{"id":334722,"date":"2026-06-13T06:26:21","date_gmt":"2026-06-13T06:26:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/334722\/"},"modified":"2026-06-13T06:26:21","modified_gmt":"2026-06-13T06:26:21","slug":"a-1940s-john-f-staub-house-in-houston-gets-a-boldly-eclectic-makeover","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/334722\/","title":{"rendered":"A 1940s John F. Staub House in Houston Gets a Boldly Eclectic Makeover"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Estimated4 min read<\/p>\n

Above: In the living room of a 1940s house in Houston, designer Markham Roberts installed a 19th-century French chandelier above custom sofas, Milo Baughman lounge chairs, a Louis XVI berg\u00e8re, and a Karl Springer cocktail table. An antique Baule mask is over the fireplace. Artworks by Anthony Prud\u2019homme (landscape) and Ethan Cook; carpet designed by Roberts.<\/p>\n

\u201cI always think it\u2019s interesting when a classicist does something modern,\u201d says Elle Decor A-List designer Markham Roberts. He\u2019s describing a midcentury Houston house by architect John F. Staub that he recently renovated, but he could easily be referring to himself.<\/p>\n

The homeowner, a longtime client, moved from New York City to Houston with her husband and preteen daughters during the pandemic. She had grown up there, in one of the many traditionally styled homes Staub designed in the River Oaks neighborhood (Ima Hogg\u2019s Bayou Bend being the most famous), and a friend encouraged her to look at a late-\u201940s Staub house that was for sale. The two-story brick residence, atypically modern for a Staub design, has an unassuming street presence that appealed to Roberts\u2019s client, who was captivated by the graceful walled garden in back.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe house only reveals itself up close and after you get inside,\u201d Roberts says. \u201cMost people who visit are like, \u2018Wow, this doesn\u2019t look like anybody else\u2019s house here.\u2019 My client enjoys that. And so do I.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"EclecticChris Mottalini<\/p>\n

In the bar, a Tyler Shields photograph pairs playfully with a custom Napoleon III\u2013style sofa in Scalamandr\u00e9 fabrics. Lamps by Pamela Sunday; Japanese burl root table, circa 1890, from James Sansum; rug by Beauvais Carpets.<\/p>\n

The project wasn\u2019t an obvious fit for Roberts, who is known foremost as a traditionalist, one who is decidedly unafraid of bold chromatic schemes and unconventional pattern pairings. The Indianapolis native learned his craft in the office of designer Mark Hampton, one of the late 20th century\u2019s most celebrated mavens of classically attuned interiors. Working at Hampton\u2019s side for six years before starting his own firm in 1997, Roberts absorbed numerous lessons, including embracing unexpected choices with confidence. While rooted in the past, Roberts\u2019s rooms never veer into the stodgy or precious\u2014or, worse, showroom-like.<\/p>\n

\u201cWow, this doesn\u2019t look like anybody else\u2019s house here,\u201d say visitors.<\/p>\n

Notably, when the Institute of Classical Architecture and Art honored Roberts with the Arthur Ross Award for Interior Design in 2024, the jury\u2014which included Hampton\u2019s daughter, designer Alexa Hampton\u2014cited his timeless American style while also noting his \u201ccreativity and his ability to work in a wide variety of styles.\u201d<\/p>\n

For this project Roberts channeled his fascination with another storied River Oaks residence from the same era, the house that Philip Johnson created for Dominique and John de Menil. The legendary art patrons consulted with fashion designer Charles James to craft an interior that married contemporary art with antique furniture, African and Oceanic sculpture, and medieval treasures. \u201cIt was not what you\u2019d expect in a midcentury house,\u201d Roberts says.<\/p>\n

Step Inside\"CozyOpen Gallery\"\"<\/p>\n

Adopting a similar mindset, the designer interspersed furniture and art from his clients\u2019 New York apartment\u2014which he had decorated years earlier\u2014with bespoke pieces and vintage finds. In the texture-rich living room, custom sofas clad in jewel-tone velvets are joined by an elegant Karl Springer parchment cocktail table, a Louis XVI berg\u00e8re, Milo Baughman velvet lounge chairs, and a quirky wool-wrapped floor lamp that rises sculpture-like in one corner. A 19th–century French chandelier peacocks above it all, suspended from the lustrous blue-gray lacquered ceiling.<\/p>\n

By Roberts\u2019s standards, the room\u2019s colors and patterns are fairly muted, deferring to the artworks, which range from an eye-catching Baule ceremonial mask over the fireplace to a swampy, bayouesque landscape by Roberts favorite Anthony Prud\u2019homme. There are also works by Alexander Calder and Alex Katz that had been inherited from the client\u2019s grandmother. \u201cHer grandmother was a Texas oil heiress and a great philanthropist who owned Rothkos and Redons and Bertoias,\u201d Roberts says. \u201cShe took [her granddaughter] to Katz\u2019s studio when she was a little girl, and he asked if he could paint her.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThey didn\u2019t want some ridiculous,
check-the-boxes rich person\u2019s house.\u201d
\u2014Markham Roberts<\/p>\n

