Photo: For their Houston home, the Stewarts wanted to replicate the villas they had fallen in love with in Tuscany with a modern twist.

Houston’s Craig and Dana Stewart strike a balance between city and country living maintaining a home in city, growing a booming lavender farm in Buckhorn, and changing the Texas landscape.

Photography by Craig Stewart

If the things you love as a child are any indication of what you’ll do when you grow up, then Craig Stewart has stayed true to his destiny. From a very early age, this Houston native has always loved finding artistic ways to “show and tell.” As a teenager he was inspired by art and photography constantly driven to share his creations with friends and in competitions. His passion for showing his world to people through his perspective naturally progressed into a full time career in advertising photography—one that enjoyed great success for more than 25 years. It was a life that allowed Craig and his wife, Dana, to travel the world, raise their two daughters to appreciate the arts, and propel Dana in her career in education and music.

Just as the two enjoyed following their passions in their careers, they also loved expressing their creativity through their home. In 1996, they purchased a corner lot in the Old Braeswood area of Houston to build a home that would reflect their style. Craig took a collection of images he had shot while in Tuscany to the architectural team of Walter Murphy and Kirby Mears in hopes of recreating a modern version of the villas he and Dana had fallen in love with in Tuscany. The corner lot had an odd shape compared to many of the lots in the neighborhood. Its narrow front side extended back into a long, triangular shape as it progressed. It was an architectural challenge that the creative minds of Stewart, Mears, and Murphy were thrilled to conquer.

The large living room of the couple's Houston home features large windows to show off the views of downtown Houston.

The home opens with a narrow, Italian-style tower at the entry and extends back into a wider angled shape. To the right are a fenced courtyard with lush landscaping and a swimming pool. While the exterior of the home has a traditional Italian feel with its earth-toned stucco walls and black iron accents, the interior layout breaks from tradition. The Stewarts flipped the typical layout of a multi-level home making the second floor the main living area with the kitchen, dining room, and living room, while the first floor was designed as a living space for their daughters. The downstairs became the designated spot for kids and recreation with concrete floors so their daughters and friends could come in wet from the pool and not have to worry about messing up the area, as well as a full entertainment system with a mini-fridge and microwave, and a big, plush black leather sectional couch.

“We’ve had 16 kids sacked out on this floor watching movies and eating popcorn,” says Stewart who believes that offering a safe, fun environment for their daughters and their friends allowed he and his wife to stay involved with them while they were growing up. “We made it so you really couldn’t destroy anything down there.”

One of the Houston home's several bedrooms exhibits the overall mix of the home - classic Italian, Old English, hints of artistic accents, as well as some modern lines.

The second floor was designed for more adult living and entertainment with a large living room, a guest room with full bathroom, an open kitchen and a formal dining room all with ample large windows to show off the views of downtown Houston. Finally, the Stewarts carved out a space just for the two of them in a third-floor tower complete with an expansive master room, master bathroom, a small office, and a quaint outside patio where the two often share breakfast and dinner together.

“The last thing I wanted to do for our daily living was look out of our home onto a boring street level,” says Craig. “Creating a view was extremely important to us. From the second floor, you can see downtown and the treetops of the neighborhood.”

The overall style of the home is a balanced mix of contemporary, classic Italian, and Old English with hints of artistic accents that reflect their life together including a hand-carved contemporary glass dining room table from a former client; antique English furnishings from Dana’s mother who used to own an English antique store; and an entire entry room designed in the form of a tower from San Gimignano with a spiral staircase that displays a gallery of black and white photos of Tuscany. For more than 13 years, the Stewarts have watched their daughters grow up in this house and move on to careers outside of Texas. And while they love their artistic urban refuge, Craig admits his creative inspirations have been pulling him elsewhere.

The three-bedroom, two-bath farmhouse was completely remodeled to resemble a quaint English country cottage.

