34 HOUSTON LIFESTYLES & HOMES / AUGUST 2009 The Best of Both Worlds
THIS CLASSIC, YET CONTEMPORARY HOME MESHES WELL IN THE HEIGHTS TEXT BY CATHY GORDON PHOTOGRAPHY BY JOE AKER JAY BAKER ARCHITECTS Simon and Linda Eyles love The Heights with its original Victorian homes and classic Craftsman bungalows. After all, they lived in a 1910 two-story charmer in this historic neighborhood for 13 years. But when it came time to build a home, they had distinctively contemporary ideas. We wanted a more modern house, but not something that would be ultra-modern and disrespectful of the neighborhood, says Linda, an interior designer (Linda Eyles Design, Inc.) who knows a bit about harmonious blending. We didn t want a vintage reproduction style home. And we didn t want something that would shout at you and not fit in. Then one day while driving around, she spotted a home so perfectly in step with her vision that she looked up city tax HOUSTON LIFESTYLES & HOMES / AUGUST 2009 35
PREVIOUS PAGES: Old French glass vessels, an early 19th-century French marble urn lamp and a painting by artist Linda Hofheinz sit atop a vintage French table. The Eyles home blends well in The Heights. It s a dwelling that is both classic and contemporary with neighborly features, like a large front porch. A long hallway acts as axis in this home. Standing in the foyer, visitors see all the way to the back of the house. THESE PAGES: Furnishings in a mix of styles and fabrics make up the living room. A Knox Martin painting hangs above the mantel. The two etageres flanking the fireplace are from Kuhl Linscomb. A light and bright breakfast room is topped with pendants. records to get the owner s name and number. It was so perfect, I could have picked up that house and dropped it onto my lot, she recalls. The home s architect, she discovered, was Jay Baker. A client-architect relationship was born. Sitting on a corner in The Heights, the Eyles home is the perfect modern version of a traditional house; a dwelling that gracefully blends in with the character of the neighborhood. Certain exterior elements enhance its compatibility; for instance, a large front porch, a wood-looking exterior (smooth Hardiplank siding) and a roof overhang with rafter tails and a cupola. We couldn t be happier with it. We love the final result, says Linda whose work situation could not be better. Her office is above the garage with a separate side street entrance. There s nothing better than working with a dog at your feet, says the proud 36 HOUSTON LIFESTYLES & HOMES / AUGUST 2009
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... I LIKE A GOOD MIX OF THINGS, ANTIQUES AND MODERN, BUT I TRY TO USE THINGS THAT ARE PRETTY CLEAN AND SIMPLE... 38 HOUSTON LIFESTYLES & HOMES / AUGUST 2009
THESE PAGES: Linda loves her kitchen with white marble countertops (Walker Zanger). Extremely durable and gets better with age, she says. The display cases at left are functional, yet elegant. A portion of the home s long hallway reveals a comfortable settee, one of the dogs favorite sleeping surfaces. The concrete table in the foreground is an antique. A marble-top antique from Carl Moore Antiques holds many artful objects in the foyer, including this modern paper sculpture by artist Sarah Nix Ginn. HOUSTON LIFESTYLES & HOMES / AUGUST 2009 39
owner of four chocolate labs, Stryder, Molly, Maysie and Hazel. We joke that this house has been lab-tested. We only had two labs when we were building the house, but we knew we wanted more. Poor Jay. He probably thought we were nuts. We were always conscious of design decisions in relation to the dogs. For instance, we wanted to be able to close off the center core of the house and we wanted super durable floors. Indeed, concrete is underfoot through most of the downstairs, the exception being oak floors in the elevated dining room and study on opposite ends of the house. The couple wanted several rooms to lead off a long hallway. This enfilade arrangement allows for striking vistas as you enter the home a view that draws the eye through to the back of the house. Jay took that concept of the long hallway and just went with it. He developed it so that now we have this axis that goes all the way back through to the entrance to my office. Wonderful site lines developed along the way, says Linda. It s exactly what we wanted. Linda s innate talent for design is evident here. Items and furnishings, both modern and traditional, combine for an eclectic look. Warm