Monte Vista Makeover
Monte Vista Makeover
Take a peek inside a gorgeous garden room redesign in a historic San Antonio home
Monte Vista is a historical district in San Antonio filled with beautiful homes built between 1890 and 1930. The area officially became part of the National Register of Historic Places in 1998.
I’ve long loved this eclectic neighborhood filled with homes ranging in architectural styles from Queen Anne and Georgian to Moorish and Victorian.
Recently, I had the privilege of working on one of these grand homes built in 1929 by the architectural firm of Adams and Adams. The Spanish Eclectic architectural style home is filled with outstanding tile, ironwork, and ceiling details, to mention just a few of the unique features.
The vision
When the homeowner contacted me, she said she wanted to redo a garden room at the far end of the home. She envisioned a light and airy room where she could read and have her morning coffee. The room had three pairs of French doors leading to the garden, as well as four traditional casement windows with charming round windows above each one. Needless to say, the room was flooded with natural light. Of particular interest was the space’s 14-foot barrel-vaulted ceiling with ornate plaster detail. I could not wait to start this project!
I set out to create a seamless blend of styles and eras in my client’s space that would honor the home’s special history and architecture while also creating a truly timeless design that felt personal and livable to her.
Here is a photo of the room before we started. The space was painted a light peach color and one of the windows had been boarded over by the previous owner. You can see the start of repair work to this window on the left.
All photos by Audrey Curl Interiors
Layers of personality and detail
I started by designing a furniture plan. My client did not have any furniture that she wanted to use in the space, so we knew we would be selecting all new furnishings. We created a couple of potential plans and ultimately decided on a layout centering around two sofas facing one another.
Next, my assistant and I selected several rug options and brought them to the space for my client’s approval. We then chose the fabrics, furniture, artwork, and lighting. We replaced the existing chandelier with a beautiful rock crystal version with a much more open feel to suit the large space and tall ceiling.
As with all of my designs, I sought to include special elements and thoughtful details to make the room distinctively elegant. I designed several options for the window treatments, including an elevation showing a statement-making Asian-inspired cornice. With this option, I recommended using simple bamboo woven wood blinds on the other windows, keeping the custom cornice as the focus. To my surprise, this was the drawing my client selected. I was thrilled because I knew that the cornice would add drama and height to the window.
Below is a photo taken right after the installation.
Electrical and carpentry work were done and we replaced the peach paint on the walls with a soft white. Scaffolding was brought in to install the new 70-pound chandelier and to paint the ceiling. See the “after” photo below.
It was such a pleasure to work on this magnificent old home. The Monte Vista neighborhood is a true San Antonio treasure!
Whether you live in Monte Vista or elsewhere in San Antonio and want timeless, elegant spaces like this one, reach out to us to talk about working together on your home’s design.