New homeowners find joy in Alamo Heights living
Contemporary style abounds with creature comfort at the forefront of the design. Pottery Barn sectional sofa clad in high performance tweed. Accent stools add a splash of Prussian blue color in tufted velvet. Barcelona inspired brown leather chairs pull the seating area together on a vintage Turkish rug. Matte black industrial fan. Sconces by Visual Comfort. Art work found at the McNay Print Fair.
This Thanksgiving, the Pridemore’s have thoughts of carving the family bird, preparing all of the trimmings, and giving thanks for the first year spent in their new home. “When this house came up, I fell in love with it,” said Juliet Pridemore.
Growing up in Lafayette, Louisiana, in a neighborhood that beckoned children outdoors to run and play, it was a time that she cherished and wanted her three children to have that same nurturing community. “Where we live now is as close to living in that time and place without giving up the conveniences of urban living,” Juliet explained. “It allows me to be the country girl/city girl.”
Husband Ryan, who grew up in Clint, Texas, has a little bit of country roots, as well, growing up on a farm riding horseback and rodeoing in team roping competition as a healer. His prized quarter horse later went on to compete in the PRCA ProRodeo circuit with the team roping Fulmer brothers.
Embracing the city life, the couple with three active children has nested in a contemporary home that embraces a bit of rustic charm in touches visible throughout their domestic dwelling.
It was built by Jack Dabney of Dabney Homes and staged by interior designer Dy Lynne Dabney of Joyeux Home Décor.
With a relaxed open floor plan, the kitchen is central to family gatherings. A massive island of Shadow Storm Calcutta marble is the hub that spins the whirlwind of activities that keep this active family on the move.
With twelve-year-old son Tanner active in basketball and box lacrosse, meals are sometimes fast and furious between practice, games, and time spent with Ryan – who is a volunteer basketball coach, flag football coach, and board member of Alamo Heights Lacrosse.
But it is daughter Sarah, 8, that has pride of place in the kitchen. “This is Sarah’s kitchen,” Juliet says with a laugh.
Rustic farmhouse adjustable barstools in oak and Industrial black metal finish slide under Calcutta marble island treated to withstand all that a family of five can muster. Pendants over island by Regina Andrews. Ceramic backsplash tile by “Lilli”. Sconces by Visual Contact.
On weekends, Sarah turns on the Cooking Network – not cartoons – gets out her cooking utensils, bowls, and ingredients and makes her family a hearty breakfast.
Her specialty is homemade biscuits that she prepares from scratch then seasons with multi-colored granulated sugar crystals. She has named them Sprinkle Biscuits. Sarah presents a plate full to her family with the plea, “Please eat this.”
During Shark Week, Sarah serves her captured guests shark-shaped sugar cookies and sells them to raise funds for 4Ocean, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to clean the ocean and coastlines while working to stop the inflow of plastic by changing consumption habits.
Volunteerism runs in the family (and keeps dinner schedules interesting). Sixteen-year-old Alamo Heights High School junior Emily volunteers at Haven For Hope, where she babysits for single mothers so that they may have time for themselves. Starting a Girl Up Club at Alamo Heights High School, she and club members spend time with girls ages 12 to 18 sharing food and conversation to empower young women that are from less advantaged homes, encouraging them to realize their full potential. Girl Up is a global movement of empowered young women leaders founded by the United Nations Foundation in 2010 and continues to work across a global community of partners to achieve gender equality worldwide.
And to keep it all in the family, young Tanner, through his Boy Scout troop, volunteers to keep the Hondondo Creek Trails that run through Alamo Heights and the Olmos Basin clean for recreational activity. An avid mountain biker, he works to clear off-road trails for like-minded enthusiasts.
“I wanted to create a home where my family can grow in a place that I created for them,” said Juliet. Purchasing some pieces from Dy Lynne that were used in staging the home, Juliet selected pieces that complemented her existing furnishings and spoke to her sense of style.
Providing a comfortable place to gather with family and friends, the u-shaped sofa in the family room is upholstered in a performance tweed fabric that has made the move from their former home to the new nesting place. A large flat-screen TV anchored above the fireplace lowers to eye level with mechanical ease for movie nights and (for Sarah) cooking shows.
The dining room seats eight around a salvaged wood trestle table, keeping with the farmhouse aesthetic. A pace away from the dining and kitchen area is a wet bar with glass-fronted cabinets at the ready for entertaining.
On the stairwell leading to the children’s bedrooms is a pair of black and white photographs taken by Juliet on a trip to San Francisco. Ryan surprised Juliet with a romantic vow renewal on their 10th anniversary, setting up a service in the California Redwood Forest. Renting bikes, they rode across the San Francisco Bridge, where he stopped and presented her with a new wedding ring. The photos are images of the forest and the bridge.
Not bad for a country boy still courting his city girl in Alamo Heights.
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By John Bloodsworth
