Mediterranean Mood

“Homes are sprawling in Houston, but this home feels intimate as you experience it,” Marie Flanigan, Principal and Creative Director of Marie Flanigan Interiors, says. “The architect is masterful with that.” Flanigan is speaking of Kirby C. Mears, the founding Principal of Murphy Mears Architects. Flanigan and Sydney Manning, the lead designer on the project, collaborated with Mears from start to finish, infusing soul into the gracious interiors.

A sweeping drive leads to the 6,200-square-foot Mediterranean-inspired home with a stucco-like exterior and formal French gardens in front. An arched portico quietly beckons one through blackened-steel French doors into the light-filled entry, where straight ahead, another set of French doors looks to the patio. The double-height chamber feels almost monastic with its hand-burnished plastered walls and 17th-century Aubusson tapestry, which hints at the rich jewel tones to come.

Oversize limestone tiles in creamy ivory and a pale gray green comprise the checkerboard-patterned floor that runs throughout the public spaces on the main level and imbues a centuries-old European feel. The effect is at once sumptuous and spare. “The interiors are inspired by Provence and the Mediterranean,” Flanigan says. “We juxtaposed rustic materials and clean lines to create an Old-World style with a modern sensibility.”

The formal rooms are right up front. The living room is a study in high contrast elegance. A Vladimir Kagan-inspired serpentine sofa covered in aubergine velvet sits beside a carved black marble mantelpiece. A 19th-century mirror in a lustrous giltwood frame that is more monochromatic moody artwork than looking glass is a quiet counterpoint to the vibrant abstract painting on the opposite wall. A chandelier with 36 spidery black metal arms hangs from the coffered plaster ceiling without stealing the show.

The oval-shaped formal dining room, which is both understated and dramatic, is on the other side of the entry. Ethereal white drapery follows the curve of the room, wrapping it with privacy and acoustic relief. By day, sunlight streams through the bow window, hitting the two-way, antiqued glass of the four-tier chandelier and charcoal-colored plaster walls. At night, the dusky space oozes ambiance.

Straight back past the stair—its raw-edged limestone treads and minimalist iron rail ending in a flirtatious flick—an exquisite example of Flanigan’s rusticity meets simplicity mantra—is a welcoming kitchen with Provençal vibes. The focal point is a massive, tumbled limestone architectural element that encases the hood and frames the entire wall. “We began the kitchen design from an architectural point of view,” Flanigan explains. “The cabinetry and cooktop nestle into the wall.”

A marble backsplash meets a length of hand-antiqued mirror just below the limestone frame. The mirror lends a patina and provides depth as it reflects the homeowner’s collection of vintage copper pots. Stained rift-cut white oak cabinets with unfussy beading soften the metal and stone, and the Wolf Rangetop’s telltale red knobs are an unexpected pop of color.

“We spec Sub-Zero and Wolf appliances on almost every project,” Flanigan says. “This homeowner, who is a big cook, knew exactly the ones he wanted.” The suite of products, which includes stacked Wolf 30-inch Conventional and Steam Ovens, a 24-inch Coffee System, and a 48-inch Sub-Zero Pro Freezer and Refrigerator with glass door, line the wall opposite. “The client wanted all the appliances within arms’ reach rather than hidden in the pantry,” Flanigan says.

Double islands, another homeowner request, anchor the space. The designers proposed cladding them in metal; he was game. After deliberating over the palette—black, beige, and stainless were in the running—they landed on Farrow & Ball Hague Blue with burnished brass trim. The trim also edges the Calacatta Namibia marble countertops. “This kitchen is a beautiful marriage of simplicity and over-the-top detailing,” Flanigan muses.

Like the breakfast room, the family room boasts hand-hewn oak ceiling beams that add a cozy factor. A crushed velvet sofa blends comfort with glamour, and a vintage lacquered screen with gilded inlay from the Round Top Antiques Fair is a sophisticated backdrop. Walnut paneling runs along the facing wall, and the side walls, which are mostly glass, face the patio on one side and the fully enclosed courtyard, complete with a fountain, on the other.

Flanigan also incorporated rich wood accents in the homeowner’s private spaces at the back of the house. In the library, a zebra hide rug tops a walnut and cherry parquet floor, and Art Deco-style wood doors open into the bedroom. “He texted us TV screenshots asking us to recreate the doors from Rick’s Café Américain in Casablanca,” she says. Inside the airy bedroom, a walnut screen cocoons the upholstered bed, and another parquet pattern adorns the floor. “We didn’t realize how much he loved intricate flooring until we took him to the showroom.”

While the bedroom has a groin-vaulted ceiling, the primary bath features a quirky twist: intersecting barrel vaults. Here, the vanities are tucked into an arcade that overlooks a majestic copper soaking tub set before an arched window that projects into the landscape—the perfect spot to end (or start) a day in this impeccably designed home.