Get This Room: Graphic Bedroom
Investor and developer Holden Shannon played with economies of scale to create nine row houses in Houston, Texas. Interior designer Barbara Hill was brought in to complement the airy, flowing interior spaces. We tracked down the key pieces (or their close approximations) so you can create it on your own.
A Minimalist Pop Art Living Room in the Houston Heights
"There is a richness to simplicity, but unless you get the details right, simple can sometimes just look cheap," says Matthew Ford, one half of Shade House Development and construction firm, Esplanade Homes, both specializing in green building. Such is not the case with this Barbara Hill-designed living room, housed in one of the newly-built row houses in the Houston Heights, featured in our issue dedicated to modern affordable homes. Vintage furniture like a turquoise curved sofa with an exposed wooden base, pair of mid-century polished stone-topped side tables from Houston's Reeves Antiques, and a sturdy wooden Pringle-chipped chair gather around the center, while a layered birch Pop Art wall piece by Mitch McGee gives the all-white living room a little more punch.
Such Great Heights
By taking advantage of economies of scale, a Houston native and a pair of mod-minded developers team up to create nine affordable row houses in the Houston Heights.
The Shipping Muse
Shipping containers are ubiquitous in Houston, though unlike the four that make up this new home, they're usually filled with foreign goods rather than flourishing lives.
Houston, We've Solved a Problem
A bird flying over Houston, Texas, sees only a sprawling canopy of trees. It seems the perfect nesting place for creatures both avian and human alike; unfortunately, the green ends at the tree line. All of those leafy branches shade a city that appears to care little for sustainable design, with cars that chug gas by the low-mileage gallon and oversized houses that dominate the persistently expanding cityscape.
Lone Star
Rural Texas commonly conjures visions of Stetsons, spurs, and longhorn steer, but the countryside contains more than just cowboys. On a wide stretch of farmland, the Farley Studio brings modern architecture and contemporary art to Fort Worth's farthest reaches.
Double Time
The last time Blake Trabulsi and Allison Orr had a party at their house in Austin, Texas, it lasted until 5 a.m. Observes Trabulsi: “People are so comfortable here, they never want to leave.”
