Pots and Pans as Ceiling Lights and Closet Organizers

Have you been pigeonholing your pots and pans as only good for their intended uses? Designers Jorge Almada and Anne-Marie Midy of Casamidy love colorful Mexican enamelware and have discovered new ways to put it to work.

At their impeccably detailed rustic-luxe ranch house in Sonora, Mexico, just south of Bisbee, Arizona, they’ve elevated stockpots as ceiling lights and used serving dishes as clothes organizers. Take a look at their creative cookware, very little to no work required.

DIY Enamelware Lights

“When we first built the ranch house in 2012, one of the things we focused on was the turquoise enamelware from Cinsa—it’s ubiquitous in the ranches of Mexico in particular in this color,” explains Jorge. “The light was made on a whim.” Photograph by Eric Piasecki/OTTO.

The kitchen is an ode to “popular Mexican product design,” Jorge says, and just about all came from the local hardware store. The lacquered metal, oak, and leather Sonora table is a signature Casamidy piece—at the couple’s contemporary furniture workshop is in San Miguel de Allende, everything is made by hand using old-world techniques and often finished with stitched saddle leather. The lockers have French enamel numbers: “Because the ranch is isolated, when we go food shopping we buy a lot. The first holds pasta, the last one is filled with board games: This is both our dining area and game room.”