A new house in the same West U neighborhood gives family space to be themselves
Dr. Dudley Chitty would like to say that she and her husband, Greg, are fancy people who have friends over to sit and talk in the very elegant living room of their West University Place home.
Instead, the room is reserved for something far more appropriate: It’s where the couple relax as their twin daughters Hannah and Hunter practice piano.
“I just love that room. It’s so unique, with its 20-foot ceilings,” Greg said. “I’m a music geek, and the girls enjoy playing, so it’s cool to sit in there to listen to them.”
He’s an investment banker in the energy industry, and Dudley is an anesthesiologist taking a break for her important role as mom, so they certainly sound like they could be those “fancy” people. But Greg is just a laid-back guy from Lake Charles, La., and Dudley is a Conroe native who dived head first into her down-to-earth role as Mommy Uber, driving their daughters to soccer, volleyball, gymnastics and piano lessons.
Every morning the
Chittys eat breakfast together, then Dudley and Greg walk the 11-yearold twins to school five blocks away. Unless they’re at sports practices, they’re in their kitchen having dinner together at the end of the day.
They were living in a different home a few blocks away in 2017, contemplating a massive update that would require them to move out for yearlong remodeling.
It seemed simpler to find a new home, but they didn’t want to move away from their neighborhood school. Their current 6,300-squarefoot home was more than they really needed, and it required similar dramatic changes. But being able to stay in their original home while a new one underwent remodeling sounded like an ideal option, especially since it was close by.
Built in 2001, its oak floors had a reddish stain, and wood-grain cabinets dominated the kitchen and space around two fireplaces. All of the home’s seven bathrooms needed updates, and so did the backyard patio and pool. In the end, the house was nearly a full gut job.
An architect redesigned a new kitchen space that opened up a wide expanse for a family room, kitchen and breakfast table. And the couple hired Scott Frasier of Frasier Homes as their contractor and Beth
Lindsey of Beth Lindsey Interior Design to help choose finishes and fill the home with new furniture.
“We liked the bones of this house even though we knew it needed a ton of work. It was on the market for two years,” Greg said. “I thought it was cool to have a project to do. It was really kind of fun for me — Beth did all the work.”
They moved in March 2018 after a year of work, and the home is now a picture of elegance. But Lindsey made sure that it’s also comfortable and functional.
“We live in this house,” Dudley said, noting that their dog, Bailey, jumps on furniture and the girls often bring friends over. “We have a dog, and we have kids … but we can have a beautiful home and still live here.”
The formal living room
“We live in this house. We have a dog, and we have kids … but we can have a beautiful home and still live here.” Dr. Dudley Chitty
at the front had a beautiful chandelier and ornate crown moulding that framed the partially vaulted ceiling. That stayed, but plantationstyle shutters that darkened the room were removed, and Lindsey reimagined the fireplace surround, replacing drab brown granite with smooth cast stone. White and soft-blue furniture in classic styles make it an elegant setting, but Lindsey upholstered everything in durable performance fabrics.
A doorway that used to lead to a wood-paneled study has been turned into a bar and wine room for Greg, who collects wine. A pair of wine refrigerators, cabinets and bins for bottles of wine were designed to fit around a painting by Todd White — the Texas native who helped create the Sponge Bob Square Pants cartoon series — showing a sophisticated group of people enjoying adult beverages.
The back of the home was transformed from a blocky series of spaces with partial walls and pass-throughs to a sleek area that flows all the way through, still providing plenty of counter- and workspace. The beige speckled granite and backsplash got a major update with marble counters, white subway tile and Walker Zanger’s Jet Set tile using marble in a soft geometric pattern.
A pair of blue tufted sofas and two armchairs in a pretty blue print are nestled around a thick wood coffee table in the family room, where a couple of paintings tell the story of how Dudley, 45, and Greg, 50, met, fell in love and wed nearly 20 years ago.
They both had been dragged to a mutual friend’s birthday party in a Houston bar. They were the only people there who weren’t law students, so instead of talking about tort reform, they talked about the virtues of French Chateauneuf-du-Pape wine.
A serious couple from their first date, they fell in love on a weekend trip to New Orleans. A painting of Pirate’s Alley in the French Quarter captures that moment, and a second painting — of Galatoire’s Restaurant — shows where they held their rehearsal dinner.
Celerie Kemble stylized stripe wallpaper creates a stylish backdrop in a powder bathroom that before had little personality. Other bathrooms got updates, too, including the master, which had a major makeover in Carrara marble with a big new shower.
An upstairs media room set up for watching movies was a strange contrast to the rest of the home with black carpet, a black ceiling, deep-red walls and heavy, redfringed draperies. The Chittys didn’t want or need anything like that, so they scaled it back with new carpet that looks like spotted deer hide and more neutral colors. Instead of oversized recliners, a pingpong table sits in the center of the room.
Though Dudley is still deciding what she wants to do in the master bedroom, the last room finished was the dining room — completed in time for Greg’s 50th birthday party. Like most dining rooms, it doesn’t get used frequently. They host dinner parties and holiday meals around their custom-made round dining table, which holds a cluster of tall glass candlesticks.
The room’s custom draperies, complete with lovely tape trim on the leading edge, serve as an example of the beautiful custom window treatments throughout the home. Neighbors who saw the home in its earlier state can see into the breakfast area, now that plantation-style shutters no longer block the view.