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The original brick and Birdsall P Briscoe . architectural elements were utilized in the building Raffles, the Douglasses' contribution to Groveland. They also added the recessed Diana pool on the Grand Lawn. WELCOME TO A 1936 BIRDSALL BRISCOE ARCHITECTURAL JEWEL IS QUIETLY PURCHASED AND LOVINGLY SET TO RIGHTS P aula and Sam Douglass weren't looking for another house or project to tackle. The powerhouse duo had just spent a year and a half painstakingly renovating a Howard Barnstone house in River Oaks, where they were happily ensconced when Paula received a phone call quite out of the blue. It seemed another house — a 1936 Birdsall P. Briscoe landmark situated several blocks away on a stunning tree-lined street populated with just three homes — was for sale. But had you logged onto har.com in June 2007, you would never have found the property listed. This sale was rather hush-hush — one referenced in the world of real estate as a sale pursuant to private treaty. "I get asked all the time: How did I even know about the house sale? And it was because of a relationship I had with their daughter," recalls Paula. "I think the Harrisons [the third owners of the house] were very concerned about the survival of the building and felt that they could have a little more control over that element if they handled the sale themselves." One of only five potential buyers approached, the Douglasses were asked to submit a sealed bid to the current owners. We're guessing you know the end of that story, which brings us to the beginning of this one. Meet Paula Douglass, the visionary behind the meticulous architectural renovation of the house that she and her husband call Groveland — a property that won this year's Greater Houston Preservation Alliance Good Brick Award for their three long years of scrupulous work. Trained in architectural interior design, Paula is principal of her eponymous design firm, Douglass Interiors. This renaissance woman also went back to school to earn a law degree and worked as a trial attorney at Fulbright & Jaworski before tort reform. Now retired from her legal work, throughout her career she kept her hand in design and obsesses over every detail of the projects she undertakes. Her husband, Sam, also a lawyer, is a maverick Houston entrepreneur who co-founded funeralhome behemoth Service Corporation International before becoming a founding partner of the Wedge Group, a private-equity concern that involves the Douglasses in myriad endeavors. Wonder how this long-married couple met? A friend suggested Paula show Sam her design portfolio, and they've been together ever since. Groveland is a brick Georgian, Regency style, set back from the street with some of the oldest live oaks in Houston shading the path to its entry. Unlike others who might have sought to imprint their own aesthetic on this grand estate, the Douglasses kept the original architect in mind. "Every decision was made with an eye toward what Mr. Briscoe would have done," Paula says. "Is this consistent with his thought process? How would he have solved this issue given the advantages we have today? … I'm still amazed at the brilliance of Birdsall Briscoe. The positioning of the house, even in the heat of the summer … You can sit on the back terraces, and the breeze from the south comes, and you can understand how sleeping porches functioned during that time period. He was an amazing architect with huge vision and amazing talent." She's always loved this Birdsall Briscoe home in particular — the trees, the proportions, the dimensions. "I've had great respect for the architectural provenance of Groveland," she says. Therefore, casting a doubtful look at the inauthentic changes that had been wrought to the property over the years, she took the time to reverse any By Laurann Claridge. Photography Jack Thompson. Design Paula Douglass, Douglass Interiors. Architecture Birdsall P. Briscoe, 1936. MARCH | PAGE 40 | 2012