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    Houston Home Tour

    Step inside Houston architect couple's minimalist Heights home

    Mitchell Parker/Houzz
    Sep 15, 2016 | 9:34 am
    Houzz Houston house home Japanese-style concrete box bedroom
    The master bedroom.
    Photo by Jack Thompson, Houzz

    Architects Christopher Robertson and Viv Nguyen believe that concrete holds a mystical quality. Whenever they walk into a building made of concrete, they feel it in their bones. “Concrete feels a certain way that’s different than Sheetrock,” Robertson says. “It sounds different. It’s a thick material that creates heavy weight. There’s a different sense of air. It sounds like bull … but it’s not. It’s there.”

    Robertson and Nguyen used concrete in abundance in their new home in the Houston Heights, whose design comprises three separate boxes that delineate public and private spaces. A large concrete box 16 feet high holds the kitchen, dining, and living spaces. A wooden-clad box sits on top, while a concrete wall intersects the two, creating an overall sculptural, blocky concrete arrangement that’s simple and intriguing. “It creates a sense of mystery,” Robertson says. “You don’t know quite what you’re looking at from the street. We didn’t want it to be too obvious.”

    A trip to Japan, where the couple saw a lot of concrete homes and buildings, inspired the austere design. “There’s a real blankness to it,” he says. “We were driven by that, and the sense to keep things more sculptural and less residential looking.”

    Incorporate Concrete Into Your Design

    The entry sequence and the way you move through the home is another way the design nods to the East. The path leads around the concrete wall to a courtyard that reveals glimpses into the home, then past some landscaping, and finally to a small deck and the front door. “You don’t dumbly enter into the building,” Robertson says. “There’s a buildup. A careful sequence unfolds without exposing everything all at once.”

    The wood is Siberian larch, which apart from a “very effective salesperson,” he says jokingly, was chosen for being an abundant older-growth softwood that’s more rot-resistant than typical cedar siding. Without stain or paint, the wood will naturally weather to a silvery gray.

    The concrete walls proved more challenging than the couple anticipated. “It was a big deal,” says Robertson, who was the general contractor and, along with Nguyen, the co-architect for the project. “A lot of my life was wrapped up in getting these walls built.”

    It took a crew of 10 people working a month just to build the framework in which to pour the concrete walls in place. When the framework is 16 feet high, there’s a lot of pressure pushing against it. “If it’s not built correctly, it will blow apart, and you have a giant $50,000 mess of concrete everywhere,” he says.

    The open living, kitchen, and dining spaces occupy the concrete box form. The clean, minimalist style of Japan informs the design. “We are definitely Japanophiles,” Robertson says.

    Strange but True Parallels Between Early Western and Old Japanese Style

    Robertson and Nguyen didn’t want the kitchen to look like a kitchen because it’s surrounded by the public spaces, so they disguised the appliances. The cooktop blends into the dark granite counter; the fridge is integrated into the cabinetry; and the dishwasher, microwave, and oven are visible only if you’re standing in the kitchen.

    A split-level design puts the island at countertop height on one side and tabletop height on the other, thanks to a raised platform. This way, a regular bench or chairs can be used instead of countertop-height furniture.

    Make Your Kitchen a More Sociable Space

    As you enter the home, a chunk of limestone forms a step up to a platform that creates a bench to the left for taking off or putting on shoes. The stairs lead to the three bedrooms and a small library to the left of the landing. Nearby, a floating shelf with a lamp on top provides a spot to drop keys.

    The couple chose to keep the bedrooms small, opting instead for oversize closets and a master bathroom. Robertson and Nguyen wanted a generous feeling to the master bathroom. It includes a big wet room covered in large-format marble tile. “We don’t like shower glass,” he says. “It’s hard to keep clean.”

    In the master bedroom, the floor near the window drops down one-and-a-half feet to create a small landing and bench on which to sit and put on shoes. The low window also forces the view down into the backyard instead of toward the neighbor’s house. “It gives the impression that you’re not surrounded by houses,” Robertson says.

    The leafy backyard contains a large pressure-treated pine deck that surrounds black gravel. A free-standing wall was a test pour for the concrete walls that make up the house. The couple turned it into a backing for a fire feature.

    Robertson and Nguyen used concrete in abundance in their new home, whose design comprises three separate boxes.

