A Midcentury Modern Redux Transforms This Beloved Houston Abode

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History Now In Houston

Determined to return their residence to its midcentury splendor, a couple and their design team invoke the spirit of the home's original architect.

Garden Slot Door with Sculpture View Brick Walkway and Hedges

In 1947, architect John Staub designed a home in Houston’s River Oaks community for James Elkins Jr., then president of First City National Bank, and Margaret Wiess Elkins, whose father was a founder of Humble Oil. Featuring an L-shaped plan that embraced the increasingly casual lifestyle of the postwar generation, it was a major departure from the 18th-century Georgian plantation-style mansion the renowned architect had famously crafted for philanthropist Ima Hogg two decades earlier, also in the River Oaks neighborhood.

Brick Exterior 1947 Home with Twin Tree Front Yard

Architect Dillon Kyle preserved and restored the front of this historic Houston house in part by matching brick from South Texas Brick & Stone to the existing brick. Every window, replaced through Houston Window Experts, mimics the original design as well. Landscape architect Randy Fajkus devised the long hedges to complement the horizontal lines and linear brick detailing on the front elevation.

Midcentury Modern Staircase Entryway with Slit Doors and Wooden Touches

John Staub, the home’s original architect, designed the entry’s basket-weave front door and intricate Art Deco staircase featuring a new custom stair runner by Hokanson. The bench is from Antique Warehouse by Dale Gillman in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and the Vaughan chandelier is from George Cameron Nash. Weikel’s Woodworks refinished and restored the parquet floors.

Tan Brick Wall with Wooden Fireplace Below Artwork and Patterned Chairs

In the living room, matching armchairs clad in Osborne & Little fabric from ID Collection face a David Simpson painting from Haines Gallery in San Francisco; Weitzner fabric covers a wingback chair from One Kings Lane. A. Rudin chairs circle an antique table near an armoire from Joyce Horn Antiques and a Jean-Luc Myskowski painting from Galerie du Pharos in Saint Remy-de-Provence, while in the corner is a French antique sectional from Jan Showers.

Zig Zag Chevron Fabric Chairs with Colorful Curtains and Diamond Patterned Carpet

Designer Ken Kehoe fashioned the family room draperies with three colors of the same Kravet Montauk fabric sewn together. Similar hues repeat on cushions wearing Schumacher fabric on Donghia’s Block Island club chairs and ottoman. A Port 68 lamp from Ken Kehoe & Company tops nesting tables from the owners’ collection; the custom rug is from Matt Camron Rugs & Tapestries.

Bookshelf TV Wall with Books, Colorful Patterns and Eclectic Furnishings

In the family room, Kyle replicated wall shelves from the home’s original drawings. The Joseph Company fabricated the custom Quadrille fabric-clad sectional sofa designed by Kehoe, and the McGuire coffee table is from Ellouise Abbott. Overstreet Audio-Video handled the home entertainment.

Geometric Shape Pool with Three Lawn Chairs and Lush Surround

To bring a slice of California to their backyard, the homeowners requested a swimming pool. Designed by Fajkus and installed by The Pool Man, it is ringed with brick to coordinate with the house. Fajkus then added the loose arrangement of dusty miller, purple Angelonia and pink Nymph salvia. The Woodard chaise lounges are from Leisure Collections.

Slanted Ceiling Breakfast Room with Green Sofa and Circular Wicker Table

The breakfast room features comfortable upholstered seating to encourage hanging out. Kehoe designed the sofa sporting Brunschwig & Fils fabric from Kravet, while the sofa pillows are clad in Dedar’s Flourish fabric from George Cameron Nash and chairs are covered with Fabricut’s Mayapan fabric. The dining table is by McGuire, and the chandelier is from On Madison in Pasadena, California.

Crystal Chandelier with Ombre Wallpaper and High Curved Ceiling

Draperies made with Weitzner fabric calm the dining room, where a Bassett mirror from One Kings Lane placed over Arena Design wallpaper ensures that every dinner guest has outdoor views. An Ironies chandelier from Culp Associates lights the setting, which includes host chairs with Schumacher fabric on the front. Side chairs, also from One Kings Lane, wear Zimmer + Rohde fabric from George Cameron Nash, and the painting is by Adrien Moroni.

Famous Banana Leaf Powder Room with Bamboo Style Wainscot Walls and Mirror

The owners asked Kehoe to bring the Beverly Hills Hotel’s Martinique banana leaf wallpaper to the pool bathroom. Replicating the look required cutting out the leaf design and floating it on the wall painted in the wallpaper design’s background color. The home’s original Crane sink is attached to Ann Sacks tile.

Blue Green Flower Wallpaper Bedroom with Eclectic Fabric and White Comforters

An homage to renowned designers Sister Parish and Albert Hadley, the guest bedroom showcases Carleton V Ltd.’s Rhododendron wallpaper from ID Collection, and the pattern repeats on the almost-invisible headboards; Schumacher’s Don’t Fret fabric covers the throw pillows. James L. Kendrick III prints flank a nightstand holding a lamp from the owners’ collection.

Interior Room Artwork Bedroom with Silver Accented Bedding and Side Table Lamp

Serene pale blue tones delineate the master bedroom, where Kehoe covered the headboard in Pollack linen raffia. Perfect Quilt fabricated the bedspread with Highland Court fabric from Duralee and the square throw pillows with Kerry Joyce fabric. The Port 68 lamp and the custom side table designed by Kehoe are both from Ken Kehoe & Company.

Twin Seating with Ottoman Bookshelves and Window Seat

Kehoe designed the chairs and ottoman, all wearing Donghia fabric, for the master bedroom sitting area. Rubelli fabric from Donghia forms the draperies fabricated by G&S Custom Draperies; the carpet is Rosecore.

