Houston House & Home Magazine September 2020 Issue

HOUSTON

SEPTEMBER 2020

THE COMPLETE RESOURCE MAGAZINE FOR YOUR HOME

Texas Road Trips A Country Retreat Near Round Top Bento Box Lunches Vegetable Gardening Tips

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SEPTEMBER 2020

CONTENTS 12

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Cooking: Bento Boxes

Gardening: Growing Vegetables Texas Road Trip Guide Country Retreat Near Round Top

On the Cover: Photo by Eric Schegel for Matagorda Bay LCRA Nature Park PUBLISHER ............................Mike Harrison, Ph.D. CONTRIBUTING WRITERS ........................................

Shirley Barr, Anne Breux, Sam Byrd, Barbara Canetti, Marsha Canright, Mar y Chavoustie, Natalie de la Garza, Susan Fox, Joshua Kornegay, Katricia Lang, Barbara Kuntz, Paris Permenter & John Bigley, Whitney Radley, Robin Barr Sussman CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS........................

Brad Coleman, Miro Dvorscak, Kohanowski Studio, Dragana Harris, Ben Hill, Katya Horner, Illumine Photographic Services, Joshua Kornegay, Morris Malakoff, Paula Murphy, Julie Soefer, Becca Wright EDITOR & GRAPHIC DESIGNER..............Glen Cane

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ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE ..................Gabriella Gomez PRINTING ............................................RR Donnelly

Blue Thumb Inc., dba Houston House & Home ("HH&H"), is a news magazine with emphasis on interior design and remodeling. HH&H does not knowingly accept false or misleading advertising or editorial content, nor does HH&H or its staff assume responsibility should such advertising or editorial content appear in any publication.

HH&H has not independently tested any services or products advertised herein and has not verified claims made by its advertisers regarding those services or products. HH&H makes no warranties or representations and assumes no liability for any claims regarding those services or products or claims made by advertisers. Readers are advised to consult with the advertiser and/or other home repair and renovation professionals regarding the suitability of an advertiser’s products.

No reproduction is permitted without the written consent of the Publisher.

Copyright 2020, all rights reserved.

HH&H is distributed at over 400 locations throughout Houston.

house& home | September 2020 | www.houstonhouseandhome.net | P.O. Box 131845 • Houston, Texas 77219 • (713) 523-6523 • info@houseandhomeonline.com

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LEFT: TAKENAKA’s Bento Box Expanded Double and Bento Bowl containers come in designer colors. Photo courtesy of TAKENAKA RIGHT: Kata Robata’s Bento Japanese lunch box offerings include Kobe beef, cod, sashimi, shrimp tempura and salmon teriyaki. Photo by Julie Soefer

BRING ON THE BENTO Make Lunch Healthy and Fun With These Enviably Hip Bento Box Ideas

By RoBin BaRR SuSSman

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t’s that time of year again for school shopping and toting lunch to school or work. Beat brown bag boredom with an all-in-one-carrier that’s stylish and versatile. Bento box lunches, which originated in Japan and have recently become popular in the U.S., don’t have to be overly cute or artful. They are designed to make it easy to pack a durable, balanced and eco-friendly meal that appeals to all ages.

FUN LUNCH IDEAS FOR KIDS Try these tricks for an elevated lunchbox that will always come home empty.

Cut sandwich bread and sliced cheeses into whimsical bites with cookie or aspic cutters shaped like flowers, stars or butter-

12 house& home | September 2020 | www.houstonhouseandhome.net

flies. Find it at World Market, worldmarket.com, and Sur La Table, surlatable.com.

Use mini silicone muffin cups and fill them with thick dips like guacamole or hummus. Find it at Bed, Bath & Beyond, bedbathandbeyond.com.

Roll pita bread with mayo, cream cheese and sliced meat into festive roll-ups and secure with fancy toothpicks. Or pick up prepared pinwheel sandwiches at Whole Foods Market, wholefoodsmarket.com.

Use serrated knives to slice carrot sticks or red pepper snacks for lunches. Find them at Sur La Table, surlatable.com, and Walmart, walmart.com.

