house& home | September 2011 | house and home on l ine . com48

Architectural antiques and Hill Country vistas add serenity to a couple’s weekend country home

STORY & PHOTOGRAPHY BY MARY CHAVOUSTIE

MAKING HISTORY

Rob Rosenbaum and Linda O’Neal have busy schedules, spending theirdaylight hours helping others. Rob, a Houston-area chiropractor and Linda,a Registered Nurse First Assistant, were finding their days allowed little timeto relax, particularly with each other. A peaceful weekend country home, set atop 20 rolling acres just outside Burton, was the ideal prescription.

“When we built the house, we knew we’d enjoy it but we had no idea we’d be coming here almost every weekend,” says Linda. “We hate to leave on Sunday nights, lingering as long as we can before we head back to the city.”

Rob and Linda describe their country home as “French Country ShabbyChic” but once inside, you find there’s nothing too shabby about theirchoices. Their inviting home is infused with the colors of nature.Unobstructed blue skies and rolling grasslands, viewed through floor-to-ceiling windows, become a gallery all their own. Doors, purposely differentat every threshold—indoors and out—add even more color, with theirhand-painted flowers, leaded glass and years of weathered paint. “The white house on the hill,” as the building contractors called it, is certainly not plain.

ABOVE: For the couple’s kitchen, new cabinets were too modern, old cabinets were unstable. Craftsman Robert Riebeling suggested a working combination: new cabinets with fronts created from oldbarn wood. A honed marble countertop and stainless appliances provide contrast to the island—an antique nail bin from an old hardware store. OPPOSITE: An altar from a 125-year-old church wasrepurposed into a buffet and placed beneath a mirror. A mix of light and dark vintage woods welcomes dinner guests. The chandelier is from Tara Shaw Maison.

49

house& home | September 2011 | house and home on l ine . com50

Initially, the couple fell in love with a 1900s home in Somerville,but Rob and Linda desired more space and significant upgrades.Rob and Linda found Round Top Home Builder Barney Reynolds,who encouraged them to let him draw a new home — one thatwould satisfy their wish list as well as retain the original vintageappeal. The larger, energy efficient and built-to-code result wasexactly what the couple had wanted, complete with barn woodfloors in every room.

HARNESSING HISTORY

“We bought the wood from a dealer at the Warrenton show, Billand Jean Livezey from Two Rivers Trading in Iowa,” explained Rob.“They set up each year at Bar W. Field. They bring in samples of

lumber for you to pick from, you tell them how much squarefootage you’re looking for and Bill personally hauls it back to youon a big flatbed truck.”

Throughout the house, chandeliers of all shapes and sizes, newand reproduced, spill down from the ceilings. Each is handpickedfrom dealers and storekeepers across the state; the dining roomlighting a choice from Houston’s Tara Shaw Maison.

Equally important to the design was the choice to not use win-dow coverings. Insulated windows with standard low-e coating pro-vide thermal efficiency and yield Rob and Linda a sunrise viewfrom their antique iron bed.

On the bed, luxury down pillows from Pandora de Balthazar restatop Simply Shabby Chic sheets. The delicate lace-topped linens

ABOVE: Rob and Linda handpicked 10 tons of river rock for the stone fireplace and outdoor kitchen. Brenham contractor LeRoy Schroeder supplied the stonework. The paint color for the inte-rior untextured walls is Pittsburgh Paint’s “Pure White” with no tint whatsoever.

51

ABOVE: A tablescape in the living room exhibits Linda’s gift for design. BELOW LEFT: Early morning well water drawn for the couple’s galvanized tubs is usually a perfect temp by late afternoon.BELOW RIGHT: Antique wooden beams top the entries to the dining room and den. “We knew we wanted a beam for the texture and the color that it brings, so when we came across a 28-footbeam with hand-hewn notches, it was perfect. We hated to cut it but, ultimately, each piece compliments the other and is a prized addition to our home,” explains Rob.

52

53

contrast nicely with the weathered wood that tops two night tables. A4x7-foot stained glass church window serves as the door to the masterbedroom, gliding along an antique barn rail to open and close.

“Visiting guests always remark about the door, particularly if theyvisit in the evening. It’s beautiful with the glow of the bedroom chan-delier or the bedside lamp shining through the colored glass. Thedoor is like a piece of art in itself,” says Rob.

The master bath, with two Turkish marble bowls set inside anantiqued furniture base, are works of art, as well. “The base was origi-nally a dining room buffet, much like your grandma would have had,with dark, dark wood. I showed a friend, Jennifer Williams, a pictureof one of the antique doors and she was able to replicate the samegreat style,” explained Linda.

The guest bedroom door traces back to the late 1700s and Frenchoccupied Egypt; another purchase from the Warrenton show. Its wornand crackled teal blue paint stands as a testament to time; the hard-wood beneath it of equal character. The door’s wavy glass is indistin-guishable as new, a compliment to the craftsmen at Bobbitt Glass.

SPIRITUAL INFLUENCES

A mix of Rob and Linda’s faith and worldly travels are also evidentthroughout their design. Linda’s recent trip to Israel led her to manysacred places, yet none can compare with the reverent simplicity of thepieces acquired by chance back in the states.

“A friend of mine in St. Louis called and asked if I would be interestedin some items from an 1886 church (St. Joseph Lithuanian CatholicChurch) that was being renovated,” said Rob. “The property had beensold by the diocese to a non-denominational church that planned tomake changes, with no use for the century-old wooden altars.”

Rob and Linda repurposed the handmade elements as signature piecesin their home, creating an antique buffet from the distressed main altarand a soon-to-be bookcase from a second altarpiece they acquired. Theitems converted easily for the couple’s home use, thanks to Linda’s talentsas a decorator.

Rob and Linda agree life is good at “the white house on the hill.” What better place to regenerate the body and the soul. Too bad it’s just for weekends.

ABOVE: Worry Free Landscape’s Christopher Fredricks added exterior touches with a flagstone patio framed with the popular “Belinda’s Dreams”—a hardy rose variety selected toreceive Texas A&M’s “Earthkind” designation. OPPOSITE: The colorful stained glass door to the couple's master bedroom is hung on an antique barn rail. Whether closed or open,it is always a conversation piece.

RESOURCES

Bobbitt Glass Company, 713.523.7369Guest bedroom door glass

Champion Window, 281.440.7000Windows

Essence of Beauty, Linda O'Neal713.294.1199Interior design

LeRoy Schroeder,979.836.6521Rocks for fireplace

Robert Riebeling, 281.460.9702Kitchen cabinetry

Round Top Home Builders, Barney Reynolds512.940.1299Builder

Tara Shaw Maison, 713.533.9744Dining room chandelier

Two Rivers Trading, 641.660.5868Antique barn wood flooring

Warrenton Antique Show, Sept. 22-Oct. 2, 2011Three interior doors, master bathroom,sinks, altars, armoire in master bed-room, and various antique furnishings

Worry Free Landscape & TreeTrimming, 832.885.7164Flagstone patio and landscaping

Pandora de Balthazarwww.pandoradebalthazar.comPillows in master bedroom

Target www.target.comSimply Shabby Chic bed linens

LEFT: The doors to the guest bedroom, ladenwith age and years of paint, hint of far awaylands. A soft, ruffled white bed covering adds tothe romance. During the building process, eachdoor required custom framing to accommodatetheir distinctive widths and heights.

OPPOSITE: Low-e glass windows and energy-efficient design incorporated by builder BarneyReynolds gave the couple their much-wanted,unencumbered views of the country. An antiquecart and resilient lavender petunias add to thepeaceful setting.

55