Family’s local barn-turned-loft is a sleek weekend retreat
Glenn Seureau was tired of looking at a barn. So he decided to make it something more useful.
He and his wife, Sabrina Seureau, live in River Oaks, but they spend some weekends and holidays on family land near Galveston Bay — about 77 acres in Seabrook where they can get away from the city to tend livestock, hunt, fish and ride four-wheelers.
The family farmhouse on the property dates to 1840, but a nearly 40-year-old barn was just taking up space nearby. “It just sat there for years and years,” Glenn Seureau says. “I thought, ‘What can I do with this barn?’”
About three years ago, the Seureaus decided to convert the barn into a loft that would give them a comfortable, contemporary place to stay. Now the family’s fourwheelers and fishing equipment are stored in the garage below, and the 3,500 square feet upstairs have been transformed into a three-bedroom weekend retreat.
The space is open and bright, with exposed ducts and polished concrete floors. The 20-foot vaulted ceiling is covered with a warm cherry wood, which warms up the cool, contemporary décor.
“I was trying to keep it minimalist,” Glenn Seureau says. “Concrete floors, white sheetrock walls, exposed barn ceiling.”
The Seureaus like a sleek, tidy look, so they chose ultramodern Cantoni cabinetry for the kitchen and bar. Then they hired Cantoni designer Angela Watson, who helped them choose the cabinets, to finish out the rest of the space.
“It’s designed for entertain- ing,” Watson says of the home. “They wanted it to be very functional for them to entertain family and friends.”
The kitchen is ideal for feeding a crowd: Its double islands feature a 48-inch Wolf cooktop and plenty of counterspace. Along the wall are two Wolf ovens, two dishwashers and a commercial-grade True refrigerator and freezer. The commercial refrigeration was a special request of Glenn Seureau, who loves to fish. “They’re so big — you can put huge pieces of fish in there,” he says. “If we catch a big fish at the pier, we can put it right there.”
An 8-foot dining table sprawls across the space between the open kitchen and the living room, which features two space-age lounge chairs and a luxe leather sectional. Nearby, the wet bar is lined with cabinets, but their touch-to-open doors create a smooth, clean surface. “We didn’t want any hardware,” Watson says.
The design is tidy and minimalist, but touches of luxury can be found throughout the house. In the master bedroom, the Lazar bed’s custom-designed headboard features Swarovski crystals in the tufting. A small wet bar is built into one end of the vast master bathroom so “you don’t have to zip into the kitchen for that extra bottle of wine,” Watson says. And the media room features a 10-foot projector screen and a row of five American Leather theater chairs, which are equipped with cupholders and USB ports.
“That’s my favorite room,” Glenn Seureau says. “It’s quiet; it feels like you’re in a movie theater.” It’s also a favorite of the couple’s 12-year-old son, who likes to play Xbox games on the enormous screen.
The Seureaus enjoy inviting friends to watch sports, celebrate birthdays or just enjoy the pleasures of living on land near the water. Their new threebedroom loft has given them the perfect space to have company.
“When I was a kid, all we had was an old house down there,” Seureau says. Now, on this family land, a new generation will have space to spread out and enjoy.