Ask a Houstonian, "Do you know River Oaks?" and they'll reply: "Christmas lights." They'll mention driving 75 minutes in a beat-up minivan and stopping for Whataburger en route to see the glittering display the neighborhood is so famous for that Google Maps has declared it a "tourist attraction." The minivan will slowly roll past an eclectic mix of opulent and historic homes that unfurl along tree-lined streets-a French château here, a stately American Colonial there, a Tudor estate with a corset of half-timbering just behind that fence. They comply with River Oaks' 100-year-old deed restrictions that stipulate a handful of revival architectural styles. Some bend the rules, however, stretching their homes to the edges of the property lines like potbellies straining over big belt buckles.
On a quieter street in River Oaks, where the homes are smaller and the extravagance toned down, a family of four tucks in behind a clay-roofed Mediterranean-style home that could have been built for an Old Hollywood starlet, when in fact it was built just a few years ago by revered architects Curtis & Windham. "It's not what you'd expect to see in Texas," says architect Bill Curtis in a Southern gentleman's delicate drawl. "The stucco walls are thick, they're robust, they're heavy."
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Denne historien er fra November 2024-utgaven av Elle Decor US.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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MORE, PLEASE
Eric Hughes joins forces with Standard Architecture to transform two neighboring homes into a sprawling family compound.
SIZED TO FIT
Designer Nannette Brown reimagines a new-build apartment with unexpected depth, character, and texture.
Play It Cool
In balmy Texas, Ashe Leandro brings urbane style and a chill vibe to a home in a historic district.
Mic Drop
For former talk radio star Tom Joyner, Studio Roda creates an oceanfront pleasure pad with out-of-sight views and disco-era glamour.
EYE IN THE SKY
How do you cozy up a Manhattan high-rise? Call designers Hendricks Churchill.
THE JOY OF KØKKEN
In Brooklyn, a writer transforms her kitchen into a space of warmth and connection, blending personal memories with Scandinavian design.
CURTAIN RAISER
ELLE DECOR partners with designers Christine and John Gachot to refresh an iconic lounge at a New York institution, the Metropolitan Opera House.
The Empire Strikes Back - A 19th-century gem in Cambridge, Massachusetts, gets a tour-de-force restoration thanks to Frances Merrill of Reath Design.
Is it possible to simultaneously go back in time and leap forward? This was the challenge a couple set for themselves upon purchasing a salmon-pink 1869 house in Cambridge, Massachusetts, not far from Longfellow House, the National Historic Site that served as George Washington's headquarters during the revolution. We loved all the beautiful old details of this house, the homeowner says.
Just Like That, But Cheaper. -One writer tried to replicate a classic ELLE DECOR interior in his apartment. Could he do it for $500?
It was all about the green curtains. In 2008, to my great surprise, I was offered a ninemonth fellowship based in New York City. I had lived there twice before, both times unsuccessfully, meaning I had failed to create any kind of significant social life, and so this was a chance not only to do research for my new novel, but also an opportunity to get things right. I swore I wouldn't let the city break me a third time.
And How! - Decorator Nick Olsen transforms a Sag Harbor home into a Hamptons retreat with an irreverent humor.
If you must go to the Hamptons, however-because it is devilishly good fun, after all-you may notice an apparently modest, low-slung cottage on Sag Harbor's Main Street and think, with a comfortable sort of feeling, Now that is how a house should look. Nestled amid the Botox bars, helipads, and club-staurants, it could almost set the sordid world aright both a rebuke and a solution to the chaos that surrounds it. A real home.
