Industrial-style Heights condo is both cool and comfortable

When Steve Johnston bought a condo last year in a brand-new Heights midrise, he had a blank slate to make his own — an open, loftlike abode with high ceilings and a great view of downtown.

So Johnston enlisted the help of Laura Umansky, president of Laura U Interior Design. He turned the space over to Uman- sky with just a couple of requests: “I told her I wanted it to be warm, and I wanted it to not be too cluttered.”

Johnston has a home in north Houston and a lake house in East Texas, but the two-bedroom, twoand-a-half-bathroom condo functions as a pied-à-terre; he works in the oil-field-services business and stays there when work requires him to be closer to the city center.

“Usually, when I’m in town, it’s for business or to visit my son and daughterin-law and grandbaby,” says Johnston, standing in his new place. “I come in here and I feel relaxed — it’s so much nicer than a motel or a hotel.” When he first purchased the condo, John-

ston chose Brazilian cherry wood floors, black granite kitchen countertops and Italian marble in both bathrooms. He also had a set of new bedroom furniture from Restoration Hardware. Umansky then added paint and wall coverings, installed lighting and fans and helped Johnston finish furnishing the 2,200-square-foot space.

The challenge, according to Umansky, was to make such a cavernous unit — with 15-foot ceilings, exposed ductwork overhead and no walls separating the kitchen, living and dining areas — feel warm and comfortable.

“With the high ceilings, I felt it was really important to help bring the room down to human levels,” Umansky says. She had one wall painted a grayish bronze. The paint, which stops at 9 feet, defines the living space by creating the illusion of a lower ceiling and a cozier room.

Johnston is partial to wood furnishings, so Umansky worked to find the right pieces to soften the industrial-style space.

“We tried to mix materials,” she says. The dining table has a walnut top but a bronze base; a console table and two étagères are wood, but the cocktail table is all glass and brass with horn accents.

In the guest bedroom, Umansky added a pop of persimmon with a rug, table lamps and custom curtains. The master suite features a blend of neutrals; a 75inch square mirror leans against one wall, reflecting light from the windows to make the small room feel bigger and brighter.

In the kitchen, Umansky filled the empty area above the cabinets with a few large, rustic pieces, including an oversize clock and a metal charger.

“If Steve finds something he wants to add,” says Umansky, “this is a good space to collect things.”

The kitchen doesn’t get used much — Johnston installed a wine fridge in the island, but the refrigerator usually stays empty. When he’s staying at his pied-à-terre, Johnston can walk to at least a dozen restaurants, including one on the first floor of his building. When his family visits, they can enjoy the rooftop pool that offers a near-panoramic view of downtown, the Med Center and the Uptown skyline. And Johnston can work and relax in an elegant, unfussy space in the heart of the city.

“You don’t feel like you’re in a museum; you just walk in and sit anywhere and it feels comfortable,” says Johnston. “That’s exactly what I wanted.”

Julie Soefer Custom curtains and lamps from Port 68 add a rich pop of color to the guest bedroom in Steve Johnston’s Heights pied-à-terre. Antiqued mirrors reflect light and help fill the vast white wall behind the bed.

Julie Soefer photos Top: Behind the television and étagères, a living room wall is painted a bronze shade. The paint stops a few feet short of the 15-foot ceiling, a visual trick designed to “help bring the room down to human levels,” designer Laura Umansky says.

Right: Umansky painted one wall of Johnston’s entryway a dark blue to break up the space visually.

Above: Soft rugs and bedding add a bit of warmth to Steve Johnston’s master bedroom. Though the room is somewhat small, a 75-inch square mirror leaning against the wall opposite the window reflects natural light, making the space feel bigger and...