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Wendy and Sawyer Phillips House

by Charlotte Caldwell

Is this Wendy's house or Sawyer's house? Sawyer, who just had his fourth birthday, would say "It's mine," with a larger than life grin on his small face. There are signs of his happy life everywhere; floats in the pool, toy trucks clumped together in the yard, ready for excavation; a tiny upright piano, stars glued to the ceiling in his bedroom; and horses, and stables and barns. Places to explore.
Situated at the end of a long gravel path, anyone who has ever dreamt of living in the country will consider this home the pot of gold at the rainbows end. Although built in the early '60's, it looks like the farmstead of an immigrant German family that settled these hills hundreds of years ago. The small compound of four buildings—sitting in a semicircle around lush green grass, cultured beds of tropical plants, and shaded by the spreading arms of giant oaks—is a combination of whitewashed stucco, rough cut, odd shaped limestone and weathered wood. There are front porches for sitting and a swing hanging from a giant oak limb inviting you to come sit…swing…and remember what it was like to be a kid.

A magnificent towering oak in the front yard was at the heart of Wendy's decision to purchase the property. When she and Sawyer moved into their new home, the same tree became her muse and the inspiration for much of her art. Wendy a Renaissance woman, welds. She welds beautiful airy pieces of steel that reach and bend and twist, turning into graceful spires in organic shapes holding table tops, or books, or smaller pieces made to adorn delicate wrists; many of these creative pieces can be seen throughout the home.
The rustic complex which sits on fifty grassy acres has undergone a bit of change in the last year. Wendy explains, "When I purchased the property, all the walls were dark, inside and out; I had to bring in the light." Walk through the main entrance into the home and you are surrounded by a sea of soft white, heavily textured walls accented with dark wood trim. An 1886 era piano, left to Wendy by her grandmother, takes center stage. Walking toward the fireplace you will be tempted to put your feet up and snuggle deep into a large leather sectional; a room meant for living, it is no frills, no nonsense, where function and comfort is king.
Cowhides are scattered across the floors in all of the rooms; the art adorning the walls has purpose and meaning. Neptune tells you to Save our Gulf. The cow skull hanging over the fireplace mantel was discovered by Wendy as she was out riding her horse on her parent's ranch. Upstairs in her cattle baron worthy bedroom hang two vintage cycling posters; touches of whimsy with meaning, telling tales of a loved lifestyle. Wendy smiles, "When I lived in Austin I rode my bike everywhere, so when I saw these posters I had to have them…redheads riding bicycles."
The kitchen is a large welcome light filled space full of open shelves, large granite countertops, a winter-warming rock fireplace and a gourmet gas burning stove. The outbuildings contain cozy guest quarters and are decorated with meaningful treasures from family and friends.
Wendy Phillips, a tall slender redhead, stands surveying her kingdom. She has plans—big plans—a 3,500 square foot artist's salon/studio, farm to table dinners, and so much more. Yes, she has plans, and she intends to plant deep roots, like the graceful oak that is her muse.

The Lee and Sue Kapetanakis Home

by Charlotte Caldwell

Tucked into a hillside on ten oak-studded acres, Sue Kapetanakis and her husband couldn't say no to purchasing this unfinished, semi-underground house in May 2014. The opportunity to leave the city and live in the Hill Country that they loved—plus being able to place their personal stamp on, and finishing the interior of a uniquely designed home—was something Sue and Lee did not want to pass up.
With no visible neighbors, and a front porch as wide as the house itself, Sue could envision the outdoor space that would allow her to sit, sipping her coffee, enjoying the flora, fauna and wildlife spread before her. For, at her heart, Sue is a child of nature. She immediately began collecting fossils that littered her property, putting them in baskets and embedding them into concrete edges that line walkways. Her intentions are to become a Master Naturalist as soon as time allows. At the moment her home and her travels keep her more than busy.
Sue loves Africa, having visited there at least twenty-five times; she has a library of books devoted to its stories and a house filled with treasured mementos from her travels. Entering this home, you will feel like you have walked into the savannas of Kenya. The colors in the window-filled, immense front room—that almost spans the entire length of the home—are shades of the trunk and limbs of the baobab tree and the dried grasslands of Africa. Soft browns, beige and ivory cover the multiple seating areas and top the pool table at the end of the room.
Wooden carvings of giraffes—seemingly as tall as the creatures themselves—stand in the far corner. Numerous big game trophies of magnificent African wildlife allow you to see in person the stateliness and beauty of these creatures; a cape buffalo, a leopard…a kudu. Walking through Sue Kapetanakis' front room is like walking through a museum; you may become distracted, not wanting to leave. Adorning multiple tables and cabinets and shelves are items collected from Texas, Greece, Mexico and Africa. Everywhere you look there is something unique.
However, venturing beyond this light-filled room you will discover clever use of space in one of the underground bedrooms; with its ample storage it is still configured to sleep five. A small bathroom containing ingeniously created walk-in showers will give you ideas for your own home. Furniture designed for the bedroom is now utilized as a spacious liquor cabinet in the kitchen; a marble tabletop has turned into an island counter top.
Catty-corner to the main house is the Old Gringo Cantina; a quick vacation to the colorful world of Mexico. Filled with warmth and charm and comfort, vibrant shades of paint, and a collection of cherished objects from Oaxaca, it is a place to curl up with a good book and sip a Margarita from the cantina bar.
Walking through this unique semi-subterranean home is like visiting three countries—the Texas Hill Country, Africa and Mexico—in one fell swoop.

