Modern Homes in Houston

Schatz and Eamon carefully tend to the greens planted on the ground that they took to with shovels when digging the original footings for their home.

Unlike most Houston yards, there’s no grass to cut around these houses. Instead, the garden is gravel interspersed with low-maintenance plants like black bamboo, agave cacti, and foxtail ferns. Set inside concrete and steel planters that the Fords made themselves, the landscaping also hides protruding air conditioners.

Architect Brent Zamore drew his enthusiasm from the city's constantly changing neighborhoods when he began remodeling a house in the Fifth Ward district. The resulting home has been affectionately dubbed the Shot-Trot because of its fused influence from shotgun and dogtrot styles, both of which are popular in the city.

Barbara Hill's re-envisioning of her Houston condo involved a different sort of minimalism: rather than yearning for sleek, expensive surfaces, she wanted a home that included all the blemishes that remain when you strip these features away.