Angelica and Gustavo Nechar moved many times in Brazil, where they were born and raised, and in France, where their careers flourished and they owned a Haussmann-style apartment in the 17th Arrondissement of Paris. But it wasn’t until Mr. Nechar’s work as a human-resources executive brought the couple to Houston in 2013 that they realized all of their previous homes had lacked one enticing thing: a design conceived just for them.
The expansive suburban house they bought upon arriving in Houston, they decided, wasn’t quite right. For one thing, it was too big for a couple with two adult sons. And it was too far from the action of the city, which had pleasantly surprised them with its cosmopolitan vibe and cultural offerings, even after 13 years in Paris.
What they wanted, they realized, was to build a house in the city that would support an urban, walkable lifestyle.
Etel around the same time.
StudioMET Architects, after they’d admired the boxy, modernist homes with long, flat roofs and plenty of glass that the firm had built in Houston.
“A contemporary house — that’s what we wanted,” Ms. Nechar said. “We didn’t want to play like some people here who build houses like castles.”
By the end of that year, StudioMET had designed a four-bedroom, 3,800-square-foot house with an L-shaped footprint, and had filed for a building permit.
“They wanted it to be somewhat subtle — they didn’t want a big statement from the exterior,” said Stephen Andrews, a partner at the firm. The two-story design, which has an upper level suspended over a poolside patio and outdoor kitchen at the back, aimed to maximize natural light and connections to the outdoors, he said, while preserving privacy from the street and the neighbors.