Using Native Hill Country limestone, combined with Italian white marble and lava stone, a suburban Texas home expertly replicates the Italian countryside
Jack and Veronica Kelly of Boerne, TX, lived and worked in Italy for several years before settling in Cordillera Ranch, an 8,700-acre master-planned, gated residential community located north of San Antonio, TX. When envisioning their new home, they wanted it to be influenced by the experiences they so cherished during their many trips abroad. The 9,000-square-foot, four-bedroom, seven-bathroom Italian farmhouse, completed in July of 2013, sits on 18 acres and evokes visions of the Italian countryside. The couple managed material imports themselves, with the help and guidance of Piero Girodo of America Italiana. This included a 10-day shopping trip with the architect, Jim Calcara of 360 Architecture in Kansas City, MO, to purchase native materials. Additionally, they chose local fieldstone to create the Old World-style design they were seeking for their new home.
The homeowners’ dream was for the house to appear as though it were a Tuscan farmhouse built over 100 years ago. “For me, it was really about creating something that made me feel the way I felt when we spent time in Italy — a feeling of being at home, warm and comfortable, quieted and relaxed,” they explained. “And the materials, like the stone, were key to this.”