A Perfect Union with William Stubbs

By Patrick Wilson

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The living room has a painting of the Seine by Frederick J. Mulhaupt. Lee Jofa sofa and pillow fabrics. Pindler Pindler armchair fabric.

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William W. Stubbs sensitively integrated two sets of furnishings for a newly married couple's Houston residence.

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Stubbs helped the husband, an old friend, consolidate "a lifelong collection of furniture, art and treasured mementos," he says. "It was a project in which I was as much pastor or counselor as I was designer." They opted to keep the set of English porcelain, which has a hand-finished gold border.

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The study is "a comfortable room for business calls, quiet evenings and entertaining before dinner." The 1966 painting is by Melvin Warren. Sofa and pillow fabrics from Lee Jofa.

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"There was a sense of responsibility, of having to solve this new puzzle of how everything would come together," says Stubbs. He brought a European sensibility to the entrance hall with a Rococo-style giltwood mirror, a painted demilune console table and a pair of acanthus-leaf Louis XV sconces.

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For the family dining room, the designer created "an intimate yet formal environment for two people or a party of eight." The Paris street scene is by Jules Ernest Renoux. Beacon Hill drapery fabric, with Scalamandré trim. Pindler Pindler chair seat fabric.

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A 12-panel coromandel screen acts as a backdrop to the master bedroom. "So often they're black, but this had a unique honey color." Brunschwig Fils sofa fabric.

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Sculptures by Jess Moroles inspired the design of the garden, landscaped by Lanson B. Jones.