McGuire Photo Shoot for the
Houston House and Home Magazine

March 2006 issue of Houston House and Home magazine, Click Here.

 The McGuire home in Carlton Woods is the mission statement of an international entrepreneur, indeed the recent Texas Entrepreneur of the Year.  The home’s title, “The Bread of Life” is spelled out in the wrought iron banister overlooking a grand entrance. 

Scripted over a lifetime, the story of this home is an abundant feast for your senses, a celebration of the love of family, God and country.  The design elements collected and interpreted by family friend Peggy Jones, Affinity Design and her daughter Amy Robeson over the construction period of 22 months lay out a mélange of color: coral fabrics, cream walls, soft violet chenille over sheer drapes, patterned moss green carpets, maple and cherry woods, exposed cedar beams.  All set the tone for the expression of faith.  There is enough glass in the Woodlands home to pull the outside in to the casual Country French elegance. 

 Familiar Christian symbols are woven into the design and décor of this home as they are woven into the fabric of this family’s life.  Sheaves of wheat support the glass dining room table top and the vineyard theme appears in the kitchen corbels.  The grapes as “new wine” and earthen jars express much more than a social event.  The invitation to bear fruit gives witness to the power of a committed Christian life in a secular global environment.  This family uses the home to minister to such diverse groups as client, Disney and the entire staff of Carlton Woods Country Club. 

A laptop computer allows the editor of Houston House and Home magazine Linda Barth and her photographer to judge the lighting, composition and angle of each trial photograph as Tony Bolfing observes.   It is apparent that the “shoot” is going to be an all day affair.  My invitation to Mrs. McGuire to brag yielded a wonderful tour of the home before she left to attend a meeting of the Board of Directors of Star of Hope Mission.

Events planned and carried out by Peggy’s design firm are always geared toward the whole family.  Decorating for the birthday of Christ is a three month affair.  A toddler sized potty in the pool bath and a life sized carousel in the playroom as well as a theater and elevated stage tell you there are beloved yet ‘unspoiled’ grandchildren even before you see their portrait in the hall.  Countertops of SileStone color Mont Blanc perfectly complement the upstairs Coca Cola memorabilia displayed in a 50’s era diner atmosphere.  Spills and water spots from a glass left overnight do not require immediate attention because stains just will not happen.  A media room worthy of the Hearst Castle tells you there are beloved ‘unspoiled’ grown children as well.  The trim carpenter worked his miracles as the classic Greek columns that frame the screen pivot to reveal hidden storage for the DVD collection.

Predictable seasonal symbols, birdhouses and beach scene fabrics, a beautiful collection of Nativity crèches, appear in the most unpredictable whimsical interpretations.  Designer, Peggy had flags hand painted into a vessel bowl in the patriotic powder room.  Signs and wonders transport the lucky guest through the four bedrooms’ seasons of the year and the inevitable seasons of life. 

 Sparkling snowflakes emerge from the absolutely appropriate use of SileStone Stellar Sky for the vanity in the winter bath.  The soft blue is repeated in the cabinet finish.

 The side entry mural detours the visitor through a French market to the laundry room where SileStone Stellar Marine countertops twinkle like the night sky.  The deep blue color is the exclamation point at the end of the “I found the missing sock!” sentence. 

 My tour ended and they are still preparing the kitchen to shoot the photographs for the cover of that wonderful magazine that remains on display months after each issue appears.  The oversized pages become a resource for builders, designers and homeowners shopping for products, classic design ideas, trendy hints and valuable vendor references.  I never realized the time involved in producing those beautiful layouts.  The rose bowl and the tray of pastries have been moved an inch at a time all around the kitchen while the God arranges the sunlight on the pool.  Finally the light is just right to spotlight the gorgeous view.  Everything stops so all can appreciate the glimpse of the bright red cardinal sunbathing in the birdbath.  Miro Dvorscak, the soft-spoken, amicable photographer chosen to shoot the McGuire job has international credits, working for Cosentino, Spain the parent company of SileStone.  He lists as his favorite work the commission he was given to photograph a Catalogue of the Vatican.

 Hot soup for three or party preparations for 143 require no special indulgence on a SileStone countertop.  A cutting board announces the obvious, “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord;”   but its use is optional.  The SileStone counters will perform beautifully under the caterer’s knives.  Little effort will return the counters to a sanitary surface for food preparation after the grandkids’ craft projects.  ‘Cleanliness,’ maintained with only soap and water, really is ‘next to Godliness.’  No sealer is necessary to protect or maintain the finish.  The spills and stains that will occur in this heavenly kitchen would likely remain unforgiven in countertops of other materials. 

 Hand-scraped hickory criss-crosses the kitchen floor inset with travertine tiles.  Over the island that is raised to a comfortable work level height, hangs an iron pot rack, soon to be fitted with gas lamps for a soft glow.  Convinced that SileStone’s hardworking soul of quartz and indestructible character was no sacrifice, Mrs. McGuire insisted that custom builder, Jay Wendell deem SileStone a worthy partner among many choices that are available to top her beautifully crafted cabinets.  Repeated in the island, the understated blue and woodsy tones of Silestone’s Blue Sahara pull together the whole theme and color scheme of the house and bless the heart of the home whose kitchen which will be featured in the March 2006 issue of Houston House and Home magazine.

 The McGuire home was the fruit of a close community of talented and skilled people who took the seed of faith, planted it in a gated luxury Woodlands neighborhood and watered the fertile vision of the owners until its hospitality fed the multitudes.

 In the 30 years since 1976 that Bolfing Brothers Marble Inc. www.bolfingbrothers.com started in business, our company has been privileged to work in literally thousands of homes in hundreds of neighborhoods.   This project, for custom homebuilder Jay Wendell who has been our customer for many of those years, makes us look good.  More than that, we are humbled to have our work stand as an expression of our faith as well.   Do what you do, do it well, and trust God for the rest.

 Rose Anne Bolfing

February 13, 2005