The Mike and Becky McCullough House

by Charlotte Caldwell

It is everyone's dream—to start over, start from scratch—throwing out the old, bringing in the fresh, the different, the new. Becky and Mike McCullough are seemingly living the dream; they have a new home, even the furnishings are new. Then Becky walks to the wall dividing the living room from the kitchen area, puts her hand on the wall beside the light switch and says, "The water came up to here…we had to take the house down to the studs."
I asked her how she coped with the loss of her home and furniture and clothing and art and accessories…all of it filled with memories. She replies, "Finally…you think…it is just stuff." It was losing the trees by the river and all of the family photographs that bother her the most.
A victim of the Memorial Day Flood that ravaged the homes along the Blanco, Becky remembers the devastation. Two cars were lost; the refrigerator upended; the large deck ripped from the foundation; an outdoor kitchen—newly completed—destroyed; large windows broken—allowing the rising river inside their home—and then the rushing waters pulling their possessions through the jagged glass and into the night as the flood receded.
Today Becky smiles as she points out the two antique white Jenny Lind beds in her daughter's room; she and her sister slept in them when they were kids. "My sister told me the reason these beds survived was because they had so many layers of paint on them."
A wine rack of reclaimed cypress was saved when Becky's sister took it home, dried it out, returning it to sit on the now expanded kitchen counter. A beautiful, gnarled and twisted bristle-cone-pine table base survived—so very appropriate since this tree is among the oldest living organism on earth—however, the glass that sat on top of it did not. "You would be surprised at how hard it is to find a piece of glass this big," Becky tells me, referring to the new glass table that easily seats eight.
Becky and Mike made lemonade out of lemons, fixing all of the things that bothered them about the pre-owned home they moved into permanently only six months before they were flooded. Symmetry now reigns. Where once only one bookcase accented the fireplace wall, a twin now exists on the other side. A small entry way consisting of a door, a single side-lite and a closet has been widened; the closet removed, another side-lite added. In the study and kitchen, long windows were shortened and counter space increased.
The interior—totally rebuilt and reimagined—is a study in casual elegance, calm, and composure. Today the main area of the home is an expanse of un-textured, pale gray walls, white wood trim and darker gray built-in's. Furnishings and rugs are soft and soothing grays and creams and ivories. Stunning works of art—some in unexpected colors adding spark and life to the sea of neutrals—hang in every room. One large painting of muted blues and grays—colors taken from the paint used in the home—was created by a friend who also glazed walls, gold-leafed frames, and crafted mother-of-pearl elegance on a bathroom wall. A favorite artist's work, Daryl Howard who specializes in wood block prints, can be found throughout the house.
Before I leave, Becky shows me pictures of her home taken immediately after the flood. My heart tightens—imagining. "You must have broken down and cried," I say.
"I never cried," Becky replies, "I just thought…let's get to work."

Red Hawk Ranch

by Charlotte Caldwell

There are many reasons that people choose to live in the Texas Hill Country, Wimberley specifically. For the current owners of Red Hawk Ranch, it was the creeks and streams and rivers that drew them to these hills. When they descended the long sloping, winding driveway leading down to a complex of unique structures, set on thirty valley acres surrounded by trees, and fronted by quiet pools and a frothy fall of water on Lone Man Creek, they couldn't help but fall in love with the land they stood on.
Looking as if it is of the earth—the contemporary-rustic-adobe home above the creek is the color of the rocky cliff beyond. This pale, natural limestone gray is carried throughout the interior. The surprise pop of deep persimmon walls in the kitchen, with cabinets painted an avocado green, brings a bright playful note to the heart of the home. Artwork, both abstract and realistic, as well as accessories and linens, quietly echo these cheery colors in the dining room, master suite and guest bedroom.
Custom built in 2005 for the creative artist, Siri Hutcheson—and purchased with all furnishings in situ by the current owners—the stunning interior of Red Hawk Ranch is all about art and architectural elements…and doors turned into art.
New doors. Old doors. Inventive doors. Unique doors. Faux painted doors so realistic you have to look twice to realize they are not old. An 1800's era Dutch style farmhouse door from France. A former wine cellar door, painted white, flecked with gold and silver leaf and splashes of neutral shades of paint—with no door handle—and more; antique corbels, inventive door moldings.

