Issue link: http://papercitymagazine.uberflip.com/i/1094653
56 I n a city with no zoning, a disregard for preservation, and surging real estate prices, it's exhilarating to see cottages crop up on a prime block of Westheimer between Bammel Lane and Sackett Street in Upper Kirby. That's exactly what has happened at the Cottages at Matt Camron. Matt Esfahani, owner of Matt Camron Rugs & Tapestries, has long owned the block that houses his popular rug showroom and the much-loved Italian eatery Giacomo's Cibo e Vino. In 2016, developer Giorgio Borlenghi, bought the block due south, which once housed The Gardens of Bammel Lane, an assortment of 15 vintage bungalows-turned-storefronts moved to the location by car-dealership magnate Charlie Thomas in the 1980s. Thomas, known for his antique car collection, also had a penchant for antique houses at risk of being demolished across the city. Borlenghi put the bungalows up for sale to clear the block for a high- rise (that was put on hold a year later). Esfahani and his daughter, Sarah Esfahani Tringhese, couldn't bear to see the cottages destroyed, so they bought seven and moved them to their underutilized block. Esfahani enlisted his longtime architect, Patton Brooks, who built the Esfahani family's Houston home, as well as their home on the island of Roatán, to determine which buildings were best suited for relocation, to site the numerous cottages properly within the space, and to create a master plan of landscaped sidewalks and walkways within the block, all circling a charming central gazebo. The neighbor-friendly, walkable block is a familiar layout in small Eastern towns like Amagansett, but is almost revolutionary in Houston. "I was in Houston for 50 years, so anything that helps the city grow in a good way, I'm for," Brooks says via phone from California, where he now resides. "The cottages are part of old Houston. Old neighborhoods, with houses on blocks. I'm not talking about River Oaks. I'm talking about the lesser districts where COTTAGE INDUSTRY A NEW ENCLAVE CATERS TO THE CREATIVE. B Y A N N E L E E P H I L L I P S . P H O T O G R A P H Y J A C K T H O M P S O N . Swiggard Creative, designed by Wells Design Alchemia Alchemia Maison Maison Maison Maison (continued on page 58)