Text: Blake Miller
Photography: Julie Soefer
When Julie Dodson received the call from her longtime clients, she almost dropped the phone. “They told me that they were purchasing a new house and that they wanted me to design it,” says the designer. Asking to craft the interiors for their new home wasn’t the shocking part—it was that Dodson had just spent the last two years overseeing the renovation and interior design of her clients’ current home, in which the couple had been living for only 18 months. “To say it was a shock was an understatement,” says Dodson with a laugh.
For Cindy and Jeff Morris, the move was an emotional one. “For years, we’ve driven past this house and have always said it is our favorite home in The Woodlands. There was just something about it,” explains Cindy of the property. One afternoon, as the Morrises drove through that very neighborhood, they saw the home they loved had been razed, and in its place stood a stunning new-construction house for sale. Soon, the couple was opening the home’s grand front doors and were immediately struck by the panoramic view of the golf course beyond. “We knew as soon as we walked in that we had to move here,” says Jeff. “We were disappointed they tore down the home we loved, but in its place was a larger house with similar architecture and character, and we loved that.”
As with all of their prior home’s interior designs, Dodson was the only and obvious choice for the Morrises. “Julie knows us so well,” explains Cindy. “She came in with this project and added the sophistication we wanted.” Designed by architect DVL Custom Concepts and builder Mary Ross Custom Homes, the house boasted several traditional architectural details, such as custom millwork, a brick fireplace, wide-plank wood floors, and a coffered wood ceiling.
While the couple loved these elements, some of the farmhouse-inspired details were a bit too country for the pair. Dodson transformed a custom traditional built-in armoire with glass panels to display dishware in the kitchen into what now looks like a separate piece of furniture, thanks to a fresh coat of paint. The designer popped out the glass and installed brass mesh panels, which instantly elevate and give it a more transitional look. The kitchen island received a makeover as well. “It was a Texas-size island,” Jeff says. Wanting something more streamlined and less overbearing for the room, Dodson redesigned it into a smaller work and gathering space and painted it Benjamin Moore Iron Gate, which complements the nearby armoire and adds interest to the formerly all-white kitchen.
While the home Dodson had recently wrapped up for the Morrises complemented the light, bright, and airy aesthetic of the home, her clients wanted to go a different direction this time around. “We really wanted more color in this home,” says Cindy. Equal parts serene and practical, adding color was about injecting even more personality into the home while masking messy hands and paws from the couple’s grandchildren and two dogs. “We don’t want our home to be a showpiece,” says Jeff. “We don’t want it to feel like a museum where you can’t touch anything. We want to live in our home.” Adds Dodson, “Color and pattern paired with with performance fabric achieved both that punch of personality and extra coverage from spills and messes. They wanted the house to be lived in and functional but still pretty.”
In lieu of the neutral, off-white color palette Dodson infused in the Morrises’ former home, this project would be an execution in function meets pattern and color. Blues, beiges, and grays in varying hues come alive in floral and geometric patterns and fabrics and wear well over time. “This project had a great color palette to work with,” says Dodson. “We were constantly trying to bring life and soul to some of their existing pieces of furniture to really give them that balance of pattern and color. It was like putting a puzzle together.”
The puzzle came together seamlessly for Dodson, who reupholstered several of the Morrises’s existing pieces while layering rooms with new draperies and rugs. The aesthetic allows the relaxing view of the pool and golf course to remain center stage while creating a warm, inviting, and wholly functional space to gather as a couple or with their family.
In the evenings, the sun sets just beyond the horizon of the golf course behind the Morrises’s property. It’s one of the couple’s favorite things about this home—a respite from the busyness of life. “To me, this home is peace,” says Cindy. “When I come home and look outside, it just feels like a giant exhale.”