Another Roberts hallmark is deftly tailoring spaces to a homeowner\u2019s priorities and passions. In the living room he installed an antique filing cabinet in which the client can store supplies for her needlework. (\u201cShe stays up till three in the morning doing it,\u201d he says.) He also designed multiple games tables where the couple can play mah-jongg and backgammon; the one in the paneled bar is wrapped in a rich lilac shagreen, complementing the room\u2019s palette of blues and purples and its cheekily louche vibe. \u201cThey entertain a lot, and people in Texas drink, so the bar is happily used,\u201d Roberts says. \u201cWe put all sorts of funny stuff on the walls and the bar, like New Yorker cartoons and strange art with references to nightlife, drunkenness, and rabbit holes\u2014even a rabbit ear disco ball. Things that make her happy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rabbits\u2014and animals in general\u2014are an unexpected theme that runs throughout. Take the dining room, which Roberts wrapped in a whimsical woodland scenic wallpaper populated with bunnies and birds and ermines. He was delighted to discover the pattern was named Rabbit Hole.<\/p>\n

\"CozyChris Mottalini<\/p>\n

In a corner of the living room, a custom mah-jongg table sits among a collection of artworks, including a portrait by Alex Katz and a mobile by Julia Condon.<\/p>\n

The clients have a pet bunny, which is house-trained and can often be found roaming free. The household also includes two dogs, two turtles, and four chickens that are kept out back in the lush gardens, which the client planned with designer Leslie Cooper of Cosmos Garden Design. Turns out raising chickens is a subject Roberts knows well, as he and his partner, art and antiques dealer James Sansum, have 20 at their 19th-century country house in New York\u2019s Hudson Valley.<\/p>\n

The overall effect Roberts achieved here is sophisticated and luxurious, but also laid-back, charmingly idiosyncratic, and personal. \u201cThey didn\u2019t want some ridiculous, check-the-boxes rich person\u2019s house,\u201d says Roberts. He adds, with understated satisfaction, \u201cIt looks different from other things I\u2019ve done. I like that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sourcebook: Bring This Eclectic Array of Treasures Home\"Gusto<\/a>Gusto Turkish Tulip ChestCredit: Casa Gusto\"Loewe<\/a>Loewe Watering Can BagCredit: Courtesy of Loewe\"Elizabeth<\/a>Elizabeth Sofa by Barrie Benson for Highland HouseCredit: Courtesy of Highland House Furniture\"Boheme<\/a>Boheme Autumn Rug by Ward and GrayCredit: Courtesy of Boheme\"Abask<\/a>Abask Fioravola Tulips Majolica Ceramic Lidded Serving DishCredit: Courtesy of Abask\"Perl\u00e9e<\/a>Perl\u00e9e Toi & Moi Secret WatchCredit: Courtesy of Van Cleef & Arpels\"Lindsey<\/a>Lindsey Adelman Branching Disc ChandelierCredit: Courtesy of Lindsey Adelman Studio\"Corston<\/a>Corston Malvern SconceCredit: Corston Architectural Detail\"Rule<\/a>Rule of Three Studio Stone Plume WallpaperCredit: Rule of Three Studio\"Hibiscus<\/a>Hibiscus Chair by Jamie Young Co.Credit: Courtesy of Lumens\"Marina<\/a>Marina Large CrabCredit: Courtesy of Buccellati\"1900s<\/a>1900s Moroccan BenchCredit: Courtesy of 1st Dibs\"Kravet<\/a>Kravet Panel Designs WallcoveringCredit: Courtesy of Kravet\"Table<\/a>Table Lamp by Carlos OteroCredit: Joe Kramm\"Tigre<\/a>Tigre PillowCredit: JEREMY FRECHETTE<\/p>\n

This story originally appeared in the Summer 2026 issue of Elle Decor. SUBSCRIBE<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Headshot<\/p>\n

ELLE Decor features director Stephen Wallis has spent three decades covering art, design, and culture. He was previously the consulting features editor for Galerie and held top positions at Architectural Digest and Departures. His writing has appeared in numerous publications, including The New York Times, T magazine, WSJ magazine, Esquire, Town & Country, Veranda, and Cultured. He is the author of Fontainebleau, a history of the iconic Miami Beach hotel, and Jim Thompson: Beyond Silk, Beyond Thailand.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"4 min read Above: In the living room of a 1940s house in Houston, designer Markham Roberts installed…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":334723,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[119580,24576,119579,28234,24888,56,58,57,100445,24577,119581,119578,70488],"class_list":["post-334722","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-houston","tag-collection-elle-decor-premium","tag-content-type-feature","tag-contentid-53df5f14-2369-44fc-b15d-b21b367f30cb","tag-displaytype-standard-article","tag-hasproduct-true","tag-houston","tag-houston-headlines","tag-houston-news","tag-issyndicated-false","tag-locale-us","tag-read_time-8","tag-shorttitle-inside-an-eclectic-midcentury-houston-home","tag-subsection-house-tours"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/334722","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=334722"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/334722\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/334723"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=334722"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=334722"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=334722"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}