COTE DE TEXAS: FABULOUS HOUSTON HOME TOUR–INCLUDES A FORMER GINGER BARBER HOUSE!

FABULOUS HOUSTON HOME TOUR–INCLUDES A FORMER GINGER BARBER HOUSE!

 

image

The Southampton/Museum District Home Tour “Cool Classics” is always the best home tour of the year.  The houses are always exceptional.   The tour is this coming Sunday – December 8th – from 12-4 pm.
Cathy Blum, who is in charge of putting the tour together said this:   “I just saw the best house I have ever seen in my 35 years of seeing tons of houses and my heart is 
still pounding. It brought tears to my eyes like when you see an incredible
work of art. This is not a house to be missed. It was a total renovation of
a wonderful old Southampton home on the Boulevard and was loving in restored by
the owner (a two year project).”

 


 


image


The house that Cathy Blum loves is located at 2241 Sunset Blvd. and +was totally renovated by Martha Baxter Finger and Blake Winston. 


 


image


Here’s a peek at what the house used to look like – beautiful, but in need of updating.  The brick was cleaned of the ivy and painted a trendy white.  A new fireplace becomes a focal point on the front façade.  Martha Baxter Finger is an interior designer working out of Houston.  Her own house was recently featured in Paper City Magazine.  Her house is a mix of mid century modern and fabulous antiques.


 


Here’s a look at her work, first her own house as seen in Paper City:


 


image


The living room is a mix of modern art and more traditional furnishings.  I love the green plaster walls and green silk curtains.  The French chairs are Jansen.  Baxter worked with architect Michael Landrum on remodeling the house.  Her husband had  owned it, but the house needed to be enlarged to make space for their blended family.  And while Baxter was used to living with beige, neutral colored interiors, her husband insisted on color in their newly designed home. 


 


image


The plaster walls continue into the dining room – furnished with a skirted table and a set of Jansen chairs. 


 


 


image


The entry staircase with the fabulous bronze railing.


 


 


 


image


The family room with fireplace and built in shelf. 


 


 


image


The family room – looking out towards the back.  A French table sits behind the sofa.


 


 


image


The office is painted dark – and has a beautiful antique desk that is juxtaposed against the more contemporary ceiling.


 


 


image


The powder room walls are mirrored.   Mercury glass sink.


 


 


image


Room off the kitchen features a sectional designed by Baxter.


 


 


image


The master bedroom brings more of the green in with the tufted velvet headboard and curtained canopy.


 


image


In the master bedroom there is a Mexican day bed in front of the window.


 


 


image


I love the master bathroom!  It was inspired by Jean Michael Frank.  The marble drawers are spectacular! Just gorgeous.


 


In addition to Baxter’s own house, this house is featured on Jeffrey Alan Mark’s web site – with the interiors credited by both Marks and Martha Baxter Finger.  The house is located in Austin, Texas.


 


image


The Austin, Texas house designed by both Jeffrey Marks and Martha Baxter.  The walls are gray stucco, covered in ivy. 


 


 


image


Beautiful property and landscaping.


 


image


Walking into the house – the floors are black Morocco styled tile, and the stair treads are also black tile.  Love the zebra against the black floors and stark white walls.


 


image


The entry is two story with a wood ceiling.  Fabulous space.


 


image


The living room is incredible!  Dark wood floors and ceiling with a large stone mantel, topped with carved wood.  The steel windows and door are fabulous.  Beautiful ceiling and oval window. Love the antique table against the windows.  Just beautiful.


 


image


The library with a large antique rug and fabulous stone fireplace.  I love how they painted the shelves black against the white walls.


 


image


Off the entry is the dining room with slipcovered chairs and dramatic wood table.


 


image


The kitchen is exotic with wire chairs and lanterns and wood floors and ceiling.  


 


 


image


The wine room is most fabulous – especially with the luxury of each chair having its own Hermes blanket. 


Seeing this house that Martha Baxter designed with Jeffrey Alan Marks and her house in Houston – makes me so excited to see the house she designed that is on the Cool Classics tour.  AND after hearing what Cathy Blum said about it – it sounds like this house will be the star of the tour.


To see the Austin house on Jeffrey Alan Marks’ web site, go HERE.


 


 


image


Another house on the tour is this one located at 2027 Bolsolver which was recently purchased by its current owners.  I had seen it when it was for sale and I’m excited to see what it looks like now.


 


image


Here is how it looked when it was sold – the house was so perfect, I can’t imagine it being improved on!