Plan leftovers for a bento box lunch the next day. Think cold fried chicken drumsticks served with hard-boiled eggs,

potato salad and melon balls for a faux picnic. Find the Chef’n Scoop Troop Melon Tool at Sur La Table, surlatable.com.

CRAVE-ABLE LUNCHES FOR THE OFFICE, BUDDING EPICURE OR THE GRADE SCHOOL POWER LUNCH Whether you’re in the mood for Italian, Asian, American or Mediterranean fare, get inspired by these international culinary themes and be the envy of the office fridge.

Mediterranean-Greek bento: Vegans or vegetarians would relish a mezze selection of hummus, pita and feta cheese. Greek fans might like a marinated lamb pita sandwich or beef gyro (or pick it up at Myth Kafe food truck, mythkafe.com). Cedar’s Bakery makes fresh baked za’atar bread, spinach pockets and falafel on pita, to name a few (cedarsbakeryhouston.com).

HS Green’s Grilled Chicken Salad includes jicama, mango and spiced pecans.

Photo courtesy of HS Green Fresh Food Kitchen

Asian bento: Steamed rice, stir-fried veggies and chicken make a balanced lunch or, for something extra spicy, let Pepper Twins (txpeppertwins.com) be your go-to source. For fresh, chilled sushi and sashimi plus a variety of exotic small bites, look to Kata Robata’s lunch bento box (katarobata.com).

Italian bento: Build an antipasto salad with Italian cheese, deli meats, cherry tomatoes, crisp greens and a side of vinaigrette. Pair that with delicious chicken parmesan, a specialty to try at the family-friendly Romano’s Pizza (romanoshouston.com) off West Gray.

American bento: Southwestern chicken wraps, hearty entrée salads and healthy mains are staple pick-up orders at HS Green Fresh Food Kitchen (hsgreen.menu). Or pop over to Paulie’s (pauliesrestaurant.com) for substantial sandwiches paired with pasta or fruit salad. Don’t forget one of the award-winning shortbread cookies elaborately piped with colorful icing.

Special diet bento: Snap Kitchen (snapkitchen.com) has meal plans and individual dishes (hot meals or chilled) for every diet and taste preference. Milk-free, gluten-free and pescetarian choices might include crunchy coconut shrimp. If vegan, the mango beet poke bowl will attract, or maybe a low carb barbecue brisket plate fits those high-protein goals.

Say hello to a healthy lifestyle with Snap Kitchen’s customizable meal plans.

Photo courtesy of Snap Kitchen

RESOURCES Bentgo Kids Brights, $27.99$39.99 Bentgo, bentgo.com Classic 6-piece bento box set, $12.99 Bentology, bentology.com Yeti LoadOut Bucket, $39.99 Yeti Rambler drinkware family, $19.99-$39.99 each Bering’s, berings.com Leak proof rounds, 4 ounce, $10.49 Insulated thermos, 8 ounce, $24.99 Bento container, protein packer, $17.99 LunchBots, lunchbots.com

Insulated hot and cold bento box, $39.50 OmieBox, omielife.com Rubbermaid Balance 11-piece meal kit (portion control), $19.99 LunchBlox® Kids Lunch Box Container, $9.99 Rubbermaid, rubbermaid.com Bento box expanded double with fork, $37.99 TAKENAKA, takenaka-global.com Buffalo Check PackIt Personal Cooler, $19.99 lunchskins Red Fruit Zippered Bag Set, $10.99 The Container Store, containerstore.com

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RECIPE

Paulie’s knocks it out of the park with its Mediterranean Pasta Salad. Can’t get to the restaurant at 1834 Westheimer? Then making it at home is (almost) as good. Photo by Robert Coplin

Mediterranean Pasta Salad

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nspired by the recipe from Paulie’s Restaurant, this zesty pasta salad with pesto vinaigrette is perfect for meatless Mondays or a side salad in a bento box.

