It’s Martha’s World

Chairs in the Katonah breakfast room are painted a cheerful aqua for a fresh take on colonial style.
It’s Martha’s World
AND NOW YOU CAN LIVE IN IT
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“And we were competing with
the rodeo,” says Joe Zimmerman,
KB Home Houston Division
president, with a smile. The crowd
was not all female, either, he says,
but a fair mix of both men and
women.
Why the crush? The Martha
Stewart-designed homes for
WoodCreek Reserve in Katy are
different from other production
homes built by large-volume
builders in Texas. With their
understated elegance and references
to classic, traditional design, they
are distinctly American. They’re not
Tuscan or French or English. Their
exteriors incorporate the design and
BY LINDA BARTH
•
PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY KB HOME
alk inside a KB Home designed by
W
Martha Stewart for the WoodCreek
Reserve community in Katy, and you
feel like you’re stepping into the pages
of Martha Stewart Living magazine.
For devotees of the serene and soothing interiors
created by America’s best-known home style and
homemaking expert, that’s a good thing. So good
that earlier this spring when WoodCreek’s three
model homes first opened to the public, some 2,700
people toured the homes in one weekend.
structural characteristics of Martha’s
three residences in the Northeast,
and their range of styles is broad
enough to accommodate various
tastes and sensibilities.
Martha, who holds a degree in
architectural history from Barnard
College, worked with KB Home
architect Ken Gancarczyk to bring
functional features and high style
to the homes at an affordable price.
Katy is the third KB Home
community in the United States to
have Martha Stewart-designed
homes. Last year, the company
debuted Martha Stewart for
KB Home communities in
Cary, N.C., and Atlanta, Ga.
HOUSTON HOUSE & HOME • APRIL 2007
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A substantial pedestal table stacked with books anchors the library in the Katonah model home. Window treatments are minimal to allow natural light to flood the room.
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M A R T H A’ S WO R L D
In the Katonah model, hand-painted wallpaper is the glory of the dining room.
THREE EXTERIOR STYLES
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WoodCreek Reserve homes by Martha Stewart come in three different styles
of exteriors in 14 different floor plans. For lovers of country cottages, the
cedar-shake style covering of the Lily Pond model, based on Martha’s Long
Island beach cottage, will appeal. Admirers of classic colonial homes will
appreciate Martha’s fresh take on colonial in the Katonah Home model
inspired by her own house in Katonah, N.Y. In a nod to Texans’ tastes, the
Katonah model is available in an all-brick exterior, which is popular in this
region. Modernists will find contemporary elegance in the Skylands Home
styled like Martha’s 1925 stone home on the coast of Maine. (In WoodCreek
Reserve, the Skylands Home is the design studio and sales office, so it is not
furnished as a show home.)
“You don’t find detailing like this in most production homes,” said one
visitor, an inside-the-Loop antiques dealer who was touring the Katonah
model the same afternoon we were. She was especially wowed by the 72-inch
wainscoting in the hallway and main entry.
The houses, ranging in size from 2,600 square feet to 5,100 square feet,
offer design options more commonly seen in custom homes, such as
wainscoting, coffered and coved ceilings, distinctive crown moldings, wooden
mantels and premium lighting. For the amount of detailing they offer, they are
affordably priced between $300,000 and $550,000.
“Martha has been hands-on in all aspects of the new home designs,” says
Lorna Aragon, style director, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia. “From the
beginning, she incorporated design features that were both important to her
and potential homebuyers. She wanted the homes to be functional and to
bring a level of Old World craftsmanship and details that aren’t typically seen
in newer homes.”
HIGHLY FUNCTIONAL KITCHENS
The Katonah at KB Home’s WoodCreek Reserve in Katy is a classic
colonial-style home inspired by Martha Stewart’s home in Katonah, N.Y.
“Martha is big on clean lines, flow and functionality,” says Zimmerman.
Nowhere is this more evident than the kitchens, which are the real stars of the
WoodCreek/Katy showcase homes. The kitchens are paragons of efficiency,
thanks to Martha, who was a professional caterer for years and knows what real
cooks want and need in a kitchen. They are designed to accommodate family
gathering and entertaining and include large islands for food preparation and
pull-out pot racks in kitchen cabinets for increased storage, as well as glass
cabinet doors and pantries in order to find items easily.
In two of the model homes, countertops are Silestone. “This is a good
alternate to other natural materials, which are more expensive and harder to
care for,” says Aragon. “Silestone is a functional, durable material that is stain
resistant and heat resistant.” Homebuyers have the option of choosing
natural stone countertops, such as granite, if they like.
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HOUSTON HOUSE & HOME • APRIL 2007
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Open shelving, a trademark design element of Martha Stewart kitchens, allows display of attractive dishes and makes them easier to find.
