In this $1.35M Magnolia midcentury, each room is unique

A fireplace and a built-in for every taste

By Sarah Anne Lloyd@sarahannelloyd Feb 5, 2018, 3:07pm PST

Just south of Discovery Park in Magnolia, a James Paul Jones-designed 1961 home is designed to nestle into the trees while still standing out on its own. This applies as much to the outside, with a bright exterior accented by natural stone, as the inside, where sleek spaces coated in natural materials are each allowed to take their own path.

The entryway doubles as a hallway, including sliding shōji doors that open to a living room with a view of the water, punctuated by trees. The living room itself is topped by a gentle ceiling slope and anchored by a stone fireplace. Built-in shelves coat one wall for books or knick-knacks.

The common spaces are laid out in a circular floorplan that plays toward open concept. The living room is separated from the dining room not just by a shift in ceiling—from gold leaf to white, with a strong beam topping a wide entryway—but by sliding shōji doors that complement the other set without completely cutting off the space.

The kitchen is tucked into a cubby in the back of the formal dining room. That contrasts with a higher, vaulted ceiling over the gathering space—but it still connects enough to pass dishes out from the kitchen over a connecting counter. The area gets its own stone fireplace, too. A door leads directly from here to the porch for ease of barbecues.

The bedrooms combine a kind of craftsman sensibility with some midcentury hallmarks. The master bedroom, featuring its own water view, features a wood stove atop a built-in brick bench. A half-wall with an arch sets the cozy space apart.

Each bedroom has a distinct aesthetic—one with a clear nook for a bed topped by an arch, with smaller arches to each side holding built-in furnishings. Another features its own sets of shelves sandwiching a window bench. One has its own entrance to the outside, and is topped by a wood-slat accent in the ceiling.

An office is especially elaborate, with a grand, arched reading nook tucked in the back.

The downstairs den and wet bar seems more extravagant than the upstairs gathering spaces in some ways, with space for pretty elaborate cocktail service. The lounge space—with another fireplace, bringing the total to at least four—opens to a wide patio for indoor-outdoor parties.

Each space in the home seems deliberately designed, right down to a master bath lined with wood for a sauna-like look or an office nook in the downstairs hallway.