woods mingle with sumptuous textiles and artwork most from Houston artists that add vibrant form and color to the mix. I think there s good design within a variety of styles, Linda says. My goal is to build a client s house based on their style and then use the principals of good design to achieve a great look. I tried to follow this same premise with my house. I like a good mix of things, antiques and modern, but I try to use things that are pretty clean and simple. Each one of those things has a design integrity. All of those elements come together, whether it s French chairs from the 1940s or a Warren Platner table. Linda embraces imperfection in design. Concrete floors 40 HOUSTON LIFESTYLES & HOMES / AUGUST 2009
may show divots or crack over time, but it only adds to their appeal. White marble might incur wear or stain from use in the kitchen, but it s a welcome feature here. Everyone is so worried about marble but I cook every day and find it to be wonderfully durable, she says. You just have to have a different mindset about it. You can t expect perfection. Truly, imperfection makes things so much more interesting and is so much more about how you really live, she explains. And the Eyles use every inch of this house, no wasted space. The study with desk and two 1940s French library chairs is a favorite place to just sit and chat. Especially for the men. They love to just sit back in those chairs. It s a clubby type of thing, she says. By putting two antiqued velvet sofas back to back, Linda split the main living space into a formal area and den. One side is the more formal space and the other serves as a family room. It just made sense to get the most use out of this space, she says. A calm variety of styles and textiles cohabitate in this area. Cherished artwork punctuates this space. Most striking is a graphite on laminate piece by Houston artist Karin Broker that hangs over a vintage French bench, draped in a linen slipcover. The dining room is equally fetching in icy colors that contrast with a long warm wood din- THESE PAGES: In this angle of the living room, a beautiful antique French bench draped in a simple linen slipcover shares space with a graphite on laminate print from Houston artist Karin Broker. The dining room is elegant in icy cool colors, yet balanced with warm woods. Artwork by Houston artist Karin Broker graces the wall. The antique Murano glass chandelier, circa 1920s, is a focal point here. HOUSTON LIFESTYLES & HOMES / AUGUST 2009 41
ALLOWING THE LIGHT IN WAS IMPORTANT TO US. AND WE WANTED TO EXTEND OUR LIVING SPACE TO THE OUTDOORS. ing table by David Iatesta and nail-studded leather chairs, backed in a sumptuous fabric. Linda designed two matching soft Asian style cabinets to flank the windows on the room s northern side. I had them custom made. I really like Asian furniture and wanted some of that influence without screaming it, she says. I wanted the clean lines, and the cabinets provide super storage. A 1920s Murano glass chandelier and captivating artwork round out this space, adding drama to the room, a favorite space for entertaining. The home s enfilade design provides a great arrangement for mingling. The long hallway allows easy passage from room to room, as well as the outdoors. The home is situated on the north side of the lot, allowing its southern side to open up to the light and a backyard, replete with lap pool and a covered porch that runs along most of its side. This allows for privacy as well as a light-filled home. 42 HOUSTON LIFESTYLES & HOMES / AUGUST 2009
THESE PAGES: An open, clean-lined master bathroom with marble countertops is serene in white. The master bedroom shows off Linda s flair for combining styles. A Saarinen table (left) is exquisitely paired with two Biedermeier chairs. The bed was given height and structure with a simple linen canopy. Allowing the light in was important to us. And we wanted to extend our living space to the outdoors, says Linda. Landscaping was well thought out, in keeping with the home s modern lines. A green hedge at the front of the pool provides privacy and the perimeter fence is built to allow breezes to circulate the property. What we feel we built, and what we told Jay we wanted was a contemporary or modern version of Heights architecture. So if you were building a house in The Heights today, what would it look like? I think we got that house, says Linda. We couldn t be happier. HOUSTON LIFESTYLES & HOMES / AUGUST 2009 43