palms

This festive Todos Santos property offers a playful, contemporary take on the classic surf shack/beach house palette. With traditional Mexican cemento pulido providing a backdrop, the sleekly plastered home is shot through with jolts of color. The swirl of color created by interior designer Faith Blakeney is reflected in the home’s saltwater swimming pool, striped across its rooftop deck and layered across its sculptural built-in furnishings. There’s even a splashy wall mural by the designer’s well-known sister, Jungalow founder Justina Blakeney.

The vivid color wheel spins from the home's marigold yellow kitchen to its striped sunken den to its cheerfully patterned four bedrooms and three brightly tiled baths. And it continues onto a vibrant rooftop deck reached via a spiraling staircase. Global accents, from a vintage kilim rug to an inlaid Moroccan tea table and antique Belgian dining chairs, reveal Blakeney’s signature eclectic styling, and the home stands as a breezy bohemian oasis where artisanal furniture meets Mexican classicism showcased in the sculpted plaster sinks, cabinets, beds, countertops, and striking sunken living room.

Around

Located in Baja California’s pueblo mágico of Todos Santos, the home exudes that low-key, beach house styling electrified by cheerful colors and a pretty view. Once an isolated village, Todos Santos gained popularity among the surf set once road access reached the town in the 1980s. The town now offers a casual, creative lifestyle, ideal for exploring on foot. In town, lovers of farm-to-table cuisine will find a mini mecca here, with markets, restaurants and taco stands joined by barefoot juice bars and more glittering, bare-shouldered cocktail spots. Artists, jewelers, and other local makers sell their wares from sweet brick shops and galleries in town, and there’s a number of yoga and wellness retreats for self-care.

Surf schools are on hand for the uninitiated, and Todos Santos’ most sought-after waves are found on La Pastora beach, a hot spot for expert big wave surfers from around the world. The La Cachora surf break was voted one of Mexico’s Top Ten beaches for its whale watching, sunsets, horseback riding and of course, swimming and surfing. The surrounding Sierra de la Laguna mountains rise inland beyond cultivated fields of avocado and mango, interrupted by forests of fringed, fluttering palms. Set about an hour’s drive from both La Paz and Cabo San Lucas, Todos Santos occupies the Pacific side of the Baja peninsula and combines a low-key, seaside meets desert vibe.

Location

Nearest airport: San Jose del Cabo (1.5 hours)

Best time to visit

Spring through fall

Photography: Cris Nolasco