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M A R T H A’ S WO R L D
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The master retreat in the Katonah
HOUSTON HOUSE & HOME • APRIL 2007
The two-story Lily Pond, the largest model home in the Martha
Stewart-designed WoodCreek Reserve homes, is based on Martha’s home
on Long Island. The shingles will eventually fade to a silvery color. The
bright blue trim is said to have been inspired by the eyes of her
Long Island neighbor, actor Paul Newman.
The den of the Lily Pond house, visible from the open kitchen, is a cheerful butter
yellow. Mercury glass on the mantel is from Martha Stewart’s collection.
The kitchens have large farmhouse sinks, always with a window above them.
“To view the outdoors as you are cooking,” Zimmerman says, “whether it be to
admire the gardens, sunrise, sunset or be able to have a view of the grill if you are
grilling is essential to a kitchen.”
An appliance garage is an option to keep counters clean and clutter free. The
two-story Lily Pond model offers a second appliance garage for a flat-screen TV that
can be viewed while cooking, then hidden when not needed.
Kitchen cabinets are generous and always extend to the ceiling without fur
downs. “Martha Stewart does not like to waste space,” says Zimmerman. “The space
that would be in a fur down could be used to store seasonal dishes, large pots, tall
compote serving dishes or even seasonal arrangements.”
Butler’s pantries adjacent to the kitchen are optional in many of the layouts
because they serve a great function for entertaining and added storage. Mudrooms,
giving kids a place to remove muddy shoes and store sports equipment, also are an
option in many layouts.
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LIGHT-FILLED INTERIORS
Martha’s houses capture daylight masterfully. “We have designed these homes with
more windows throughout in order to create more natural light,” says Aragon. “You
will find windows in places such as the closets and bathrooms to make the floor
plans feel more open and to even help you tell the difference between black and blue
when getting dressed in the morning.”
Window treatments are minimal, again, to allow as much light in as possible.
No dark, heavy drapes with swags and tassels here. “We feel window treatments
should be functional and simple,” says Aragon.
High ceilings help create an open, airy feeling in the rooms. The Katonah model
has 12-foot ceilings in the family room and master suite downstairs. In other models,
the floor plans call for 10-foot or 11-foot ceilings. In one model available (but not
built yet), the family room ceiling is 20 feet, 3 inches.
Walls are smoothly textured, points out Darren Brandt, KB Home’s supervisor
of construction for the WoodCreek Reserve/Martha Stewart homes. “In Texas, it’s
traditional to have more texture,” Brandt says, but for Martha and company,
he pressed the texture on the Sheetrock to make walls smooth. “It’s a little
more time-consuming,” he says.
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The “his” bathroom in the Lily Pond master suite with separate
his-and-her baths offers plenty of room for storage.
M A R T H A’ S WO R L D
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Gracious master bedrooms, like this one in the two-story Lily Pond model, include comfortable sitting areas and gas fireplaces.
On the wall at right is 72-inch wainscoting made of MDF board painted white, an attractive option for this cottage-style home.
HOUSTON HOUSE & HOME • APRIL 2007
In the one-story Lily Pond model, dark woods contrast with the light walls and upholstery in the master suite.
The wall above the bed is purposely unadorned for a clean, uncluttered look.
The one-story Lily Pond cottage mixes rustic and modern.
Color palettes for the homes have been meticulously chosen for each model
home. “As with all of our designs,” says Aragon, “the first step is to choose a color
palette to define the backdrop for furnishing, lighting, rugs and art. The design and
color palettes in our homes are inspired by the things we experience daily, such as
gardens and landscapes.”
All the houses have generous built-in bookshelves, and the library in the Katonah
model is especially fetching, with books carefully selected by title and color for the
room. Much of the furniture in the houses is designed by Martha Stewart for
Bernhardt and is available through Macy’s as well as through other furniture retailers
in Houston, such as Dillard’s and Louis Shanks.
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LOCATION
KB Home chose WoodCreek Reserve in Katy as the site for its Martha Stewartdesigned homes because Katy is a growing community, well situated close to the
Interstate 10 Energy Corridor to take advantage of the energy boom Houston is
experiencing, Zimmerman says. “WoodCreek Reserve is only about a mile from
I-10,” he says. “And Katy has a high quality of life. Katy ISD is an award-winning
school system that certainly is an attraction.
“It speaks well of Houston and the Katy community,” Zimmerman adds, “that
Martha chose us.”
KB Home has bought 80 lots in WoodCreek Reserve for the new homes, with
an option to expand to 244 lots. The centerpiece of the community is a 100-acre
nature park with trails that weave along the banks of Buffalo Bayou. Model
homes at 1203 Lodgeglen Court are open daily. For hours and driving
directions, call 281.392.8280 or visit www.kbhome.com.
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On kitchen walls and backsplash, glass tiles backed with gray paint
bring a chic modernity to the one-story Lily Pond kitchen. All storage is
below counter level for a more open space. Light fixtures are industrial
looking, window treatments minimal.