An 1894 house in Texas welcomes with a colour scheme inspired by early America

Living Room

When John and Melinda McCurdy moved from Houston to the tiny town of Comfort in the Texas Hill Country in 1990, it took them two years to find a house, and another year to convince the owner to part with it. They began collecting furnishings to suit the 1894 farmhouse, with its 14-foot-high ceilings, gracious seven-foot-tall windows, and mellow heart pine floors. Melinda was an antiques dealer at the time, with pieces rotating through the house, "until we realized it was cheaper to be a collector, once you factor in all the expenses," says John good-humouredly. She favoured pieces with their original paint, in rich colours that had been muted by time. Those dusky blues, brick reds, and sage greens inspired the colours they painted their home, as did the Williamsburg palette. They made several trips to Williamsburg, Va., paint chips in hand, looking at the colours firsthand to see what would best enhance their own home. Sadly, Melinda passed away in 2001, but the pieces she collected still grace this white clapboard home with the red metal roof. John, a retired pilot, recently remarried, and he and Denise, a fellow amateur musician (he plays guitar; she plays violin), are filling the old walls of this house with music once again.

Pictured: In the living room, a fireplace warms the space where a potbellied stove once stood.



Staircase

Previous owners added a staircase to a small library/loft in this otherwise one-story home.



Front Hall

A view of the front hall.



Dining Room

Sage green wainscoting continues into the dining room, setting off the deep browns of the antique table and mismatched ladder-back chairs.



Fireside Chair

A reproduction wing chair was designed for the fireside.



Living Room Cabinet

A cabinet in the living room houses Melinda's Chelsea Sprigware.



Blue Cupboard

The blue and pumpkin hues of this cupboard frame a collection of redware.



Rich Red Bedroom

In this bedroom, the richness of red is articulated with an antique buffalo-check coverlet paired with luxuriant bed curtains and worn crimson paint on an old trunk, table, and lap desk. The hooked rug above the table features a Texas star.



Guest Room Coverlets

Primary colours instil richness with simplicity. Melinda found the antique comb-painted door and added it to the guest room, where "his and hers" beds ("his" is 10 inches longer) are draped in old coverlets of brilliant blue.



Text: Kerry Rogers