Issue link: http://papercitymagazine.uberflip.com/i/1439514
The house's original windows were restored by Plum Alley Windowcraft, founded by Rachel and Jeff Paxton, a young Houston couple who preach the gospel of saving old hand-built windows instead of ripping them out. E arly in the design process, Haskett dubbed the house Southern Gothic. "I like to give my projects fun names that keep us channeled and focused on where we want to land with the design," she says. "We added all these moody colors and Southern-inspired layers, so the name fit." The interiors have a comfortable graciousness often associated with the South, from antique Venetian glass chandeliers to monogrammed towels and linens custom-made by Leontine Linens in New Orleans. Haskett honored the original dark-stained wood paneling and wainscoting in the entryway and dining room by re- staining it an unexpected deep green. The sumptuous jade-colored scenic wallpaper used in both rooms was created by Susan Harter, a muralist based in Port Townsend, Washington. "I spent a lot of time and care selecting the colors for the house," Haskett says. "Our paint schedule was very long and detailed because it was important how the colors flowed together." The living room is enveloped in Farrow & Ball Cornforth White, a soft gray that Haskett says "feels like you're wrapped in a blanket. You can see the room when you walk in the front door, so it had to check a lot of boxes. It needed to be comfortable enough for the family to hang out and watch TV, but it also had to set the tone for the rest of the house." Haskett selected furnishings in advance to show her client, but she and Peikert also spent a day shopping together at some of the designer's favorite Houston haunts. At M Naeve, they bought a 19th-century Murano glass chandelier for Peikert's bedroom and an Apparatus bubble light pendant for the dining room. At Joyce Horn Antiques, they chose an antique gilt mirror to go over the living room's fireplace, and at Moxie, they fell in love with several gems for the study, including a channel-tufted leather desk chair and a mid-century Italian chandelier. The living room's Venetian glass chandelier, spotted at Memorial Antiques & Interiors, gives the room a dressy, feminine touch. "We bought a lot of vintage and antique pieces, but we weren't precious about trying to stay in the period of the house," Haskett says. "We wanted everything to look like it had always been there." The kitchen's ceramic light fixtures with pulleys are newly made, but they're based on an old design and made in England by one of the designer's favorite lighting companies, Hector Finch. The dining room's bentwood and cane chairs, originally designed in the 1930s by Josef Hoffmann for Ton, In the living room, a pair of inherited 19th-century chairs recovered in Radish Moon Textiles. Rug from Carol Piper Rugs. Coffee table from Found. Restored end table belonged to Peikert's ancestors. Murano chandelier from Memorial Antiques & Interiors. Art, Steven Seinberg from Dimmitt Contemporary Art. Antique mirror from Joyce Horn Antiques. 56