It’s hard to find a focus; your eyes dart from sculptured shrubbery wrapping around the house to the countless varieties of flowers that actually seem to smile at you. This hidden sanctuary is quiet; isolated from the city sounds of buzzing people and traffic tangles. You feel as if you have discovered a secret garden, a place no one has had the pleasure of experiencing… until now.

“It’s not exactly the Winchester House,” Connie Lazaro laughs. She is referring to the Winchester Mystery House, a Victorian mansion built in 1884 by Sarah Winchester, heiress to her husband’s rifle legacy. The reputation of the Winchester House is due in part to its owner’s 38-year obsession with ongoing construction to the house, and its ever-growing footprint and square footage. Connie, however, has finished her project. And it only took her about 22 years.

“We were lucky to find this house,” Connie says of the home she has shared with her husband Richard since 1986. “I saw an artist’s rendering of the house one day and called about it. I knew the moment I saw it that this was our home.”

Built in 1960 by the Stahmann family, the Georgian-style mansion reminded Connie of growing up on her grandmother’s plantation in Virginia. The entire house is about 10,000 square feet (up 2,000 from the original 8,000) that you can easily get lost in, and includes six various levels that stretch from a basement below the kitchen to an observatory offering 360-degree views of the valley. Six bedrooms are located strategically throughout the home, along with five bathrooms. “Originally, there were nine-and-a-half bathrooms,” Connie points out. “I have no idea why anyone would need so many bathrooms!” Touches of the Stahmann family are still prevalent throughout the house, particularly in the hand-carved entryways and cornice molding around the ceiling in the living room.

The beveled glass entrance to the house is anchored with marble floors, which lead to a grand foyer flanked by a formal dining room and living area. All the walls are hand textured, then hand rubbed with a glaze that was also mixed by hand. A natural “do-it-herselfer,” all the work at the home is done by Connie with the help of Larry Null, who, according to Connie, “has been in charge of the house” for 17 years now. “He’s done just about everything,” she says. “He’s even helped me hang clothes.”

Just after moving in, the Lazaros quickly began work on the gardens outside the home. Inside, a fountain that greeted guests in the grand foyer was removed, and rough-sawn lumber and brick was replaced with the hand-textured walls. Her love affair with antiques is obvious throughout the home. The chandeliers in the dining room, purchased from a jewelry store in downtown El Paso (which has since gone out of business), were imported from France and date back to the 1920s. Oriental screens, usually used to divide living spaces, are displayed on the wall. “I don’t really have a ‘style’,” Connie admits. “I just surround myself with things that I like, and the Oriental culture is something I’ve admired since I was a child.”

The kitchen inside the Lazaro home is a harmony of antique warmth and modern comfort. Floors are made from an extinct variety of chestnut wood, and the walls are lined with old schoolhouse brick. The cabinetry includes tall, pullout spice racks on both sides of the cook top. An adjacent fireplace with a sitting area crackles with character, and a breakfast nook lined with wainscoting and a twinkling chandelier overlooks the gorgeous green grounds. The entire kitchen area is a perfect complement to the home’s historic charm.

The outside of the home is just as detailed as the interior, each element lovingly planted and cultivated by Larry, which is now mostly maintained by a local landscaping company. “People think gardens like these would require a lot of water,” Connie says on a stroll around the back of the house. “But really it’s like a microclimate inside of a microclimate, and requires little water.” She points out several varieties of plants and foliage along the winding walkways that entice your feet to follow them further. Rosebushes, pecan trees, magnolias, camellias, azaleas, rhododendrons and hydrangeas are just a sample of the garden varieties you’ll find along the way. It’s a year-round botanical dreamland.

Having come to the end of her project, Connie says it is a bittersweet feeling to admit the time has come to turn another page in her life. She and her husband have decided they are ready for a new project, and are currently looking to relocate to another home in Las Cruces. “It’s been over 20 years that I’ve lived here, and each time I come up the drive, I’m still in awe over this house. It’s like I’m coming home for the first time, every time.”