To “update and clarify” a 1961 house in Houston, architect Ray Booth of McAlpine and Elizabeth Kennedy balanced the original aesthetic with a contemporary point of view. Booth tweaked the ’60s white-brick facade with new vertical shutters and added a steel-gated front door and custom lantern. In the foyer, an antique bench sits against a custom screen painted in Benjamin Moore’s Briarwood.

Booth established the new openness of the house in the foyer, where he updated the original window and removed carpeted treads and risers from the steel staircase, replacing them with stone “floaters.” The bench and Chippendale-style chair came from the client’s previous home.

The dining room table is by Bradley, and the McAlpine for Lee Industries chairs are covered in a Rogers & Goffigon linen blend. The curtains are in a Holly Hunt fabric.

Room-height paneled doors slide open to reveal the espresso station and china cabinets.

“The challenge in the master bathroom was using every available inch of space,” says Booth, who under-mounted twin Kathryn sinks from Kohler. The faucets are from Kallista and the custom mirrors are by McAlpine.