When tastemaker and owner of the beloved Round Top Inn set out to build her new family home in Houston overlooking the Bayou, she made one thing very clear: she was up for anything.
Like most start-from-scratch home construction, the owner’s vision for their home evolved as the project progressed from the initial cool-meets-farmhouse inspiration to a full-blown haven evoking a freewheeling spirit and cultivated artistic taste.
“The client was really inspired by the modern farmhouse, and she wanted to incorporate a lot of her artistic flair and love of color,” describes project manager Elizabeth Echols. “A lot of Houston clients stay traditional in their palettes and don’t necessarily enjoy the process of picking things out, but she treated her house as an art project, which opened endless possibilities of different layering techniques.”
One element that didn’t change, however, was the home’s function. The homeowners sought to cultivate a lived-in sensibility designed to immediately put guests at ease, while also withstanding the spills and accidents of the couple’s young children. As the owners are the consummate hosts who need no excuse to throw a bash, they needed large communal spaces with lots of seating to host family gatherings for holidays and celebrations.
One thing that the homeowner was not short on was ideas – for example, bringing a sample of a New Age-style, holographic deer-antler wallpaper to their very first design meeting. From then on – and for every weekly meeting thereafter during the nearly three-year endeavor – it was off to the artistic races.
“She really wanted to push the envelope,” explains Clint Johnson, principal at Newberry Architecture. “I mean, when a client comes to you with something like that holographic wallpaper, it makes the rest of being creative easy.”
In a reprieve from the usual white-box kitchens, the expansive, light-drenched space is defined by bold textures, technicolor treasures and custom pieces, starting with the oven hood, a vintage find from the client. “It’s actually an Italian altar with original pastel colors that really inspired her, and she knew she wanted to use it somewhere,” describes Echols, adding that she came up with using it as a vent hood. “So we flipped it upside down and then turned it into a vent, hollowed it out and made it work.”
The altar is flanked by white custom cabinets with glass panels and brass finishes on either side to complete a sense of flow and cohesion. Another dazzling antique find is the hardwood flooring throughout the kitchen, with the few leftover panels repurposed in the upstairs wet bar, while several other varieties and shades of vintage wood grace the home to deliver bespoke, artisanal details.
Check out the video below for a full tour of this Houston home:
Photography: Julie Soefer.
Stylist: Jessica Brinkert Holtam.
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