Tom Ford’s New Mexico ranch doesn’t draw attention at first glance. It sits outside Santa Fe on roughly 20,000 acres of open land and keeps a low profile by design. Ford commissioned Japanese architect Tadao Ando to build it, and the result as you’d expected feels deliberate.
Ford no longer owns the property, selling it in 2021 for around $48 million after several years on the market. At its peak, the asking price was closer to $75 million. Even so, it remains one of the most distinctive private homes built in the American Southwest.
Ford has spoken about how his work in fashion forces him to think forward. Collections, schedules, seasons. The ranch worked in the opposite direction. It was a place he used to slow down and stay present.
That idea shows up in the way the property is laid out. There is no central showpiece or grand entrance sequence, and the buildings are spread across the land and connected by long views rather than corridors.
Ando’s architecture relies on proportion, concrete (A smart choice for hot conditions, concrete holds heat during the day and releases it slowly at night), light and shadow instead of decoration, an approach that matched both the landscape and Ford’s intent.
The main residence is built almost entirely from exposed concrete and glass. Walls are long and uninterrupted, and openings are placed carefully. The house does not try to blend into the desert, but it also does not compete with it. It stays flat and linear.
Inside, rooms are spare with minimal furniture made of pastel coloured material and the focus stays on space and light rather than filling empty space.
The ranch covers around 20,000 acres and includes several residences and guesthouses, all following the same architectural language. There is a private airstrip with a hangar, allowing direct access without the need for commercial travel.
Ford also built extensive equestrian facilities, including a full training ring. Horses were a major part of how the property was used. A tennis court also sits nearby.
One of the more unusual elements is a functioning Old West movie set known as Silverado Movie Town. It has been used for film production and remains part of the land.
Despite its size, the ranch was not arranged for constant entertaining. The uncluttered rooms and long empty hallways helped the place feel like somewhere that is lived in.
When the ranch eventually sold in 2021, it did so at a significant reduction. That was less a reflection of the property and more a reflection of how narrow the buyer pool was. Not a luxury estate in the traditional sense, it required someone who understood a specific taste of architecture and landscape, and in that sense, it was always going to take time.