Issue link: http://papercitymagazine.uberflip.com/i/699462
Previous page, clockwise from top left: A glass table and chairs from Design Within Reach are in the two-story library. Over the fireplace is a pencil-signed and numbered Fumar lithograph by Picasso. An antique telescope sits at the window. The collection of volumes testifies to the Kramers' interest in travel, world affairs and other cultures. Lauren says of the couple's 46-year marriage, "We have gone to some off-the-beaten track places like Myanmar, Ethiopia and Saudi Arabia." The living-room mantel is sparely installed with two treasures: a pencil-signed and numbered lithograph of Frau Dr. Linder by one of Lauren's favorite artists, Edvard Munch, and an antique rococo clock inherited from her grandmother. The antique pewter fireplace tools were purchased in New York. One end of the living room features two Armani Casa sofas from Kuhl-Linscomb, covered in beige linen. Between them, Yves Klein's Table d'Or. In the foreground, one of a pair of Biedermeier-style tables from Eastern Europe; atop the table, an antique Burmese lacquer box. This page, clockwise: In the foyer, two contemporary works by Houston talents: a Joseph Havel sculpture from Hiram Butler Gallery fills a niche, and a Rob Reasoner painting from McClain Gallery hangs over the 19th-century French console table purchased at the Theta Charity Antiques Show. The Kramers in the living room of the villa designed by Walter Murphy and Kirby Mears of Murphy Mears Architects. The room's defining piece, the coffee table filled with crumpled gold leaf, was designed by Yves Klein; it was a find during Art Basel Miami Beach. They had admired it in a New York Times article but were deterred by the cost; when they saw it in person during the fair, it was a different story. "It was so beautiful, Steve bought it on the spot. Well, he did bargain a little …" Lauren says. Another sitting area in the living room has an antique French sofa covered in beige linen that was purchased at the HADA Show. On the 1960-era smoked-glass-and-chrome coffee table sit ceramics by Eva Zeisel, who inspired Jonathan Adler, along with ceramics by Adler. Above the sofa hangs a collection of lithographs in shades of black and white by Picasso, Toulouse-Lautrec, Renoir and Matisse, and a Rembrandt etching made during the artist's lifetime. The Kramers began acquiring Old Masters and 20th-century works on paper in the early days of their marriage; Lauren's parents, Francey and Dr. Martin L. Gecht, left a celebrated collection of post-Impressionist and modernist prints and drawings to the Art Institute of Chicago. A touch of Surrealism and dark humor in the butler's pantry: "Buildings of Disaster" series by Boym Partners industrial designers, created around the turn of the millennium. "I love to read, and Steve loves to do sudoku and shine his own shoes. Steve loves art, watches, cars, antique nautical clocks, our children and me. I love art, design, jewelry of all kinds, clothing, handbags, shoes, our children and Steve." — Lauren Kramer