NATURAL WONDER

Drawing inspiration from local flora and fauna, Virginia Tupker gives a historic Houston house an enchanting makeover

- KATHRYN O'SHEA-EVANS

SQUIRRELS ARE AN UNLIKELY HERO IN any decorating story, but in this Houston home, they fluffy of tail, sprightly of character-were heroes nonetheless.

"The clients love nature, and the clients also especially love squirrels," says their designer, Virginia Tupker.

That's a playful turn for this pedigreed property in Houston's leafy River Oaks neighborhood. The late-1930s house was designed by Birdsall P. Briscoe, among the architects whose work helped usher the city from its modest roots into an era of unchecked grandeur (the oil boomtown was among the few US cities to find a foothold during the Great Depression).

Today, this home's traditional architecture could perhaps read as a bit stuffy, and that's where the squirrels came in. They now appear crawling amid other woodland creatures up the walls and ceiling of their powder-room vestibule via a grid of antique Audubon prints, all carefully arranged with art consultant Illa Gaunt ("I just adore those little zany creatures!" the homeowner says). "From the outside you think you know what it will hold inside," Tupker says of the gracious façade. "But in fact, this house is full of surprises." Indeed the home now has aesthetic charms tucked away like acorns for winter. "One of the great things about Virginia is that while she has a serious eye and a serious knowledge of historical design, and she is very sophisticated in her application of everything, she also is very open to fun and whimsy," says the homeowner.