Take a tour of Houston’s most beautiful homes of 2020

Perhaps my favorite home of 2020 was that of Kerry and Andrea Stein, a home so simple and organic that it looks like it could have magically sprung from the grassy fields in Washington County. It’s a modest-sized home, but you see great architecture in every inch and have a great view from every window. They get extra credit for having probably one of the fanciest barns in the county.

The Steins’ living room has big glass panels that open up to the outdoors on one end. Inside, it’s filled with wood — some from his family’s farm — limestone, steel and other natural materials.

A very close second is the Gaywood home of Courtney and Justin Hodge. Bright, light and colorful, this home fills every box on my checklist. It represents who they are, works for everyone in their six-person family, and everything about it feels special and different.

This fantastic office is just one of the reasons that their home was my second favorite. I love the rug, the antique desk, the chandelier, the color — and I especially love the table lamps. Honestly, I could work from this office.

The Hodges’ all-white kitchen is one about anyone could love. I especially like the gold-lined pendants and the Platner-style barstools.

The Hodges’ powder bath has fabulous gold metallic wallpaper that, at a glance, is easily mistaken for tile.

With a cabana that’s got a gym, full bath, living and dining area and a kitchen, you barely need a house to go with it. They wanted a place for their kids go play with friends — and they got it.

There was nothing cookie cutter about the designs I saw in living rooms. This one is in the home of Houston Astros second baseman Jose Altuve and his wife Nina and meets the needs of this contemporary and stylish couple and their young children. I love the big windows, fireplace treatment, and those gorgeous chandeliers that can pass for pieces of art.

You can’t help but smile when you look at this photo of the dining room. Garnet red chairs pop in the high-contrast black-and-white room. (Those black panels are simply pieces of black glass expertly hung.)

Talena and Rich Gulash bought a sizable but ordinary home in Clear Lake and turned it into a dramatically different — contemporary — home. They added internal supports and took down walls, enlarged the kitchen and repositioned a staircase.

This living room is an oasis in the Memorial home of Odeh and Brandi Khoury. With comfortable seating, a dazzling chandelier and eye-catching art, it’s a room that makes you want to grab a good book and a glass of wine and just relax.

The living room in the West University Place home of Dudley and Greg Chitty is certainly formal, but it’s also very inviting. I don’t often “love” crown moulding, but this room’s finishing touches are breathtaking. The couple use the room often to relax and listen to their twin daughters practice playing piano.

There’s still a place in home design for antiques, and the Broad Oaks home of Steve and Cathy Green is one. Their dining room has super tall ceilings, which required a very large chandelier; this one’s an antique Italian fixture centered around a round table. Linen draperies are the go-to fabric for window treatments in Houston.

The Greens moved back to Houston after living abroad and wanted a home that felt calm and comfortable. Their living room is filled with soft green, blue and creamy white and is filled with comfortable, slipcovered furniture.

Deep blues — navy, teal and peacock — made a strong showing in 2020. Peggy and David Matthews’ family room got a teal lacquer treatment in a wall of bookcases, making the room a standout.

Here’s another favorite powder bathroom, this one in The Woodlands home of Kay and Tor Matthews. Its sink counter is converted from a small antique table. The wall-mount faucet and elegant sconces add the perfect finishing touches.

This dining room is so elegant that it might even make your food taste better. (Not that the Matthews aren’t good cooks.) While one side is open to a main hall, the other three are lined with draperies that turn the room into an intimate place to enjoy the company of family and friends.

Bedroom sitting rooms don’t come along often, but when they do, they need tender loving care. This one in The Woodlands home is a comfortable mix of old and new with a lively pop of art.

I love the simple but beautiful design in the Cyrus and Kate Bahrami’s dining room in Wilchester West. Peacock blue made a strong showing in 2020, in chairs, offices and even kitchen cabinets. It’s just the right mix of blue and green and brings this dining room to life.

Cyrus does a lot of work from home and wanted an office that would inspire. It’s situated on a corner of the home that looks out to the street, so it’s on display to everyone with a moment to look. It has great lighting, plenty of storage and a simple but beautiful desk. (Side note: Cyrus was squeamish about the name of the paint color — Benjamin Moore’s “Cheating Heart” — but the end result is terrific.)

