Grand-slam design
José Altuve opts for sleek, contemporary style
Big windows, modern finishes and bright interiors drew Astros second baseman José Altuve to the city’s west side to look at a home under construction.
He and his wife had been searching for a new home for a while, hoping for something more modern that spoke to their love of art and architecture. He stumbled onto a spec home being built by Karun Magon’s Capital Builders and decided to visit to see it in person.
Though the drop-in didn’t feel like a big deal to Altuve, the tile installer who was on site had the shock of his life when he looked up to see one of the Astros’ most popular players standing in front of him. He called Magon, who thought he was being pranked.
“My tile guy — who never calls — called me and said, ‘You need to come over right now. Somebody wants to buy the house. It’s José Altuve,’ ” Magon remembers. “It was April 2, and I’m thinking, ‘This is an April Fools’ joke.’ I pulled up and, sure enough, José Altuve was standing in the driveway.”
The home was about 70 percent complete, but the kitchen hadn’t yet been installed, so they had plenty of time to make changes and adapt some of the space for other uses. Instead of wood flooring, the Altuves opted for white tile floors that brighten up the home, and they turned a guest room into a dreamy playroom for their daughter.
“The architecture of the house is exactly what we were looking for — we spent several years looking for a new house. The first time we saw this one, we fell in love,” Altuve said of the home they live in year-round. “My wife is really happy with the house, and so am I.”
The Astros’ 2020 season is finally getting under way, with their first game on July 24 as they host the Seattle Mariners at Minute Maid Park.
While Magon’s company built the home, his wife, Nina Magon,
handled the interior. She founded Contour Interior Design in 2008.
Working primarily in Memorial Villages, the Magons focus on contemporary style in both architecture and design.
“We like more of a true modern style, from an open, indooroutdoor floor plan, large windows, very energy efficient, a different entry door, like a pivot door,” Karun Magon said. “The kitchen, family room and outdoor patios all wrap around each other to engage everyone who comes into your home.”
The two-story house that Altuve shares with his wife and two young daughters is what you’d expect in Memorial, a spacious place with luxurious bathrooms, a wine room and spaces for relaxing, including a room full of sports memorabilia, a cozy media room and an outdoor entertaining area that gets plenty of use.
Extra guest rooms are often used for visiting in-laws or a nanny, but the Altuves chose one of their guest rooms for transformation into a playroom for their elder daughter. Someday, their infant daughter will play there, too.
Armed with ideas of her own, Altuve’s wife, Nina, worked with Nina Magon to turn an ordinary room into one filled with pastels — and a loft that feels like a secret, life-size dollhouse.
Pink, purple, yellow and blue play on a white background in polka-dot wallpaper and striped carpet, and cloudlike light fixtures dangle overhead. In the playroom, Magon used carpet tiles so that if one is stained or damaged, it can easily be replaced with another.
There’s plenty of storage for toys, and a big chalkboard is another place for her to express herself.
Both Altuve and his wife are from Venezuela, and they brought with them their love of South American art. They have pieces by Romero Britto and another by Eduardo Sanabria, known artistically as “EDO.”
Though Altuve hesitates to call himself a wine collector, he does accrue bottles, such as his current favorite — HaLo cabernet sauvignon out of Napa Valley — to fill the wine room, a feature that was his vision.
Placed near the kitchen, the wine room has an enclosed wine wall with back lighting that makes it stand out even more.
Modern furnishings in white and shades of gray are placed throughout, with plush sofas filling the living room, accompanied by a pair of cozy chairs that bring a pop of blue. A grand piano fills one corner. Overhead, three dramatic chandeliers are works of art on their own, sculptural, fanlike pieces that stand out against the white walls and ceiling.
The dining room is similarly sleek and cool, with a chic wall treatment with alternating panels of black tinted glass and mirrors, a high-contrast space interrupted by deep burgundy in the plush upholstered chairs.
Many homes have a game room, but few rival the one in this house, with a wall-size glass case filled with Altuve’s trophies and the sports memorabilia he has collected. He has Mike Trout’s spikes and Alcides Escobar’s Gold Glove Award, J.J. Watt’s signed helmet and boxing gloves from Jorge Linares. There’s a sprinkling of baseball players’ bobbleheads and a number of trophies etched with his own name, from honors earned through the years he’s been with the Astros.
Many of the items were purchased at charity auctions, especially those he hosts with Lance McCullers to benefit the Houstonbased nonprofit Sunshine Kids. A pair of paintings — one of Altuve and the other of Astros’ Hall of Famer Craig Biggio — hang on a nearby wall.
Altuve’s in-home office is more businesslike, but it, too, speaks of Major League Baseball, with oversize photos from the Astros’ 2017 World Series win. Nearby is a colorful art goat devoted to the team, with images of iconic players, such as Larry Dierker, and the rainbow stripes of the team’s vintage-style jersey. The goat was another charity-auction item, gifted to him by a generous friend.
The primary suite is a spacious room, with a two-story closet — Altuve gets the upstairs section while Nina gets the downstairs. The luxurious primary bath has modern cantilevered cabinets and a wide his-and-hers shower behind a statement wall showcasing the freestanding bathtub.
“The Altuves like a MiamiSouth American vibe, so we wanted things light and airy and not too heavy,” Nina Magon said of the overall interior design. “What’s interesting in the house is that you don’t feel like you’re in Houston.”