Enter a charming, 65-acre ranchette near the town of Buckhorn in Austin County. In 2001, Craig and his father-in-law stumbled upon the property with a realtor when looking for a place for family weekend getaways. The two partnered in purchasing the acreage, which featured rolling grassland, two ponds, a large barn, a swimming pool, and a quaint 3-bed, 2-bath two-story farmhouse.

The entire house was remodeled inside to resemble a quaint English country cottage with wide wood-paneled wainscoting painted a rich earthy mauve against cream-colored matte walls and dark wood English antique furniture throughout. Downstairs, a simple, small kitchen spills out onto an intimate living room with overstuffed chairs and a wood-burning stove. The master bedroom is a quiet, cozy room with a king-sized bed dressed in plush cottage-comfort bedding and a single antique dresser.

The front porch of the farmhouse runs the length of the house and provides a shady spot to sit down after a long day, have a cold drink, and enjoy the breeze.

Upstairs are two guest bedrooms, one with a snug queen-sized bed with plush country-style bedding, the other with two petite twin beds with iron framing and classic quilted bedding. Between the two bedrooms is an open sitting room with an inviting dark-wood sleigh bed for extra sleeping space and a bay window nook overlooking the rolling fields at the back of the property. At first, it was simply a place to get away. Both Craig and Dana’s jobs were grounded in Houston, though at the time, the advertising market was beginning to wane. “Dana and I were maybe coming out three times a month,” says Stewart. “But then it turned into every weekend. As my photography business began to wind down, I began to feel like I needed to make this property work for our benefit.”

In 2007, Stewart began toying with the notion of starting a lavender farm. “The idea was inspired by our travels to Provence,” says Stewart. “I wanted to see if growing lavender was something I could do to make money.” He tested the soil in his two hay fields through Texas A & M University and began taking classes on growing lavender and planted 600 plants to test in two different fields.

Inspired by his travels to Provence, Stewart turned his ranchette into a lavender farm with a line of specialty handmade lavender products, Lavande.

After a little more than a year of testing and countless hours of market research, Stewart created Lavande, a lavender farm with a line of specialty hand-made lavender products including tea, candles, soaps, and culinary products. In the spring of 2009, Stewart added 3200 plants to his front field along with 150 olive tress—he’s also hoping to plant a vineyard to complete an authentic Provencal look.

Weekend trips for the couple have now turned into three to four days at the farm during the week for Craig and Wednesdays and Saturdays in Houston for three of the city’s most prestigious farmer’s markets to sell Lavande products.

“Never in my life would I have dreamed of being a farmer,” says Craig. “The whole thing has evolved at an amazing pace. We have people of all ages who want to come out and experience the farm in person. That is definitely the direction we’re taking it now: agri-tourism.”

In the coming year, Stewart will welcome organized bus trips, primary school field trips, chefs and diners for special dinners in the field, and, of course, anyone interested in simply experiencing the beauty of a country lavender farm. With the addition of a new pavilion in the lavender field, the Stewarts can sell lavender products, offer refreshments of lavender desserts, tea and lemonade and host special events in this idyllic setting.

The Stewart's Houston home may have fantastic Houston views, but the lavender farm offers spectacular Texas sunsets over a vast and open landscape.

Despite his increased attention to life on the farm, he and Dana are committed to splitting their time between both the city and the country. It’s a balance the two have struck in order to keep both of their careers thriving. “I would be a fool to try to pull Dana out of what she loves. And vice versa,” says Craig. “We want both of our passions to be fulfilled. So we make this work.” What started as a simple weekend getaway property has turned into an entire life change for the Stewarts, whose continued momentum is motivated by the excitement they receive from a growing list of customers.

“What I’m doing now is leaving something that people can enjoy,” says Craig. “When you drive through the roads of Southern France, you see the 40-foot poplars and rows upon rows of vineyards, olive orchards, and lavender and you think, wow – someone was really thinking. That’s what I want to do with Lavande – 
create something that people can enjoy for many years.” TH&L