The Bahramis are right on trend with the white furnishings and a burst of color in a pair of emerald green chairs in their Wilchester West home.

Brent Farrell gets the prize for “Best Garage.” The Houston contractor — he owns Recraft Construction Services — created a two-story, three-car garage with lifts to store his classic cars at his West University Place home.

Clair Hedgcoxe’s tidy bungalow is a jewel box in Woodland Heights. Her living room feels curated, with personal mementos filling shelves and each detail a little piece of Hedgcoxe’s personality. Out of the picture frame is a pretty display of blue-and-white Asian-style porcelain.

Lindsey and Christopher Henry’s home in Memorial Thicket flooded badly in Hurricane Harvey, prompting them to do massive restoration and remodeling. They had no idea how much they’d need this home office, but made it comfortable, functional and beautiful. Extra points for the paint color choice — Benjamin Moore’s Louisburg Green — and drapery fabric, Kravet’s “Flying Ducks.”

I love that parents are putting more effort into kids’ rooms. This year I saw several with adorable wallpaper, including this one — with skateboarders — for Lindsey and Christopher’s adventurous son, Heath.

Amanda and Jeff Malone amped up the style in their home office with new cabinetry — and new everything else. The room has a super tall ceiling, so a bookcase there before was nice but simply out of scale. This one is the right size for the room, and was painted my favorite color of 2020, peacock blue. Extra points for the desk shaped like a WWII fighter jet wing, an interesting find at RH.

Designer Laura Manchee wanted a stylish office that her husband could work from. He’s got a great desk and a pair of handsome chairs and — the big office trend of 2020 — shelving painted deep, dark blue (Benjamin Moore’s Hudson Bay). To feel more personal, she framed vintage fishing guides that hang on the wall behind the desk.

Manchee went all out on her powder bathroom, laying square tile at odd angles and adding a brass inlay for flooring. Beautiful wallpaper, gold fixtures and a black cabinet finish the room perfectly.

This home office is located on the second floor of a new, two-car garage at the Nottingham Forest home of interior designer Dan Pederson and his partner Scott Konitzer. Pederson had outgrown a small space in their home, and this big room allows him to sprawl a bit. If there’s ever a need, it can be used as guest quarters since it has a full bath. He also gets the Good Guy Award: he opened it up to neighbors after he saw one trying to have a work conference call in his car.

Matt Morgan wanted the ultimate mancave, with a huge aquarium, numerous TVs, a full bar and a great seating area. If he needs to work from his Fort Bend County home, an office — with a view to their swimming pool, is upstairs.

This copper tub is perfect for the stone-filled Mediterranean-style home in Richmond. Extra points for the sheepskin stool.

I’d give the Best Adaptive Reuse of a Room Award to this wine room/lounge in the League City home of Erin and James Dieter. It was a living room that was barely used, and now it’s the perfect place for the Dieters to relax or entertain. Extra credit for the copper counter and shelves on the side where they created a bar.

Mary Patton injected big doses of eclectic style into the Southampton home she shares with husband Ben and daughter, Violet. A few wall mount shelves make this kitchen feel more open.

Another Hurricane Harvey flood victim, Willie Frost decided to completely reinvent his Memorial Drive Acres home. The traditional home built in 1954 is now very contemporary and much more functional than the old one ever was. His fancy new kitchen has two islands, one for work and one for hanging out.

Bryan and Nikki Walley get props for packing everything they wanted into the kitchen in their Hockley home: reclaimed beams, durable engineered wood floors, two islands, great tile and — just outside this picture — a wine room, the must-have extra in new homes now.

A home doesn’t have to be huge to be beautiful. Reggie Beavan’s 2,200-square-foot home in West University Place is another example of great things coming in smaller packages. His compact living room has a handsome pair of green chairs with a sectional sofa sized for the room and natural accents in bamboo, brass, wood and stone.

Shifting to offices, Angela Bishop works from her Heights home and asked for an office that was both beautiful and functional. She got it in this one, which combines a clear desk and upholstered cabinet with peacock blue draperies.