 


 



And then there is this house on the tour –located on Albans.   This is how it looked when it was sold several years ago.  It is located on Albans and has the distinction of being owned by Ginger Barber – many, many years ago!  This house was featured in several magazines, including Country Home and a now out of print Houston magazine.


Actually it was this house in 1994 that introduced Ginger to the public.  I remember being so in love with this house and studying every picture, every fabric, every accessory and trying to emulate her style – something I still do today, almost twenty years later! 


I found the old magazine from 1994 and scanned in some pictures of that house.  Many of you will probably recognize them.  It will be so interesting to tour this house, all these years later and see how it has been changed and remodeled over the years!  Here’s how it looked+-------------------------


+


all those years ago:


 


image


It’s so interesting to look back on how Ginger decorated all those years ago.  She used antiques and slipcovers back then, just as she does today.  Also, she used lots of English bamboo – like this antique hall tree.   The dining room is through the opening.  Of course there is a paisley shawl – a must have accessory back then.  And baskets.


 


 


 


image


The same view from a different magazine shows more of the dining room.   Surprisingly, the dining room is more contemporary than the Ginger of later times with its glass topped table.


 


 


image


This carving has stayed with Ginger through all her moves.  This was a great buy, something she has hung onto longer than most of her other possessions.


 


 


image


The living room had slipcovered furniture and an English cricket table.  Two wonderful wicker chairs sit in the front window.  This look is somewhat similar to her look today -  but this is much more cluttered.  Today, Ginger’s interiors are edited and toned down.  They aren’t nearly as busy as this room was.


 


image


In another magazine – you can see this English piece that Ginger has used in almost every house since.  It’s a great piece and she accessorized it with antiques and books.


 


 


image


Here’s a close up of the piece – back then.


 


 


image


The kitchen had terra cotta tile floors and a diamond patterned backsplash.  It will be interesting to see how the kitchen has been changed.  Of course – today Ginger’s styling is quieter.  But back then, the more cluttered the kitchen, the better!  Imagine photographs on a refrigerator shown in a magazine today!


 


 


image


The family room was added on – the pine mantel is so Ginger.  I still love the striped chair in the corner.


 


 


image


Wow - her son is now full grown!  Time flies.   The barley twist gate leg table is still a fabulous touch.  I wonder if Ginger has kept those lamps – but with white shades?


 


If you are in Houston this Sunday, be sure to take the Cool Classics Home Tour!


 


































image





28 comments :

  1. Dear Joni, I love Holiday Home Tours, and this one looks amazing!
    xoxo
    Karena
    The Arts by Karena

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hello Joni!!!

    Can you please tell me the make of the gorgeous tufted moss green sofa shown in your first photo? Do you by chance know who manufactured this gorgeous creature?

    Thank you!

    Nancy

    PS- Do not read and drive! Too dangerous!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I wish I was there for this, you know I love a house tour! Fabulous!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Looking back at Ginger Barber's old house, you know I love some judicious clutter - a home filled with mementos and items collected through years of travel, family photos, and books. It makes a home look personal and lived in. So much of the current spare and sparse look leaves me cold - as if it's decorated like a gallery and only for show. Beautiful, perhaps, but neither inviting nor warm. Or maybe I'm just stuck in the 90's. I love the more rustic furniture and the collection of miniature chairs and baskets interspersed with silver and neoclassical elements. A mix of primitive and refined, ancient, antique and modern. My kind of look.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I am definitely driving to Houston this weekend to tour these amazing houses! I remember going a year or two ago with my boyfriend (we had just met and he couldn't tell me no when I asked him if he'd wanted to go ;) - ) now, he had a great time then and is really looking forward to Sunday's tours. Thanks, Joni!

    ReplyDelete
  6. makes me want to live in Houston again + great post.xxpeggybraswelldesign.com

    ReplyDelete
  7. make me like to live another day.
    http://j.gs/5622858/nigeria

    ReplyDelete
  8. First of all, thank you for the heads up, I think I'll head into Houston for the tour! I really like the Austin (project of Baxter-Finger) vs the Houston (designed and owned by Baxter-Finger) house. It is so fun to see that old Ginger Barber house. I recently put in an offer on a house designed by Ginger. I see the tera cotta floors, butcher block counters, seagrass everywhere (even around toilets...egggghhhh - thank God my husband sits to avoid daughters walking in and seeing his tail..hee hee) and finally all the checks Ginger is so famous for using. If I showed you this house...you'd know it was a Ginger Barber house in one second Joni! Timeless and classic! I was hoping for another closet shot of your sister-in-love, would really like to see what it looks like on a non-photoshoot day! LOL
    e

    ReplyDelete
  9. Always love your posts! My favorite to grab a glass of wine and sit down and soak it all in. Thank you :-)

    ReplyDelete
  10. Oh...so wish I was in Houston this weekend and could do the tour! All these houses look great. I have to say...I really love how that first tudor looks painted white. That would never be allowed in my historic neighborhood. I'm surprised its allowed there. It must not be deemed historic. Gorgeous houses.

