The home of Kerry and Andrea Stein in Washington County, designed through Lake Flato Architects.
Kerry and Andrea Stein’s Washington County home, designed through Lake Flato Architects.
The home of Kerry and Andrea Stein in Washington County, designed through Lake Flato Architects.
Kerry and Andrea Stein’s Washington County home, designed through Lake Flato Architects.
A strong telescope is located on a tripod in a corner of Kerry and Angela Stein’s living room, a sign that life in the countryside is full of things to see: storms are brewing in the distance, meandering through fields of grass and birds spinning. or perched on the branches of expanding trees.
The Steins lived on a mid-century ranch on the west side of Houston, and the preference for land led the couple to look first at Hill Country and then settle on land closer to Houston, as Kerry Stein has not yet retired from his paintings. in the oil and gas industry.
Kerry, a San Antonio neighbor who grew up visiting his paternal grandfather’s farm in Castroville, knew he would one day have his own land, even if agriculture wasn’t his profession.
Just a few years ago, they moved to their modern, minimalist farm, a mix of glass and steel, Lueders limestone and cedar, poplar and walnut wood.
Away from an agricultural road to the market in Washington County between Chappell Hill and Navasota, the low slug ranch-style space is a strange sight after miles of obsolete farms, trailers and classic wood-framed spaces. -Based on the architects of Lake Flato, the “space” is a series of indoor and outdoor spaces, which come with what is actually the hottest barn in the area.
They had never hired an architect or even built a house, however, after seeing some houses they liked and discovering that Lake Flato had designed both, they knew who their architects would be, even though they didn’t know much about the winner. corporate at the time.
These 256-acre assets are located in a new network of small farms known as Gates Ranch, many of which are moment houses for Houston residents who want to leave the bustling city on weekends or move to a semi-retirement. Gates, a scout for Stephen F. Austin and a component of the old three hundred settlers who won land concessions in Austin’s first deal in the 1820s.
In spring, Steins Farm is filled with purple, pink and yellow wildflowers, adding a small hill covered with bluebonnets. At other times, Stein works in hay fields with the farmer, giving his tractor an intelligent workout while promoting 1,500-pound hay bales to neighbors. cattle farming.
There is a steady stream of birds, from a bald eagle that nests nearby and perches on its trees, to ducks, egrets, cranes, spatulas and even white pelicans that dive into its 14-foot-deep pond.
For a few years, the Steins lived in New Orleans and their space in a bird sanctuary, so they began to learn about the species around them. This unofficial pastime has reached a new level.
“We are now, by default, amateur ornithologists,” Kerry joked. ” The birds were a big surprise. I didn’t expect to see a bald eagle here. We have a big bezel, and we’ve been watching the bald eagle each. and every morning for a few months. He liked to rot in a specific position and when he took flight, all the ducks dispersed. “
Laura Jensen and Gus Starkey, respectively architect and designer of Lake Flato’s assignment for the Steins’ house, stated that the assignments are derived from the herb-based characteristics of the site, so an on-site scale began the process.
“Our roots are agricultural and commercial in nature, so it’s kind of a return to the roots,” Starkey said. “The company has its roots in the search for architecture in the landscape, merging those two elements. “
“Our first reaction is to the site, enjoy the terrain and look to identify what is unique on the property. We sought to locate the right position to enjoy the lake and give the house an anchor, and some trees around that pond gave us enough time to tie ourselves up,” Starkey continued.
Since Steins’ 256 acres seemed wide open, the purpose was for space to feel that way, too. The main component of the space includes a master bedroom, an open-plan living-dining-kitchen and a giant pantry/laundry room. . A garage, then a dogtrot construction with two smaller suites shape a courtyard, where the Steins planted a lush zoysia grass, so fluffy and thick that it’s hard to believe it’s authentic grass.
In the distance is this amazing barn, basically covered with corrugated cut that naturally ages to a rusty red color that you would expect to see in a classic painted barn. This is where Kerry, a geophysicist, helps maintain his tractor, his pride and his joy: the 1985 Jeep CJ7 he bought after graduating from Texas A
The large sliding panels open to let in the breeze of herbs, so that Kerry, who enjoys the carpentry, can spend hours in his carpentry more comfortably.
There’s a haystack on top, but it’s basically used to buy wood that Kerry uses to make closets or other furniture, and in the middle of the barn, fixed on the beams and beams of the ceiling, there’s a metal machine.
The Steins were watching HGTV’s “Salvage Dawgs,” which tells the story of the Virginia-based Black Dog Salvage team as they got rid of architectural elements of old houses and other structures. In one show, they talked about a former elevator they had taken out of the historic Homestead Resort in Hot Springs, Virginia.
More than 250 years ago, tourists spent the summer in the cooler temperatures of the Allegheny Mountains and their cars were stored in a warehouse, elevated to a higher point with a manual elevator.
Kerry now jokes that she possibly would have had too much wine that night, but she doesn’t call Black Dog Salvage to buy the elevator and then asks her Lake Flato team to design a barn around her.
It’s a bit bulky to use, it takes a lot of manpower, so Kerry is running a counterweight formula to make the task a little to do alone.
And the garage has a different service than housing vehicles. They are difficult to see due to the tilt of the ceiling, but it is covered with solar panels that have provided all the electrical energy used through the Steins House.
“A cornerstone of our design attitude is sustainability throughout its bureaucracy and phases,” Starkey said. “We inspire as many consumers as possible to come with solar panels. “
At first glance, the space turns out to have a roof looming over the structure, a ghost provoked through a series of well-defined windows surrounding much of the space; Inside, this upper point has exposed metal farms that visually shape crosses along. the entire duration of space.
In the main house, Lueders limestone is used around the fireplace and on the kitchen walls, while smooth steeds serve as countertops in the pantry, kitchen and bathrooms.
Kerry bought old car wood and combined it to create a giant cutting board-style tray for the giant kitchen island. Other woods in space come with poplar in the closets, which Kerry made himself for about a year, running in the afternoons and weekends.
The walnut floors came here from a huge tree that fell on Kerry’s grandfather’s farm, so every time he looks at them, he remembers the joy of being outdoors on the farm.
At one end of the room there are 4 glass panels, a door that can be opened wide and the other 3 that fold in accordion so that the living room and covered patio appear to be one.
A fairly blue pool gives excitement to their 19 nieces and nephews, and the Steins appease their pizza oven when their giant and prolonged circle of relatives visits them. It takes about 90 minutes to warm up enough, but it only takes 90 seconds to bake a cake.
A small olive orchard is still ripening, however, when they start generating fruit, the couple will be informed to put them in brine or a press to extract their own olive oil.
For now, they enjoy the view from their living room, a better sunrise every day.
diane. cowen@chron. com