Rectangular White Wood Paneling Hallway with Framed Artwork and Window Curtains

A paneled hallway leading to the master suite features molding inspired by the entry door. The Carlton Cook Company fabricated the millwork, which was painted by Heritage Painters, and Fine Flooring by Cameron installed the wood floors. Waterworks sconces flank a painting by French artist Daniel Trussart.

Lush Garden with Sculpture Feature and Gate in Background

It was exactly those details and the structure’s inherent simplicity that intrigued homeowners Jim and Eric, both self-proclaimed Staub fans. “It was a very unassuming brick building, and we had no idea it was a Staub house,” says Eric, who along with his husband was captivated by everything from the Art Deco screen door to the crystal doorknobs.

Cozy Contemporary Outdoor Seating Furniture with Wrought Iron Chairs and Stone Patio

Having a shared goal of staying true to the integrity of the 1940s design, everyone involved found themselves asking at various times, “What would John Staub do?” With that question in mind and Staub’s drawings in hand, Kyle—with project manager Samuel Windham—matched brick on the outside and emulated trim details on the interiors. When questions arose about redoing the roof with the same cedar shake shingles as the original and whether to extend the existing flagstone on the patio into the new family room and kitchen, all agreed Staub would have approved.

In 1947, architect John Staub designed a home in Houston’s River Oaks community for James Elkins Jr., then president of First City National Bank, and Margaret Wiess Elkins, whose father was a founder of Humble Oil. Featuring an L-shaped plan that embraced the increasingly casual lifestyle of the postwar generation, it was a major departure from the 18th-century Georgian plantation-style mansion the renowned architect had famously crafted for philanthropist Ima Hogg two decades earlier, also in the River Oaks neighborhood. The Hogg house, now a cherished decorative-arts museum, embodied the grandeur and elegance that defined both Staub’s style and the locale. As for the Elkins residence, without the vision of current homeowners Jim Reeder and Eric Nevil, it might have perished. 

“This house could easily have been torn down,” says architect Dillon Kyle, who grew up in the neighborhood and possesses a lifelong admiration for the residence. “Considering the size of the property and the location, most people would have wanted something bigger and more traditional. And not everyone would appreciate things like the styling of the staircase and millwork.” But it was exactly those details and the structure’s inherent simplicity that intrigued Jim and Eric, both self-proclaimed Staub fans. “It was a very unassuming brick building, and we had no idea it was a Staub house,” says Eric, who along with his husband was captivated by everything from the Art Deco screen door to the crystal doorknobs. 

According to Jim, it was evident on their first walk-through with Kyle that he was the right architect. “Dillon had an appreciation and vision for the house that was intoxicating,” he says, noting they had already tapped friend and longtime designer Ken Kehoe to weigh in on the project, with Eric, who is vice president of operations at Kehoe’s firm, serving as project manager. Having a shared goal of staying true to the integrity of the 1940s design, everyone involved found themselves asking at various times, “What would John Staub do?” 

With that question in mind and Staub’s drawings in hand, Kyle—with project manager Samuel Windham—matched brick on the outside and emulated trim details on the interiors. When questions arose about redoing the roof with the same cedar shake shingles as the original and whether to extend the existing flagstone on the patio into the new family room and kitchen, all agreed Staub would have approved. But capturing the essence of the architecture also mandated some serious deleting that included eliminating both a service wing addition on the first floor and an upper-level expansion.

With the help of builder Brent Goodland, a breakfast room, family room, guest suite and terrace topped with a at roof replaced the former, and the second floor was returned to its original footprint. The ranch-style look of the at-roofed addition catered to the owners’ desire to “bring a little bit of California to Houston,” as did the new swimming pool ringed in brick designed by landscape architect Randy Fajkus. “This part of the house looks like one of David Hockney’s pool paintings,” Jim says. 

Despite their affection for the era, the owners had no desire to turn the interiors into a midcentury museum—quite the contrary. “Jim had several family antiques, such as a pair of mahogany chests and a wood dining table, that were coming no matter what,” says Kehoe, who placed them in the dining room with vintage Dakota Jackson side chairs as contemporary counterpoints. A resin light fixture—which “everyone agreed looks like an upside-down version of an Esther Williams bathing cap,” Kehoe says—hangs from the original cove ceiling. More in keeping with the period, a 1940s sectional from Jan Showers fills one corner of the living room alongside a wheat-sheaf coffee table that purportedly was in Coco Chanel’s Paris apartment and a wingback chair wearing a luxurious wool-blend satin. The wood ceiling, a Staub signature and previously painted over many times, was stripped and fully restored. 

The home’s palette balances Eric’s love of color with Jim’s desire for more-muted surroundings. In the family room, woven chairs touting cushions in colorful zigzag fabric signal a fun gathering place, while in the sitting area adjacent to the kitchen, upholstered chairs bloom with a bright hydrangea pattern, and the large flower print repeating on the walls, draperies and chairs in the guest bedroom pays homage to ’50s designer Sister Parish. “It’s a reminder that midcentury design was about more than just modern,” Kehoe says. 

Things shift in Jim’s favor in the upper-level master suite, where everything from the padded headboard to the armchairs to the draperies wears the barest whisper of blue. A paneled hallway with a molding pattern inspired by the entry screen door conceals storage and serves as a transition to the master bathroom. There, a floating vanity enveloped in vertical-stripe marble is a contemporary take on classic Hollywood glam. About his deft mixing of colors and styles, Kehoe says, “The point was not to decorate the house. Instead, everything melds and complements the architecture.” 

Mindy Pantiel