    ReplyDelete
  11. You're so cool! I don't think I've read anything like this before. So good to find somebody with some original thoughts on this subject. Thanks for starting this up. Bedroom Decor ideas

    ReplyDelete
  12. Joni, will you publish some photos of the houses after the tour is over? I'd love to see the interior of Cathy Blum's "best house ever". It appears they added a fireplace to the living room, which is not so attractive from the exterior, but must have improved the interior.

    As to the clutter, it's so interesting to see the old photos of Ginger Barber's home. Ginger, Pam Pierce, and Carol Glasser have really streamlined their work since their original publishings. I think it's part trend (shift from cluttered English to cleaner French lines) and part aging. The older I get (will be 50 soon), the less "stuff" I want around, and the more discriminating I become. I used to adore Roundtop/Marburger, and then one day I could not have cared less ... and sold off my flea finds in favor of fewer, better antiques (which I can now afford). While "educating the eye" certainly played a role, I also think one gets to a point in life when simplification becomes very attractive.

    ReplyDelete
  13. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  14. I love home tours and these are nice, but walking onto that beautiful black Morocco styled tile looking at a dead zebra skin on the floor and ugly alligator skin (or croc who knows?) hanging on that stand is repulsive and unnecessary. The zebra skin rug is so popular, but what purpose does it serve to kill zebras for design? I can imagine someone tripping over it toward those stairs. Loved Ginger Barber's look back then and still do today. Love the style of Pam Pierce and Carol Glasser too. It is so true about less becomes more after 50. Simplifying is pure freedom!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I agree with you on the dead animals. My stomach turned at the alligator skin (natural revulsion to this deadly creature) and I always feel sorry for dead zebras on the floor. You're also right about the tripping hazard (zebra mane) in a high traffic zone. Zebra just feels wrong...

      ... yet, I still own a cowhide rug. Can I slide by with this being a by-product of our natural carnivore-ism, or does that make me a hypocrite? I won't buy fur (kill only for the decoration), yet wear leather clothing (by-product of meat eaters). Dilemma or hypocrisy???

      Delete
  15. The design is so beautiful and lovely. I like your design and your blog also. Interior design ideas

    ReplyDelete
  16. Joni, for some reason my post to you the other day got wiped out. Probably something I did on this IPAD.

    I loved this so much, and I wish, wish, wish I could go on this tour! I wonder if Aunt Margaret or the girls went. I will have to ask.

    Thanks again for this post. Loved every shot.

    xo

    Sheila

    ReplyDelete
  17. Every year this Houston home tour comes around and every year I'm stuck in Sydney. If I ever get to the US it will be during December so that I can do this tour, I'm a little obsessed with it now. I loved the bronze bannister on the stairs, modern and old at the same time, really beautiful.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Do you know the name of the contractor that worked on 2241 Sunset? Visited it today, and was very impressed by the quality. Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  19. Oh someday..hope to make a special trip to see it!

    ReplyDelete
  20. Joni, will you be posting pictures of the interiors of the houses, or will any of them be featured in upcoming magazines?

    ReplyDelete
  21. Hi Joni! I'm so curious about the interiors of all the homes, but quoting such an emotional response about 2241 Sunset Blvd. demands images. Please.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Barber tutorials


    We offer advanced and detailed high definition training tutorials to keep you updated with the latest in mens hairstyles and trends. We offer only the highest quality of step-by-step tutorials. Master blending straight hair textures, wavy and even mixed curly hair types. Learn techniques to perfect all types of African American haircuts,trends and more information then visit: www.enteringtheartzone.co.uk

    ReplyDelete
  23. This article is really good, very well written and much informative.

    Florida Barber Academy

    ReplyDelete
  24. Luxury Morocco Tours with Morcco Xcursions will help you plan a perfect journey full of excitement and adventure.

    ReplyDelete