Ask a houstonian, “do you know river oaks?” And they’ll reply: “christmas lights.” They’ll mention driving 75 minutes in a beat-up minivan and stopping for whata-burger en route to see the glittering display the neighborhood is so famous for that google maps has declared it a “tourist attraction.” The minivan will slowly roll past an eclectic mix of opulent and historic homes that unfurl along tree-lined streets—a french château here, a stately american colonial there, a tudor estate with a corset of half-timbering just behind that fence. They comply with river oaks’ 100-year-old deed restrictions that stipulate a handful of revival architectural styles. Some bend the rules, however, stretching their homes to the edges of the property lines like potbellies straining over big belt buckles.
Adrian gaut
In a new spanish-style houston house designed by curtis & windham architects, with interiors by ashe leandro, the kitchen’s diamond-patterned floor mixes reclaimed terra-cotta tiles from chateau domingue and acid-washed limestone tiles from abc stone. The cabinetry is painted in farrow & ball’s parma gray, the range is by wolf, the stools are by design frères, the pendants by lisa johansson-pape, and the artworks by hugo guinness.
On a quieter street in river oaks, where the homes are smaller and the extravagance toned down, a family of four tucks in behind a clay-roofed mediterranean-style home that could have been built for an old hollywood starlet, when in fact it was built just a few years ago by revered architects curtis & windham. “it’s not what you’d expect to see in texas,” says architect bill curtis in a southern gentleman’s delicate drawl. “the stucco walls are thick, they’re robust, they’re heavy.”
But inside: lightness. The enthralling interiors are the work of ashe leandro, the elle decor a-list duo of architect reinaldo leandro and designer ariel ashe, who had worked with the homeowner’s sister in austin. The sought-after new york studio—whose starry clientele has included naomi watts and seth meyers—was well matched with the homeowner, who works in real estate and had books of inspiration based on villa borsani and villa necchi campiglio, pillars of midcentury italian design.
Adrian gaut
The 1960s dining chairs by afra and tobia scarpa for cassina surround a custom table in verde alpi marble from abc stone. The vintage max ingrand pendant is for fontana arte, and the sconce is by luigi caccia dominioni.
“this is so different than anything we’ve done before,” says ashe in her office, toggling between tabs of images of villa borsani and pictures of the houston home, pointing out the parallel parquet and terrazzo flooring. No other project she’s done to date, she says, has felt so much like her own personal style. But instead of being a time capsule, the rooms transport us somewhere we’ve never been with unrestrained color and character, curving woodwork, and flirtatious lighting. Is it 1950s italy? 1940s santa barbara? 2024 texas? The timeline blurs, happily.
With an architect already in place on the project, ashe led the way. The assignment energized the whole team. Project manager ian carr was excited to talk about bidding on a set of a dozen undulating afra and tobia scarpa chairs from the 1960s that he scored for a great deal, and how much he enjoyed exploring houston’s restaurant scene. Design director brian jones pointed to the living room’s grid-patterned cocktail table by sam stewart as a subtle nod to carlo scarpa’s tilework. “it’s a nice example of contemporary design that allowed this room to not feel so stuck in the past,” he says. “the ethos of this project was creating this more delicate, feminine italian design without feeling too precious.”
“what would i steal for my own home? All of it, literally all of it.” –ariel ashe
That’s especially clear in the kitchen, where stainless steel countertops punctuate frothy blue cabinets inspired by the late supermodel stella tennant’s west village apartment circa 2003. It was one of the most important rooms of the project. “i own a restaurant,” says the homeowner, “so i overcompensated in the kitchen.”
In the park-facing dining room, ashe leandro designed an emerald marble table that accidentally came in two inches too high, requiring a brutal shave job. Above it is an almost frilly lamp by max ingrand, circa 1960s, positioned as if to say “lighten up.”
The staircase leads to the breakfast area. The lithographs are by joan miró. “Every single piece in this house was like, ‘look what we found,’” ashe says. Indeed, some of the finds were so good she had trouble leaving them behind. “what would i steal for my own home? All of it, literally all of it.” Starting with the 1950s-era angelo lelli chandelier in the loungy primary bathroom, with glass shades that swirl upward like five cones of soft serve. Oh, and those scarpa dining room chairs.
Some clients ask ashe if she helps design holiday light displays, but no, she doesn’t. And the homeowner knows the pressure is on. “usually i just have my son put some white lights in the bushes,” she says, “but i’ve promised my kids that i will be better in the new house. So, river oaks holiday lights, here we come.”