Pesto Vinaigrette

Ingredients

3 tablespoons pine nuts

1-1 ½ cups fresh basil leaves ½ cup extra virgin olive oil

3 tablespoons red wine vinegar

1 pound of pasta (bowtie, shell or fusilli)

½ cup finely grated ParmigianoReggiano cheese

3 tablespoons pitted Kalamata olives

2 tablespoons lemon juice

¼ pound baby spinach

1 small red bell pepper, seeded and chopped

½ cup celery, sliced

1 4-ounce jar or can of drained artichoke hearts, sliced in half or quarters

2 teaspoons finely chopped garlic

½ teaspoon finely grated lemon zest

¾ teaspoon salt

freshly ground pepper to taste

1 cup crumbled feta cheese

14 house& home | September 2020 | www.houstonhouseandhome.net

Method

To make the pesto vinaigrette, place all ingredients in a food processor.

Blend until smooth. Season to taste with more salt and pepper. Refrigerate until ready to use.

In a large bowl, toss together spinach, olives, bell pepper, celery and artichoke hearts. Boil pasta until al dente according to package instructions. Drain well and cool slightly. In a large bowl add the pasta to the other salad ingredients and combine. Add pesto vinaigrette to the pasta salad and toss to coat all ingredients.

Sprinkle feta cheese on top.

Refrigerate until serving.

Yield: 4 to 6 servings

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"Kentucky Wonder" pole beans stretch upward.

Juicy "Celebrity" tomatoes ripen on the vine.

EAT YOUR VEGGIES Enjoy Perfectly Delicious Vegetables Right from Your Garden with These Tips Article and Photography by Mary Chavoustie

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any of us only dream of a bounty of vegetables like the ones our Bleiblerville gardeners bring to the kitchen table. And while their garden flowers and vegetables are 2 looking their best, the husband/wife team at K Farms reminds us a garden is always a work in progress, an ever-changing setting from season to season that is hugely dependent not only on human care but equally on weather, water and the nutrients that are added to or taken out of the soil. Here are our green-thumb gardeners’ top three “must dos” as first-timers begin the gardening process.

PLAN BEFORE YOU PLANT Planning is everything! Consider what you want out of your garden, as well as what you want to put in it, both in time and results.

Next, establish a solid resource that will help you determine what varieties are best for your soil and region. With Texas A&M AgriLife’s website (www.agrilife.org), how-to articles, researchbased results and identifiable photos are placed at your fingertips.

Neil Sperry’s “Lone Star Gardening” has been a benchmark for 2 many gardeners — and a mainstay for our K Farms country gardeners, as well.

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A mixed harvest makes a beautiful presentation.

A zinnia adds color, while caterpillar-host parsley grows in the background.

DON’T GUESS…TEST!

RESOURCES

A soil sample gives you an insight as to what attributes or deficiencies your soil already contains. The soil testing labs at Texas A&M and Stephen F. Austin State universities utilize advanced, daily calibrated equipment to provide you with the most accurate results. Submittal forms are available at www.soiltesting.tamu.edu and www.ag.sfasu.edu for a basic $10 routine analysis. Results are usually returned within a few weeks.

Antique Rose Emporium 10000 FM 50 Brenham 979-836-5548 www.antiqueroseemporium.com Home Sweet Farm Market & Biergarten Blue Goose Garden & Gifts 307 S. Park St. 2600 N. Park St. Brenham Brenham 979-530-7994 979-451-7883 www.homesweetfarm.com

A SHOVEL HERE, A PITCHFORK THERE You can’t change the type of soil in your area, but you CAN improve it with a better understanding and incorporation of organic matter. “We add mushroom mulch every two to three years in both our vegetable and flower beds,” the gardeners say.

For new gardens, experts recommend a 2-inch-thick layer of compost for 1,000 square feet or six cubic yards of organic matter.

And though aged manure, compost and decomposed organic matter are all beneficial, doing your homework is important, too, to determine the correct amount and the variety of organic matter that are best for the vegetables you are growing.

August temps present a perfect excuse to garden from inside your home, partnered with a laptop and spring seed catalogs. Just remind those that question your early musing, planning is everything!

