“Nothing in this house is original, except for some sheetrock,” says Vincent Jarrard, who along with his wife, Roula, has been slowly turning the traditional ranch-burger home they purchased five years ago into its utter antithesis – a contemporary.
“Everybody wondered what we were doing when we bought this house,” he recalls, “but we had a vision of what it could be.”
Most homeowners are put out when a functional repair issue presents itself. For the Jarrards, however, functionality isn’t just something that services well, but something that serves your life as well.
With that in mind – and the exterior of their home and floor plan aside – nearly every nook and cranny of their home’s space has been transformed from the more commonly seen vitrine style holding place into a sleek and spare exhibit space. The work of Texas artists – paintings and blown glass – mingle with Eames chairs and other mid-century furnishings.
“I guess what started the whole thing was that we got that dining room table from an estate, and once that happened it was like: Roula, bar the door now; we can’t go back. So we just completely shifted directions and ripped everything out.
“We didn’t know what we wanted to do with the home. The previous owners wanted this to be a traditional home, but this is a ’60s contemporary house,” Vincent explains.
That’s an interesting distinction since most people associate the term contemporary, and rightfully so, with the present moment in time. In reality, though, most modern styles pay homage to an era past.
After being in the home for a while, the couple thought: Let’s do something more eclectic. Simply purchasing new furniture was in order, but contemporary homes are not distinguishable by their furnishings alone. Or, rather, the lack thereof.
“Our friends will come over and say: Where’s all your stuff?” Vincent says, smiling.
It really boils down to the argument of convenience versus clutter, where the modern space and furnishing is spare, simple and fully functional with sleek, strong lines, and accented by bold colors and shapes.
Although Vincent had been a student of architecture some years ago, some sort of reintroduction to the modern style had to take place.
“Magazines,” Roula says for her part in learning.
The couple sold some of their traditional furniture and kicked the rest of it to the curb…literally.
“We’d put a water heater out and say: ‘I wonder how long it’s going to last’ – 10 minutes,” they concur, laughing.
“People in the neighborhood would say: Oh, they’re at it again…Oh, they must be redoing the bathroom now because there’s the tub out on the curb.”
But for this energetic couple, who seem only marginally more along in age than their two teenage sons, planning and conceptualizing this home was as much about functionality and vitality in design as it was about those same aspects of life.
“I said to my wife: You know, this really is keeping us young and fresh, instead of just feeling like we’re settled into something,” Vincent says.
“But yet,” he pauses, “who knows? One day we may end up back in Lakewood in a Tudor.”
And Roula instantly seconds the idea: “And then we’ll get rid of all this!” she laughs.
“And then we’ll get rid of all this,” Vincent corroborates.
Not, however, before they finish Vincent’s office, re-do the backyard, install new tiles in the pool, build a new garage and throw the housewarming party their neighbors are dying to attend.
