Furniture of color
For three generations, the Guzman family has been knocking on doors all over Mexico - and then turning those doors into magnificent home furnishings for their Bellas Artes De Mexico stores in Scottsdale and Phoenix.
Through the years the Guzmans have forged relationships with families throughout Mexico, Guatemala and Brazil, commissioning them to custom build furniture like armoires, hand-carved beds, saints and crosses, jewelry cabinets, patio tables and various pieces of decorative hand-painted furniture that fill the store with character and color.
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Indeed, color is what strikes you here and sets this store apart from those filled with the more commonplace pine wood pieces that Mexico regularly churns out.
Here, colored furniture and accessories come in every intensity and combination, from a carved wooden rabbit with a secret hiding place on its back to giant cabinets, armoires, sideboards and benches in brilliant Western scenes to dressers of paneled flowers and hummingbirds.
Some pieces are bright, bold and highly varnished. Others are gently color-stained then wiped down to show a piece’s character and age.
Bold and exotic
Besides color, you’ll find massive furnishings handcrafted from exotic woods like Sabino and Mexican mesquite.
“In Arizona, people use mesquite for firewood and barbecues,” owner Christina Guzman said. “But our family custom designs furniture from very old, large and hard-to-find mesquite wood, and our artisans carve designs right into one solid piece rather than glue on embellishments.”
Examples are everywhere, from a bold and sturdy 11-foot mesquite table with hair-on-hide chairs to impressive 12-foot-high armoires with stories notched in wood.
Telling stories
You know how I feel about stories.
If a piece of furniture, accessory or art tells a story, it has more of a chance of ending up in our homes, right?
Take a short walk along the narrow hallway at Bellas Artes De Mexico and the stories begin. The rooms reveal themselves, and inside each are limited-edition copper and silver mirrors and frames, chairs and chests painted with the colorful face of Frida Kahlo and cabinets made of old boats from Brazil. Gorgeous wooden saints carved by the children of artisan families tell the story of craftsmanship passed from one generation to the next.
Old and new
At Bellas Artes De Mexico, the wood is old, and many of the designs are new. If you can’t find that particular piece you’ve been hunting for, the Guzman family will create any piece in the size and color you like. Maybe you’ll get lucky and find something this weekend during the sale they have only once a year (through Sunday).
Bellas Artes De Mexico has two locations: 7575 E. Redfield Road in Scottsdale, (480) 922-5226; and 2137 E. Indian School Road in Phoenix, (602) 957-8078. Visit www.bellas artesdemexico.com.
