The Magic of the Adobe Hacienda

Visitors to the Adobe Hacienda Bed and Breakfast Inn in Sedona, Az. will not only be treated to a special get-a-way, they will also be surrounded by hand picked arts and crafts objects and antiques of the SW American, Indian, and Spanish-Mexican genre. In this article I will describe the objects of beauty found in the inn. The word hacienda comes from a Spanish word meaning big house of a plantation, and the Adobe Hacienda Bed and Breakfast is, indeed, a large house made of adobe. What is adobe? Most of us know adobe refers to sun-baked bricks made of mud and water with a bit of organic substance such as straw mixed in the hold the form together. What most people don't realize is that the word comes from the Middle Egyptian language, and referred to the same type of sun-baked bricks that are used even today, expecially in southwestern United States. Saltillo Tiles: A great deal of the flooring of the Adobe Hacienda Bed and Breakfast Inn is made of Saltillo tiles. Saltillo tile is a type of terra-cotta tile that originates in Saltillo, Coahuila, Mexico.[1] It is one of the two most famous products of the city, the other being multi-coloured woven sarapesso typical of the region. Saltillo-type tiles are currently manufactured at many places in Mexico, and high-fire ג€œSaltillo look" tiles, many from Italy, compete with the terra-cotta originals Saltillo tile varries in colour and shape, but the most are squared shape, and exhibit various hues of reds, oranges and yellows. Tiles are shaped either by pressing quarried clay with a wooden frame (super), or carving out the desired shape (regular). Depending on the raw tile's placement among other tiles at the time of firing, its colour ranges from yellow to a rich orange Pendleton Blankets: The Adobe Hacienda Bed and Breakfast Inn provides Pendleton blankets in all the rooms of the inn. Pendleton blankets are beautifully colored and woven Indian blankets originally produced by the Pendleton Mill in Pendleton, Oregon. The Mill was developed by the Bishop family, a family of weavers, who carried on a tradition brought to America by Thomas Kay, Mr. Bishop's father in law. The family made theri reputation producing high quality colorful blankets for many of the Indian tribes in the area, and eventually the blankets became popular amoung the white settlers as well. The traditional Pendleton blanket is square, without fringes and woven in bright colorful patterns. Mexican Hand Painted Sinks: Most of the bathrooms in the Adobe Hacienda Bed and Breakfast Inn feature original Mexican hand painted sinks. Mexican hand painted sinks come from the Talavera region of Mexico. The clay near Talevera has a special quality that makes it ideal for producing durable, attractive, glazed ceramic sinks. The art of hand painted ceramic pottery, which was popular for centuries in Puebla, Mexico, and the Talevera area, originally was imported from Italy and Spain. It is believed that Monks wishing to creative artistic tiles to decorate their monasteries taught the art to the natives. Kiva Fireplaces: The Adobe Hacienda Bed and Breakfast Inn has a Kiva fireplace in the far side of their outdoor patio and in each bedroom of the inn. Kiva or beehive shaped fireplaces are most often made of adobe brick and are conical shaped. They are part of Southwest American architecture. The cone narrows as it rises to the ceiling of the room. Because of the cone's weight, Kiva fireplaces must be installed by professional masons. The open fireplace of the Kiva is usually domed shape, and a raiased hearth frequently extends out from the bottom of the fire opening.

At the far end of the patio of the Adobe Hacienda Bed and Breakfast Inn is a Kiva fireplace. The fireplace is made of adobe brick, like the inn. Similar Kiva fireplaces are found in most rooms of the inn.