A NEW LIFE
Couple’s vision turns neglected chip factory into stately home
From their offices on Summer Street in the First Ward, Laura and Evan Michaelides kept an eye on the aging two-story brick building across the street.
It was showing its age, for sure. Built in 1923, it had changed hands a number of times and had been neglected by its most recent owners, who had used the structure as an apartment building.
The front door didn’t lock, and animals had been wandering in and out. Paint was peeling off of walls, plaster was crumbling, and tenants suffered in the summer heat as air conditioning was never installed.
For all of its problems, the Michaelideses saw something more: a stately building with a sliver of Houston history — the Dentler Maid Potato Chip Co. at one time operated on the site.
“New, architect-designed houses are lovely, but I like the depth and sense of time in older buildings.” Laura Michaelides, owner of Four Square Design Studio
More important, the couple could see its future: a beautiful home that they would create.
“New, architect-designed houses are lovely, but I like the depth and sense of time in older buildings,” said Laura Michaelides, who owns Four Square Design Studio. “In the morning when we go to work, it’s the greatest. We just go across the street.”
For their efforts, the Michaelideses will receive a 2017 Good Brick Award from Preservation Houston. In 2013, they won another Good Brick Award for the restoration of the Queen Anne cottage that houses Laura’s design studio. Evan handles some administrative duties there but telecommutes for a Boston software company.
At one time, this neighborhood was more industrial, situated near a rail line and full of homes for working-class people. Now, it’s part of the stillevolving Washington Avenue Arts District in the First Ward. It’s a mix of older homes, some of which have been lovingly restored, and newer homes and townhomes. Shops and restaurants are walkable, even if some of the area’s narrow streets lack sidewalks.
David Bush, acting executive director of Preservation Houston, praised the couple for seeing and doing what so many others cannot.
“It’s a good example of what you can do with a historic building if you look at it differently,” Bush said. “A lot of people would look at it and say, ‘Those apartments are too small.’ They looked at it and said, ‘That could be a house.’ ”
Bush urges people to see historical buildings beyond their past. A schoolhouse can be turned into a store; a store can be turned into a home.
“We have a lot of these buildings in neighborhoods around Houston,” Bush said. “They’re rapidly disappearing.”
Local history
Longtime Houstonians remember the tall metal cans with the bright-red logo: Dentler Maid Potato Chips. Sold in 2-pound tins, the thin and crispy chips were made fresh daily and sold directly to consumers as well as through grocers across the city and even in Beaumont.
George H. Dentler founded his food company in 1910, selling the potato chips, as well as horseradish, pickles, olives, mustard and other condiments. His recipes were closely held secrets, and he boasted that his company used “the first fully automated chip machine west of the Mississippi.”
His granddaughter, Marlene Rhoden, is the keeper of Dentler family history, and she recently pored over old family photos, including some showing her grandfather’s delivery trucks in the 1920s and ’30s.
She recalled that her grandparents lived in part of what is now the Michaelides’ Summer Street home. Chips were made in its outbuildings and sold in the front of the building, as well as at a second site on McGowen, she said. But the family outgrew that home, and in 1939, George H. Dentler built a grand home on North Boulevard in Broadacres.
In 1962 — 10 years after Rhoden’s grandfather died — the company was sold to Pet Milk and later sold to Frito-Lay, Rhoden said.
New life
When the Dentler building’s previous owners were cited for a number of safety violations, they finally conceded that they simply could no longer take care of it.
The Michaelideses, New Jersey transplants who moved here in late 1998, knew it was time to act.
They bought the place in 2013 and spent the first year getting it cleaned out and fumigated, in addition to working on plans for its restoration.
Though the foundation was good, the building came with a lengthy to-do list that included shoring up floor joists, remediating termite damage and fixing damage from water that had leaked in between layers of bricks when the gutters were clogged.
“There were times it was a little scary because we didn’t know what else we would find,” Laura said. “There was a point that we thought that there couldn’t be anything else we could find.”
Once they started on the interior work — which took another year and a half — they could see their dream taking shape.
Though the building’s architecture isn’t remarkable — it’s standard 1920s masonry and plaster — the bones were strong. The couple was reminded, in every step of the work, of the quality of materials and craftsmanship of another era. Walls throughout were stripped of their cracking and crumbling drywall. Plaster was repaired and left bare in the entry, and some brick walls were exposed to add warmth. State history comes to life here, with bricks stamped with company names such as Ferris, Coffeyville and Groesbeck.
The change is evident from the moment you step in the front door.
In the home’s entry are gray walls lining the staircase to the second floor. With a suede look from the natural irregularity of the plaster, they could easily pass for a fancy wall treatment.
“I was going to paint it, but it’s just so beautiful. There’s nothing on it at all; it’s just raw plaster,” Laura said.
On one side is the dining/ kitchen area, and on the other is a large living space. Each was at one time an apartment, with internal walls dividing the space into rooms. Those walls were demolished, leaving open spaces for a front-to-back view.
On one side is a casual seat- ing area that holds a gorgeous antique Regency-style sofa that Laura purchased at Reeves Antiques and had reupholstered in a silvery fabric. Nearby shelves hold family mementos.
In the center of the room is a dining table that Laura designed, paired with English Arts and Crafts chairs she bought at a New Jersey antiques store. Since the set had just five chairs, she hired Juan Martinez locally to make three more to match; good luck telling the reproductions from the originals.
In the back is a kitchen with on-trend gray cabinets, black honed granite counters and a stainless-steel island.
In every room, the Michaelideses can point to a chair, sofa or table in their eclectic design mix and tell the story of where and how they found it — an oral scrapbook of their years together.
Upstairs are bedrooms and bathrooms, all restored and updated for modern life. One of the best perks, the couple agreed, is the balcony that allows striking views of downtown. It served as a great party site for Fourth of July fireworks.
The building earlier had a first-floor patio and secondfloor balcony, but a connecting staircase ate up much of that space. Since the rickety external structure had to be torn down and replaced, the couple opted for two separate patios.
Downstairs, the decklike patio is screened in. Upstairs, the terrace is open and accessible from bedrooms.
Thick weeds and chunks of broken concrete once made the back yard unusable, but it has been transformed into a relaxing spot with lush green grass, trees and easy-to-maintain plants.
Time to reflect
During the renovation, Laura leaned on the professional community she’s gotten to know during her years here.
An older home requires special knowledge and the caring hands of tradesmen who value both old and new.
Contractors from her design projects — masons, window experts, tile setters and others who know where to find things that work in the 93-year-old building — all played a part, she said.
Even her husband has come to realize the lasting effect of finding your perfect space.
“These two restorations really opened my eyes to a realization late in life of how much a space can affect your mood and your level of enthusiasm,” Evan said. “You can look at something and say, ‘Oh, that’s beautiful,’ but what was new to me was that the way a space feels or is designed can really just change your mood and make you feel differently.”
Along the way, he also gained an appreciation of how the home was originally built.
“Old buildings were built with care and good materials. The craftsmanship was high, and you get the sense that people were really invested in making the materials,” Evan said. “We’re just the custodians of these older homes.”