Dallas based western interior designer Jason Lenox was approached by a couple who wanted a dream ranch built on their 84 acre property in Pilot Point, TX.
The property, with its endless pastoral views, was ideal, but the existing home was not, and the couple decided to start from scratch, hiring an Austin-based architect to design a new home. “We wanted a modern take on the old Texas houses,” Roberts says. “When he came, he stood out on a knoll and made sure there were views from every room”.
Although the architect sited the home and planned the initial footprint, the rest of the design fell into the hands of interior designer Jason Lenox, owner of the Dallas-based Anteks Home Furnishings.
“As a design firm we took control of the way the building looked on the inside and out,” Lenox says. “Their expectations from the outset were that the home would be special, different, and approachable for them and their friends. They wanted a home that everybody felt comfortable with, so we were tasked with creating a special, unique property that wasn’t pretentious”. The Roberts also wanted the home to look as if it had been on that land forever, evolved and aged there rather than just plopped down.
Lenox accomplished this by paying attention to detail and material choices, opting for the natural textures that come from the use of reclaimed timber and stone. “We sourced all of the interior building materials. For the interior doors, we had them massaged so they don’t look like new doors,” Lenox says. “Every corner of every piece of trim in the house was eased by hand, so there are no sharp edges anywhere. There are well-placed gouges here and there to help it look worn in with a sense of authenticity”.
The brackets that held up the reclaimed timbers were rusted by the builder to look aged. The timbers came from various building across the American West, bought thru a Dallas based firm that specializes in salvaged wood.
Because the project took two years to complete, Lenox had plenty of time to gather treasures, furnishings, and artwork to align with the home’s rustic and horse-friendly style. If he found something that he thought was a good fit, he’d snap a photo and send it to Roberts, who almost always agreed. “They both like American-Western cowboy and Native American art,” Lenox says. “They’re horse people, and this is a horse property.”
Lenox built a collection of late 19th century Navajo saddle blankets that he had framed and hung on the wall leading the master bedroom and opposite the library. He had chandeliers custom made along with other pieces for particular places in the home.
And, much to Roberts’s delight, Lenox found a Logan Maxwell Hagege painting to grace a wall in the dining room. “I just love anything that guy paints,” Roberts says. “But this is a picture of a horse that reminds me of my first barrel horse.”
A couple of rooms challenged Lenox’s Western design sensibilities. “She wanted a master closet that was over the top,” he recalls. “It was the most nerve-racking thing, it’s such a departure from the Western designs I’m used to.” He went with a salmon pink color throughout with bold patterned wallpaper on the ceiling, and a carpet that resembles antelope hide. “It’s the most fantastic thing you’ve ever seen,” he says. The powder room was another departure, and Lenox went with wall-to-wall green onyx that carries a translucent glow.
In the end, the couple and those who helped design and build the home, were all delighted with the results, and the home is well suited to the family’s equine-oriented lifestyle. It’s elegant, first and foremost, with a warm rustic feel.
“Our best projects are where the owners give us freedom to be artists,” Lenox says. “The structure is big and nicely done, but it’s also straight forward, simple, and easy to understated.”
For the homeowners, it’s more than a beautiful place to expand the family horse business; it’s a home they intend to stay in for years to come. “I really don’t want to move anymore,” Roberts says. “We are extremely happy with the end product.”
The rustic interior design team at Anteks Home Furnishings is well versed in many variations of Western, Rustic and Lodge interiors. Feel free to reach out to them at info@antekshome.com to inquire about their services.
