Nina Magon and her husband,
Nina an italinchant.
Living nearby, they drove past it frequently, often remarking on the home’s neglected state. Situated on a prime lot in Piney Point Village, the sprawling 10,400-square-foot mansion was built in 1984, but by early 2018, it was in foreclosure. That’s when Karun got the call.
As the CEO of Capital Builders, he is often contacted by real estate agents gauging his interest in high-end Houston properties that are going on the market. “We went over and took a look at it, and obviously it was a lot of work,” says Nina, who is the creative director and principal of Houston’s Contour Interior Design, “but there was also this terrible energy in the house.’
Always up for a challenge, the couple bought the property as a development project, knowing they could call on their extensive experience in home remodeling to transform the space-but there was one extra step they wanted to take.’
“We
figured out we should call an expert in vastu shastra,” says Nina, “someone who could enhance the prosperity of the home.” Similar to feng shui, vastu shastra is a traditional Hindu system of architecture that dictates how spaces should be organized to enhance positive energy and eliminate negative energy. “When (the vastu shastra specialist] walked into the house, he said that the energy could completely change, but we would have to do some major renovations,” says Nina.
“It was a big undertaking, and what he was asking us to do was very expensive.” For a while, the Magons went back and forth, wondering if the recommended updates would be worth the effort. Ultimately, they decided to move forward, having witnessed the positive effects vastu shastra had in their own home.
“A lot of Indians believe in this heavily,” says Nina.
“We wouldn’t have necessarily believed it unless we’d experienced it on our own.”
Armed with specific instructions from the vastu shastra consultant, the Capital Builders and Contour Interior Design teams got to work. The placement of water and fire sources in a building are important elements in vastu shastra, so some of the biggest updates involved relocating the kitchen, removing a guest bathroom, taking out multiple fireplaces and changing the direction of the backyard pool. The construction and design crews also had to find a solution for the exit to the back patio. In the original plans, there were two sets of French doors that led outside, but according to vastu shastra, the entrance and exit had to be located in a certain directional quadrant. To rectify the situation, they closed the original doors and added a door with a central opening. “You should have entrances from all four sides of the house-one in the back, one on each side, then one at the front door.” savs Nina, “so that the energy is all going to the center of the house.”
Once the layout was successfully revamped, Nina and her team began selecting finishes. “My general aesthetic goes to light, bright and white,” she says.
*We wanted to lighten up the house. There was too much heaviness everywhere.” Darkness pervaded the dwelling in the form of yellowish-brown plaster on the walls, creamy brown ceramic tile and dark-stained cherry wood, so they started by painting most of the interior white and adding new flooring throughout, including large-format white Dekton tile in the main areas. ‘They also opened up the butler’s pantry to let more sunlight into the main family room.
To enhance the ceiling height, the designers took out the heavy crown molding that ran throughout the residence. “It was weighing the house down,” says Nina, “and it made the ceilings feel lower.” They left all the other molding in the house, as well as the original paneling and columns. By leaving the traditional architecture untouched, Nina created an eye-catching contrast for the modern European furnishings she chose for the project. In the expansive formal living area, the original paneled walls–now painted white-surround a sleek Minotti sectional. The cozy study, where the paneled walls have been painted a deep gray, is anchored by a plush Fendi Casa rug topped with Fendi Casa lounge chairs, and in the master bedroom, Nina chose an Elitis wallpaper with an old-world feel to set the backdrop for a modern four-poster bed by Maxalto. “My goal was to display this very traditional architecture in a forward-thinking manner,” says the designer.
The mix worked so well that Contour Interior Design, Capital Builders and Modern Luxury Interiors Texas decided to turn the project into a show house, inviting Houston design lovers to see the dramatic makeover firsthand. “I can’t tell you how many people came to us and told us they had been thinking of buying this house, but it needed so much work they didn’t want to touch it, and now they regret it,” Nina says. “That was a great feeling. It shows we did something right.”
