Architect goes big and modern
Couple’s love of contemporary design displayed in furnishings and décor
It’s inevitable that the living room in a 9,500-square-foot home is going to be big, but Imad Abdullah had another reason for his massive space: It had to hold his oversize circular sofa.
Abdullah, an architect, and his wife, Dr. Nour Sneige, a pathologist at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, built their Tanglewood home because they wanted shorter drives to work, but also because they wanted a clean slate for their classic midcentury-modern furniture and their growing art collection.
Plus, there was the Rossi Di Albizzate Italian leather sofa, bought from a Houston friend who closed his furniture store during the recession of the 1980s.
“We had to build around this couch,” Abdullah said with a burst of laughter. “It’s an 18-foot diameter, plus the stuff behind it.”
For 24 years, the couple lived in Bunker Hill, remodeling that home — built in 1970 — in pieces and adding a second floor. When they’d gotten to the limit of what they could do there, it seemed time for a fresh start.
Then there’s the issue of their housing and lifestyle needs, as retirement looms.
“It’s hard to design for yourself at this stage of life. You ask, What is lasting design? What is real architecture? How do you handle space? And … how much space do you need?” he said.
“I came to this conclusion: When people get to the latter stage of life, rather than downsize, go for the biggest house you can. You build a lot of equity for your kids, plus it becomes an enjoyment when you have the space.” Collected modernism
Everywhere you turn in this modern home, you’ll find classic midcentury furniture by Abdullah’s favorite architects and designers. Sneige, too, is a fan of modern design, and they’ve collected pieces throughout their marriage.
Abdullah’s style was influenced by the Bauhaus movement, which has captivated many students and architects over the years.
“Nour and I went to Barcelona and visited the former German Pavilion of the International Exhibition of 1929 and where the Barcelona chair served as a centerpiece. There are a lot of great designs by my fellow architects,” he said. “They were great then and are still great today.”
In his reading room are two black leather Barcelona chairs by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. His dining room has an “Andre” table whose base was designed by Tobia Scarpa in the 1930s and a ‘70s-era Milo Boughman buffet.
The breakfast area has a Marco Zanuso “Marcuso” table with E.T. chairs. And the nearby TV area has a Nicoletti leather sectional with two swivel chairs and Eileen Gray side tables.
Upstairs in casual seating areas are two of Marcel Breuer’s Wassily chairs and a pair of his Cesca chairs.
“Even the Cesca chair has a lot of imitations, but when you see the real ones … these are masterpieces,” he said. “There are a lot of renditions that cheapen the chairs, but the original is modern design. I am a freak for modern furniture.”
His master bedroom has more current pieces from Cantoni, along with two Roche Bobois longue chaises that are 35 years old but look like they’ve barely been used.
Even their home office has a slice of modernism with Steelcase 454 swivel chairs and a round Herman Miller table. Journey to America
Abdullah and Sneige are Americans now, but their journey here ran through the Middle East.
Abdullah was born in Haifa, in what is now Israel, and his family moved to Damascus, Syria, and later to Doha, Qatar. He attended architecture school in Beirut but knew after a year that his options there were too expensive.
In the mid-’60s he set out for America and spent a year in Glendale, Calif., before settling in Houston to study architecture at the University of Houston.
“I wasn’t a hippie, but in the summer of 1967, we went to San Francisco. We wanted to see Haight-Ashbury, and it was quite interesting,” he said of the trip with friends. “It was a wonderful time to see the scene. All of the nightclubs and the new bands and Sunset Strip and Hollywood. The whole world was changing and … it’s nice to have had a taste of it.”
In Houston, Abdullah made close friends at school, in the international community and through professional associations. To this day, he considers them family.
A friend asked for his help finding an apartment for a physician who would be moving to the city for a fellowship at M.D. Anderson.
It was Nour Sneige, and she and Abdullah hit it off immediately. They married a few months later; they recently celebrated their 36th anniversary.
She, too, is from the Middle East. She grew up in Syria and earned her undergraduate and medical degrees from Damascus University.
They have one son, Sammy Abdullah, who lives in Dallas, where he started a private equity firm. His ‘aha’ moment
Abdullah has wanted to be an architect since seventh grade, when a class in space geometry brought his studies to life.
“My brain is wired that way. I was probably 11 or 12 at the time, and I knew I wanted to design buildings,” he said.
For several years, he worked for local architecture firms, including having a hand in the design of the former Summit, where the Houston Rockets once played and where Lakewood Church now operates.
When a friend asked him to design a 48-unit townhouse project, Abdullah was inspired to go out on his own. He created Landmark Architects, which he’s operated since 1976.
In addition to being a registered architect and interior designer, he’s also a licensed real estate broker.
Among his projects are office buildings, townhouse and condo projects and retail centers. Recently he’s worked on the interior of warehouses used by Farouk Shami, who owns the Chi hair products company based in Houston.
In their own home, though, Abdullah and Sneige wanted a place to relax and entertain. The wide open spaces on the first floor carry visitors uninterrupted throughout the home.
They’ve had 80 or more people in their home with room to spare as guests linger in the large living room or more intimate TV room. There’s a bar near the kitchen, filled with gorgeous Elmwood cabinets and topped with slabs of Crema Bordeaux granite.
Marble or ceramic tile floors are topped with glorious Persian rugs, many of which Abdullah and Sneige have given each other as gifts.
The bathroom makes good use of stone, too. Abdullah said they used six or seven slabs in the kitchen and four or five more in the master bathroom, all iin addition to the marble flooring.
He’s happy with the home he designed, as well as the life he and his wife have made here together.
“It’s one of the fortunes of life that you get to come here and study and stay,” he said.