18 house& home | September 2020 | www.houstonhouseandhome.net

Greenscapes Landscaping Bellville 2224 Centerhill Road Bellville 979-492-8862

Chappell Hill Lavender Farm 2250 Dillard Road Brenham 979-251-8114 www.chappellhilllavender.com

Martha’s Bloomers 8101 Highway 6 Bypass Navasota 936-825-7400 www.marthasbloomers.com

Discount Trees of Brenham 10050 Highway 36 North Brenham 979-836-7225 www.discounttreesofbrenham.com

Plants N Things 3900 Highway 36 South Brenham 979-836-9471 www.plants-n-things-brenham.com

Gourmet Gallery at Allied Ace Hardware 307 N. Austin St. Brenham 979-836-5607

Tractor Supply Co. 2718 S. Market St. Brenham 979-836-9797 www.tractorsupply.com

PAINT & COLOR MATCHING l LAWN & GARDEN l PROPANE l SHARPENING SERVICES l HOUSEWARES l ELECTRICAL l PLUMBING l POOL SUPPLIES l LUMBER & SHEETROCK l KEY MAKING

SOUTHLAND HARDWARE THE STORE THAT HAS Almost EVERYTHING 1822 Westheimer • Houston, TX 77098 • 713-529-4743 • 832-834-5443 fax shop online @ www.southlandhardware.com • Mon-Sat 8-6pm and Sun 9-5pm

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ROAD TRIP READY Skip The Airport And Plan A Texas Adventure On The Open Road Story and Photos by Robin Barr Sussman

Photo by Eric Schegel for Matagorda Bay LCRA Nature Park

-town, you’ve waited long enough--cooler weather and hassle-free road trips are beckoning. Here are affordable family-friendly Texas spots north, south, east, and west, just waiting for you to discover this fall. Grab your cooler, pack up the gang, and hit the road!

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HILL COUNTRY CAMP LUCY, Dripping Springs Bring the whole family or not, road warriors. Swim, hike, visit the barn animals or check out the onsite vineyards (sign up for grape camp!). Lodging is camp-like in southwestern-style guest rooms or cottages nestled among the 271-acre property, a charming Hill Country ranch on a bluff above famed Onion Creek. Where to Eat: Tillie’s, the onsite

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limestone-paved restaurant with a striking lofty interior and patio seating, dishes up New American fare.

ENCHANTED ROCK, Fredericksburg Visitors have been pilgrimaging to Enchanted Rock State Natural Area for centuries. It offers park camping, picnicking, 8.4 miles of hiking trails, a nature trail, interpretive exhibits, rock climbing, watchable wildlife and a park store.

Where to Eat: Auslander Restaurant & Biergarten serves German fare and myriad beers with a pet-friendly patio.

LAKE TRAVIS This sparkling 19,000-acre freshwater lake is the largest in Texas and popular year around. Rent a variety of boats and

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Antiques, Collectibles & more: • Coins/Paper Currency • Furniture from Different Eras/Countries • Jewelry/Clocks • Artwork/Oriental Rugs • Vintage Clothing/Hats

• Books/Toys • Dishware/China/Silver/Crystal • Fishing/Tackle • Lighting/Decorative Accessories • Military/Metal Signs

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hit the lake, go fishing, ziplining, or take the kids to a water park. Expect restaurants and lodging options galore to fit every budget. Where to Eat: Oasis on the Lake is the most popular but also the most crowded. Worth it for the views alone.

Tepee El Comsico in Marfa. Photo by Nick Simonite

Camp Lucy entrance gate near Dripping Springs. Below: Camp Lucy Animal Farm. Photos by Dreamy Elk Photography.

AUSTIN FOR BIKING AND BBQ Cruise to our state capital city for hilly bike trails (hit the Town Lake bike trail or Southern Walnut Creek Trail) and some of the best barbecue in the country. For lunch, meander nearby to Driftwood for a picnic at the famous Salt Lick BBQ and its wine bar Salt Lick Cellars. Where to Eat: Austin Eastciders taproom and new restaurant serving cider flights, cider queso and cider-brined smoked meats. Insider tip: Hip, fun Hotel ZaZa or East Austin Hotel are good jumping off spots from downtown.

POINTS NORTH MARGARITAVILLE RESORT ON LAKE CONROE Jimmy Buffet’s new tropical wonderland on the lake offers fun in the sun with swimming, live music, boat rentals, kayaking, a golf course, and other activities for the whole family. At the all-suite property with fabulously beachy new guest rooms, expect several eateries on site, the sleek Somewhere Spa, along with three pools including a kid’s water slide park and lazy river for floating. Only an hour and 15 minutes from Houston! Where to Eat: LandShark Bar & Grill

GULF COAST LCRA MATAGORDA BAY NATURE PARK Rent a retro Airstream and convene with nature and the water. The property also has horseback riding, a fishing pier, and paddling trail. Two-night minimum. Where to Eat: Serving steaks and seafood, Waterfront Restaurant is near the harbor and allows guests to bring in freshly caught fish fillets to have cooked.