    Houzz Houston house home Japanese-style concrete box exterior
      
    Photo by Jack Thompson, Houzz
    Robertson and Nguyen used concrete in abundance in their new home, whose design comprises three separate boxes.
    houzz
    news/home-design
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    stay gold

    Online design juggernaut Perigold opens first-ever store in Houston

    Emily Cotton
    Jun 20, 2025 | 1:07 pm
    Perigold store Houston
    Courtesy of Perigold
    Perigold combined three different stores into its new Houston home.

    Houston, Perigold has landed. That’s right, the online design juggernaut and Wayfair subsidiary has chosen Houston’s Highland Village shopping center for its first (and so far only) brick-and-mortar store.

    Turning an online retailer into a brick-and-mortar store is an interesting transition. With consumers looking to return to the throwback nostalgia of shopping with intention and returning to community vibes, it’s an ingenious move.

    “We liken our experience to a department store, a Saks or a Net-A-Porter, and we hope to be a convenient place for the community. We know that people like to convene around design — so yes, we hope to be the answer to that,” Rebecca Ginns, global head of Perigold, tells CultureMap.

    Referring to the space as a “store” does Perigold a major disservice — it’s so much more than that. While meaning no disrespect, the 20,000-square-foot space is what one would imagine if a Sears and a Neiman Marcus had a baby. It’s a lot, but in a fantastic way.

    Extremely high-end, usually trade-only furniture lines find themselves nestled between place setting displays from dozens of brands, plus chef-grade knives by Shun. Appliances, plumbing and lighting fixtures, and tile are also available. Before worry sets in that every visit will break the bank, take comfort in knowing the store stocks more affordable options such as accessories, coffee table books, candles, and gifts as well.

    Perigold store HoustonThis store really does have everything.Courtesy of Perigold

    The folks from Perigold took the time to research Houstonians and their expectations. In a town where the local furniture emporium promises same day delivery, they knew they couldn’t play around. While it may not be same day, a local warehouse keeps larger showroom items in stock and ready for delivery in an expeditious fashion — they guarantee it.

    Perigold’s design team utilized an area with plate glass walls and a courtyard to showcase outdoor furniture and accessories. Upstairs, local interior designers may use meeting rooms and workspaces to hold meetings with clients or Perigold associates.

    Once shoppers pass through the chartreuse double doors, everything from Waterford crystal, Wedgewood, and Michael Aram, to the more daring Jonathan Adler is on offer. Chaddock, Fairfield, Century, and Stickley all come to play as well — with a showroom of this size, nearly every designer brand has representation.

    Interestingly, there are many brands apparent, like Jonathan Adler in the village, who are showcased at Perigold. Most high end designers don’t allow what some may deem “competition” to exist in the same market as their showcase stores, but Ginns doesn’t see it that way.

    “That’s something we worked through with brands when we first partnered with them in the e-commerce setting,” she says. “What they learned through that experience is that because we have such a wide reach, being featured with us ends up being an additive. So if you think of a customer searching for an item — just search for a luxury home on Google — something comes up that’s highly relevant or comparable, and that’s when they discover a lot of brands.”

    On the topic of discovery, Perigold has made their in-store experience purposefully versatile, with different types of shoppers in mind. Whether someone chooses to engage one of the store’s seven product specialists, five interior designers, or simply go it alone, Perigold has it covered. Category shopping includes chairs, lighting, and almost everything else side-by-side, so there is no need to scour the store for every product decision, although that’s also possible. Shoppers who require some inspiration, or perhaps fancy a lackadaisical post-brunch stroll, will be pleased to discover that vignettes, or “style clusters,” have been curated throughout the store in the most popular home design styles.

    Perigold partnered with acclaimed interior designers to create rooms in their respective styles to better assist buyers who may require inspiration. Each designer’s curated vignette features a robust mixture of brands and price points. Find transitional designs curated by Houston’s own Marie Flanigan, modern approaches by Jessica Davis, traditional inspirations by Julie and Isabelle Neil, glam styles by Evan Millard, modern glam looks from Xander Noori, and curated coastal vibes from Helen Bergin — all in one place.

    “[For] that customer who doesn’t maybe know a brand, or is still discovering, we have a wide reach, and customers have found that to be true,” says Ginns. “So we are incremental and additive, but not competitive. There is just an element of discovery in the shopping process that we see a lot of [online], so we expect to see that replicated in the store.”

    Perigold store Houston
      

    Courtesy of Perigold

    Perigold combined three different stores into its new Houston home.

    furniture designhome-designperigoldshoppingstore opening
    news/home-design
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