Text by Cathy Gordon
Photography by Rex Spencer
Architect: Don E. Pedersen, AIA
Construction and Design: Slovack-Bass
Vince and Yvette Aquino were five months into the development phase of a home in
an exclusive gated community when they did an about-face.
“I called up our architect and said, ‘You know that house we’re designing? Well, we’re not building it anymore,’” recalls Vince, recalling the circuitous route that landed this family of seven
in a far different location.
They used to live in Palmer Woods, but placed that home on the market back in
2001. Within days it sold with the buyer wanting possession in five weeks.
“He wanted the furniture and everything. I thought, ‘You’ve got to be kidding me.’ Sept. 11 had just happened and people felt like the world was falling apart,
that nobody was ever going to buy a house again! We totally weren
’t expecting that rapid pace.”
So he relocated his family to a rental and embarked full-speed ahead on plans
for their new home.
“It had me really pushing that idea.”
But a funny thing happened on the way to building. “My wife and I were out on a date one night… you know, time for us, away from the kids, when she says to me, ‘I have some bad news for you. I don’t want to move to the gated area.’”
Yvette, now the chairman of the board at a community’s private school and chief chauffeur to the Aquino clan’s numerous extracurricular activities (some of which take her into Houston a
couple of times a week) preferred a more convenient locale, more conducive to
the family
’s busy schedule and accessible to Interstate 45.
Vince totally understood, but where to go? He scoured neighborhoods looking for
property. He came up empty. But his wife did some researching of her own
Wonderfully curved short sectionals make up Yvette’s “metropolitan area” of the living room (forefront). It’s the perfect spot for her daughter’s violin recitals. • Every turn of a corner presents something pleasing to the eye in this house.
Here, a captivating French bench just outside of the master bedroom retreat.
• This cozy, enchanting den is family central for this family of seven.
Tone-on-tone layering is the design concept here with no jolts to the eye. The
serene decorating style was important to the family.
