Issue link: http://papercitymagazine.uberflip.com/i/1291046
untouched. Abbott resisted the urge to modernize too much, giving the kitchen a gentle makeover with gray- and-white checked floors, white stone countertops, and a new coat of glossy gray paint on the cabinets. "We kept all the country aspects of the house that made it charming," she says. "I tend to be too particular about everything, but I wanted this house to be really easy to live in." Abbott filled the interiors with furniture made from beautiful old woods and textural materials, such as an antique pine table in the dining room, discovered at a River Oaks estate sale. She spotted the Mexican equipale dining chairs, made from white pigskin and cedar strips, on the sidewalk of a shop on South Congress Avenue in Austin. "We made a U-turn in the middle of the street to go back and get them," she says, laughing. Other pieces, such as a carved fruitwood settee in the entry and antique French wood bergères in the bedrooms, came from her own warehouse and are upholstered in simple white cotton and linen fabrics. Abbott is drawn to a glamorous design style — her Houston house and store have an abundance of Venetian-glass chandeliers and giltwood furniture — but the look here is elegantly understated. Sisal and stenciled hide rugs on the floors and slipcovered and skirted seating help bring things down a notch. "My husband loves it that I'm not always telling him he can't put his feet on the furniture, or he can't eat in a room," she says. "We literally use the whole house." Abbott discovered the dining room's equipale chairs, made from white pigskin and cedar strips, on the sidewalk of a shop on South Congress Avenue in Austin. Light fixture and table from Shabby Slips. (Continued) 75