POINTS SOUTH SAN ANTONIO A visit to the Alamo City is a true respite from Houston.

Explore the Natural Bridge Caverns, one of the premier show caves in the world, to discover spectacular formations.

Dating back to 1919, the Japanese Tea Garden features a lush year-round garden and a floral display with shaded LEFT: Margaritaville Resort on Lake Conroe. Photo courtesy of Margaritaville Resorts 22 house& home | September 2020 | www.houstonhouseandhome.net

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SMALL DUCTS FOR BIG HVAC CHALLENGES Norm Hilburn • AirMartofTX.com • Established 1978 AirMart of Texas is a family-owned HVAC contractor for top-of-the-line HVAC products such as the UNICO SYSTEM, Remo Halo and more.

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walkways, stone bridges, a waterfall and ponds with Koi. Zebras may visit your car at the Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch or go shopping at La Villita Historic Arts Village.

Where to Eat: The Pearl complex of restaurants create everything you could possibly crave from innovative Italian cuisine to tacos and burgers.

POINTS WEST One of the guest cabin porches at Camp Lucy near Dripping Springs Photo by Dreamy Elk Photography.

The Pool Bar at East Austin Hotel Photo by Ryann Ford

The Salt Lick BBQ in Driftwood

A spacious guest room at Camp Lucy near Dripping Springs

24 house& home | September 2020 | www.houstonhouseandhome.net

TERLINGUA Want to get really far away? This abandoned ghost town in far west Texas borders beautiful Big Bend National Park, which is great for hiking, biking and stargazing. Unique lodging options include cute vintage airstreams, cool adobe style casitas, tepee tents, or a luxe clear bubble tent (visit basecampterlingua.com for availability). Where to Eat: Starlight Theater Restaurant and Espresso Y Poco Mas for homemade breakfast.

MARFA This small west Texas desert city is known as an arts hub.

El Cosmico (elcosmico.com), a funky collection of alternative lodging, includes modern casitas, renovated trailers, luxe teepees, and a vintage Airstream with a hot pink kitchen, deck, outdoor shower, and stocked dry goods minibar. Communal spaces include a hammock grove, outdoor kitchen, dining area, and reading room, all close to Marfa’s many charms, from art galleries to innovative restaurants and the famous Marfa Lights. Where to Eat: Convenience West offers a unique take on west Texas barbecue.

RESOURCES VacationRenter.com Lodgewell.co camplucy.com visitfredericksburgtx.com austintexas.org hotelzaza.com laketravis.com (lists of everything that’s open) margaritavilleresorts.com matagordabaytexas.com visitsanantonio.com; atpearl.com visitbigbend.com visitmarfa.com

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Washington County Landscapes placed multiple pallets of Belgard® Diamond 9-D retaining wall blocks to create the unique terracing for the Kaplan home.

Tiff Bermuda, known for its heat hardiness, completes the setting. Exterior paint colors are Sherman-Williams’ "Turkish Coffee" & "Beach House."

A LEAP OF FAITH Bold Design Decisions Result in a Rock-solid Getaway for Two Houston Professionals Article and Photography by Mary Chavoustie

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ouston professionals Brian and Dede Kaplan are dedicated to busy schedules and a myriad of appointments throughout their hectic workweek, so it was no surprise that breathing space, free from concrete buildings and crowded streets, was in order.

“In the beginning, we didn’t really have a plan,” explains Brian.

“We originally thought of the Hill Country with visions of owning land just outside Fredericksburg, but we realized we had the ideal opportunity in the Round Top area. Good friends, family, the arts and the great food we’d grown to love in Houston would only be a little over an hour away, plus the lure of unobstructed skies and ‘everything Round Top’ brought us to say, ‘We can do this!’ And we began our search.”

