Issue link: http://papercitymagazine.uberflip.com/i/1522886
D uring the last 15 years, interior designer Catherine Brooks Giuffre and her husband, Dean Giuffre — a vice president with RealFin Capital Partners — have lived together in five different houses and remodeled them all, including three in West University. Growing weary of redoing houses and moving, Catherine finally decided, "We just have to stay put for a minute." That resolution didn't last long. Four years ago, they rang up their real estate broker after spotting a two-story brick house with appealing Nantucket-style shingles for sale in the neighborhood. Built in 1986, the house had only had one owner, who also happened to be the builder. He was selling it himself, so the Giuffres met him at the house for a viewing. "The interiors were charming and had a really good feeling. We could see the potential of what we could do with it," Catherine says. As they talked, Catherine realized the owner was the father of one of her clients in London, and this had been her childhood home. "I was designing her new house in Houston, and when he mentioned that he had a daughter in London who was moving back home soon, Dean and I just looked at each other," Catherine quips. "I was, like, 'Don't say anything until the deal is done.'" The unexpected connection between the two families was a positive omen, and soon (Continued) Designer Catherine Brooks Giuffre painted the living room in Sherwin Williams Caviar. The burl- wood chairs were purchased from antiquarian Carl Moore's personal collection and re-covered in Holland & Sherry mohair. Giuffre designed the mantel in Calacatta Viola marble. Antique urns from Found. Coffee table, 1970s, from Lewis & Maese Antiques & Auctions. The Wicker Works Klismos chair. Custom sofa in Mokum fabric. Marble side table is a flea-market find. Brooks lamp by J. Randall Powers for Visual Comfort. Artworks, from left, by Ann Carrington, Juan Carlos Muñoz Hernandez, and Beatriz Cotta. 45