The wrought iron railings enclosing the lofts throughout the house are original to The Driskill Hotel and were rescued for their delicate beauty. The soaring floor to ceiling bookshelves in the living area were built to accommodate the glass doors and hardware that were formerly in the Texas State Capitol building. Studying the unique handcrafted fireplace in the great room you will begin to wonder if the design is as ancient as time or as futuristic as the next millennium. There is something to be discovered every time you look up or down or straight ahead.
The glass wall of windows and doors in the great room beckon you to explore what is beyond. Strolling around the tree studded grounds filled with towering oaks and elms you discover a greenhouse, an artist's studio, a large garage apartment with not one, but two balconies, a hot tub, an outdoor fireplace…and the creek.
Standing on the large flagstone landing that provides access to the water, you could be tempted to jump in, but then you turn and remember the veranda that spans the width of the home and you climb the raw uncut limestone path that leads to the stairs that leads to shaded inviting seating; you are tempted to pull the cord on one of the ceiling fans, grab a drink and sit a spell. You sit and dream…wishing…discovering that the current owners of Red Hawk Ranch, not always in residence, rent their home through Hill Country Premier Lodging. You smile, and plan, and dream some more.

Come dream your dreams and explore the Red Hawk Ranch along with four others during the Wimberley Civic Club's 29th Annual Hill Country Home Tour. The homes will be open to the public on November 11 & 12, 2016, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The Bob and Trudi Allison Home

by Charlotte Caldwell

Before I can even think about knocking, Trudi—a former interior designer, an artist, a psychotherapist, and an expert on color (having authored the book PsyCOLORgy: A Woman's Guide to Inner Balance)—is out the door. Bright and energetic as sunshine she begins telling me the history of the 1960's era, once derelict house, she and her husband Bob purchased a little over two years ago, transforming it into their own private oasis. The street it sits on, Lange Road, is named after the woman who built the house and owned all of the property in the surrounding area down to the river.
I was expecting an old fashioned Wimberley cottage, but what I got was Frank Lloyd Wright's Falling Water meets MacKenzie Childs meets the creative mind and exuberant spirit of Trudi-Spring Allison; a potpourri of wood and stone, right angles and open squares on the exterior, the interior swirls with vibrant color that is grounded by large swaths of black, silver, soothing putty-gray and natural wood.
A narrow garage has been turned into a deep-lavender cocoon reminiscent of a posh cocktail lounge in 1930's Hollywood, so it is no surprise to find that this multi-functional space is also made for movie watching. With a few deft moves, rearranging furniture already in place, the room is transformed into a spacious dining area, where Trudi is known to cook for company two to three times a week.
Bright and cheerful, the living room is an eclectic mix of modern, traditional and antique furnishings, while the kitchen is a medley of old and new, black-and-white, natural wood and glorious color. At the end of a hallway, lined with an assortment of treasured art from favorite artists, is the master suite. Walls are painted a shimmering silver and Trudi has devoted one section in the room to black-and-white photographs of her large and expanding family. An outside door off the master suite leads to a quiet oasis of plants, art, and a bubbling hot tub.
The utility room. a.k.a. temporary art studio, is a study in joy. Trudy introduces the room by saying, "I had to have a room this color somewhere in my house." The deep rose-corral that adorns the walls is also the background color for a cabinet, turned into a work of art by Trudi herself, that is covered with whirls and swirls and roses and birds and leaves.
This home is full of nooks and crannies and creative surprises; cleverly using the ordinary, Trudi has turned it into the extraordinary. Fresh flowers are everywhere, while her art and energy fill each corner. Leaving the premises and driving down Lange Road, you may find yourself super curious about color and what it means and how it affects you…and wondering if it could really change your life.

Bonus:

visit Waters Point Resort while on tour

click here for Waters Point Resort information

VisitWimberley.com is your 'online' gateway to the Wimberley area with Art Galleries and artist information, features, links to shopping, eating, services, music, special events, art showings, things to do, animal and wildlife information, crafts, and services in the Wimberley area. Our sister publication,The Hill Country Home Guide, includes localized information for designing, building and living within the Texas Hill Country.