26 house& home | September 2020 | www.houstonhouseandhome.net

“It was truly a leap of faith,” says Dede. “Being a visual person, I started canvassing the Round Top/Burton area, driving the back roads, looking for ‘For Sale’ signs. I came across this property and it was love at first sight. The roll of the property, the amount of trees and just looking at the lake down below, I knew this piece of land was the one for us.”

What Brian and Dede didn’t know was that their future home site was set atop solid rock.

Though the stone was at times challenging, Round Top Home Builders’ Barney and Jay Reynolds never lost sight of the Kaplans’ dream first brought to them with pencil drawings and Pinterest photos. With an adventurous spirit, Brian and Dede gathered their love of Southwest art, industrial modern, farmhouse chic and Art Deco into one cohesive and stunning retreat.

“The Kaplans were such an amazing and artistic couple to work with in creating their unique home,” says custom builder Jay Reynolds. “It was by far our most exciting project of the year.”

A SECOND LOOK AT ENERGY EFFICIENCY With their expansive window design, the homeowners decided energy efficiency was a “must-have.” Ply Gem’s 4800 series, with its thermal broke aluminum frame, was the perfect option to handle

the ever-changing Texas temperatures while at the same time giving Brian and Dede the style and panoramic views they wanted. The Ply Gem series was also a smart option for high wind zones with a price point that was equally attractive.

Much like aluminum, fiberglass has continued to gain new respect in the building industry. The Kaplans’ fiberglass entry door is more energy efficient than wood or steel, resistant to deterioration and dents and requires far less maintenance. To complement the decor, the builder first applied a light tan base to the plank-style door’s pre-grained surface. A gel stain was then applied with a fine brush, creating the undisputable appearance of real wood. Vintage nickel hardware added the finishing touch.

METICULOUS CRAFTMANSHIP The open family room/dining room/ kitchen design is the heart of the Kaplan home, anchored by historic hardwood floors. The red pine planks that now make up the tongue-and-groove flooring were milled from 8-by-8-inch beams reclaimed from the former Incarnate Word convent by woodworker Wes Metzler. Seventeen feet above the flooring are four 28-foot-long, hand-hewn beams that make up the unique timber trusses. Clerestory windows add morning and evening light with cedar beams as window headers to create a touch of rustic charm.

The homeowners wanted a seamless, extra-smooth appearance for their interior walls — what’s known in the building industry as a Level 5 finish. During the labor-intense process, the Sheetrock is taped, floated two times, sanded and then applied with a thin skim coat. Skimming allows all the remaining small imperfections and pores of the surface to be filled, ensuring an equally smooth finish across the drywall and the seams. Once done, the final skim coat is sanded again and then coated with primer and paint. The result?

Museum quality walls…and very happy homeowners.

No home is complete without a comfortable kitchen both for the cook and the friends who gather along the counter’s edge. Brian and Dede enlisted the craftsmanship of Black Buck Millwork out of Buda to create the reclaimed barn wood cabinet and drawer fronts from their design. “We wanted something different,” says Dede.

“Uncluttered and unlike a traditional kitchen filled with wall-to-wall cabinetry.”

Goat-leather loungers were one of many savvy online purchases by the homeowner.

ARTISTRY AND SENTIMENTALITY Vintage black-and-white photos line a wall of Brian’s study, a fond remembrance of his father-in-law’s love of photography, while a red leather Eames lounge chair and ottoman, a slice of history that

Custom-built timber trusses add to the light-filled great room, dining room and kitchen.

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Vintage nickel hardware by Miseno (“Seville”), island chairs from Restoration Hardware and pendant lights by Robert Abbey Lighting (“Belmont”) with zinc finish

Dede knew she “just had to have,” bring a pop of color to the room. A bright orange and rope pendant light, along with a wooden longhorn sculpture that hangs above the entry door, are nods to Brian’s alma mater, the wood sculpture delivered and personally installed by artist Andrew Bradfield.

In the great room, Merchant and Market’s oversized coffee table takes center stage.

