Where Frida Kahlo Lived: The Artist's House in Mexico

The house, painted in turquoise, earned its nickname Casa Azul — "Blue House" — in the capital region of Mexico City. It was built by the artist's father in the early 1900s, where Frida was born, lived for many years, and where she also passed away. Since 1955, the house has been converted into a museum, but its interior was preserved exactly as it was during her lifetime.

Built in a colonial style, the house features a simple layout with white walls and ten rooms furnished with brown wooden furniture. Most windows open onto an inner courtyard, keeping the rooms cool at all times.

Originally intended as a single-story building, the house later received a second floor with an additional bedroom and a spacious workshop — added by Frida's husband Diego Rivera.

It would be hard to call the interior ordinary, even for the most avant-garde personalities. The typical home setting where Frida grew up with her family was later enriched with her own personal style: doors and floors were painted in bright colors, handmade ceramic pieces were arranged on shelves, and Aztec masks and skeletons were hung up.

Each item here holds significance and reflects something from the artist's life.

Just like her husband, Frida was deeply interested in ancient pre-Columbian culture. Therefore, artifacts such as stone deities are abundant not only inside the house but also in the garden outside. Papier-mâché skeletons — another passion of Diego Rivera’s — were also incorporated into the interior. Many of these were made by Diego himself following traditional folk customs, where similar figures or Judas figures were burned on Easter Sunday to symbolize the destruction of evil forces.

There were also many items unrelated to the artistic lives of the couple, yet just as strange: for example, a jar containing embryos — an amulet meant to ward off unwanted guests. Unusual items fascinated the artist. "It’s terrible, but it’s beautiful," she said about such finds and delightedly surrounded her home with them.

Yet the paintings of Frida, her husband, and their friends do not lose their impact in this vibrant setting. Perhaps it’s due to the white walls, which Frida never repainted, preserving an ideal backdrop for any creative endeavor?