Andrée Hudson’s acrylic on canvas, “Family of Four,” with its soft earth tones and drips of rich greens and turquoise, is one of Dede’s treasures from Waxlander Gallery in Santa Fe, a favorite getaway for the homeowners. The painting, which rests on a 400-pound reclaimed beam strategically bolted into the fireplace wall, served as the catalyst for the home’s color palette, particularly in the design creation of the stone that embodies the fireplace and then carries over to the exterior below the board and batten siding.

“Real stone was too heavy and too expensive, plus we couldn’t find a size or color that worked well with Andrée’s painting,” Dede explains. “So Barney and Jay suggested a cultured stone, a product that could be created in random sizes and hand-stained to blend with our decor. We love the end result.”

DECISION MAKING

Cabinet reclaimed barn wood and retro western-design coffee mugs join an antique iron pig, a find from the Round Top Antiques Fair, in the Kaplan kitchen.

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The Burton home is the third time the Kaplans have utilized their creative skills: The first, for their Georgian-style home in West U, and the second, a contemporary. Both admit building and decisionmaking remotely were logistically challenging, as was working with a floor plan distinctively different from their previous homes.

The couple playfully refers to their latest design choices as “a la carte.”

“We just designed as we went through the process,” explains Brian, with Dede choosing many items online, including the kitchen and bath hardware, several lighting options as well as the compact yet restful upstairs cabinet bed — similar to a Murphy bed yet requiring no wall storage.

The Kaplans agree that decisions often made with a leap of faith can culminate into beautiful results. “Sometimes you just have to go for it!” says Dede.

Two bright blue armchairs, reupholstered by Accents by Phillipe,bring the dining room and directors’ chairs to the center of attention.

RESOURCES BUILDER (Also custom barn doors, mantel & island supports) Round Top Home Builders 103 Main St. Round Top 979-249-5151 www.roundtophome builders.com CULTURED STONE FOR HOME EXTERIOR & FIREPLACE Sunbelt Concrete Products Inc. 1885 FM 448 Giddings 979-542-0840 www.sunbeltconcreteproducts.com CUSTOM RECLAIMED BARNWOOD CABINETS Black Buck Millwork 17020 S. Interstate 35 Buda www.budakitchens.com

2312 S. Market St. Brenham 979-830-7204 LANDSCAPING, TERRACING Washington County Landscapes 4579 Highway 290 West Brenham 979-353-0955 www.washingtoncounty landscapes.com QUARTZITE Trinity Homes & Construction LLC 4813 Larkin St. Kitchen & island countertops “Taj Mahal” Bath countertops “Calcutta” www.bestcompanytexas.com RECLAIMED WOOD FLOORING Wes Metzler Houston 281-685-9247

DESIGN DEVELOPMENT Dalor Design Development Services 214-929-5086

WINDOWS, DOORS Woodson Lumber Co. 301 E. Clinton St. Brenham 979-836-7933 www.woodsonlumber.com

KITCHEN APPLIANCES Buddy’s Appliance

UNIQUE FURNITURE, ACCESSORIES & ART

Accents by Phillipe Upholstery Leather pillow & blue suede dining armchairs 3514 S. Shepherd Dr., No. C 713-523-4161 AREA 3735 Westheimer Road 713-668-1668 www.area-houston.com Bradfield Designs Artist Andrew Bradfield www.bradfield-designs.com Brown 2940 Ferndale St. 713-522-2151 www.shopbybrown.com Cowboys and Indians Leather sofa & pine buffet 72 East San Francisco St. Santa Fe, N.M. 505-982-8280 Kuhl-Linscomb Great room Teal pouf 2418 W. Alabama St. 713-526-6000 www.kuhl-linscomb.com

346-204-4596 www.mrchmrkt.com Restoration Hardware Dining Room Directors’ chairs 4030 Westheimer Road 713-328-3100 Round Top Antiques Fair Kitchen Iron pig www.roundtoptexas antiques.com Rustic Center & Interiors 11251 Highway 290 East Chappell Hill 979-203-0921 www.rusticfurniture ofbrenham.com Spaces for Home 2439 Westheimer Road 713-520-7167 www.spacesforhome.com Waxlander Gallery Artist Andree Hudson’s painting “Family of Four” 622 Canyon Road Santa Fe, N.M. 505-984-2202 www.waxlander.com

Merchant and Market Large coffee table in great room 1637 Westheimer Road 29

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