When the Sirens sang their song to Lisa Pennington and David Furlow, the strong lure of the Wimberley Valley was hard to resist. Lisa says her neighbor puts it best, "Wimberley just calls to you."
Having been introduced to this valley several years before by old college friends, the call for David and Lisa came at 3:30 p.m. one day in June, 2012, when an e-mail alert came across Lisa's computer showcasing a home that just came on the market.
Approximately an hour later, after making arrangements with a realtor to see the house that same evening, they were heading west on I10. The next morning their offer was in the sellers' hands. "This isn't us," Lisa says, "We normally don't make decisions like this so quickly. And this house is so different from our home in Houston. We love it."
What David loved best was the outdoor patio and the view it afforded. It is not often that you can look down your ninety foot cliff and see the Blanco River being gently rippled by the wind, and then look up and have a sweeping view of the valley and hills all the way to Winters Mill Parkway and beyond.
Unable to yet call their house in Wimberley their permanent home, David and his wife spend as many weekends as possible at the "river house." Their ten year old son even created a work of river appropriate art -look twice you won't believe it is the work of one so young-that is proudly displayed in the hall bath close to his Texas themed bedroom.
World travelers, lawyers, writers and avid historians, this retreat displays the couple's love of books, art, international mementos and nature's treasures; evidenced the moment you walk through the front door and are greeted by a huge basket of fossils that David and his son collected on their property.
Walk around the soaring display piece dividing the entranceway from the library and absorb the world of centuries past with further mementos from their travels as well as a bas-relief-originally belonging to Lisa's parents-of the heads of seven famous men from the ancient world. Often referred to as America's Birth Certificate, on another wall is a copy of a 1507 World Map which shows America as a continent and separate land mass for the first time. When David and Lisa saw this map not long after hearing about it, they knew it needed to part of their collection.
Leaving the library you enter a colorful world of painted walls, punctuated with splashes of even more brilliant color from paintings by local artists as well as pieces the couple found at art shows in Houston. It is a whirlwind of greens and blues and golds and fuchsias and turquoise and orange and yellows; all of it grounded by richly stained cement floors, cool Texas limestone, warm leathers, the patina of old wood, and-viewed through a wall of tall glass doors-the serenity of the river and hills beyond.
The Indian-Mexican-Texican vibe carried throughout the open concept living area is left behind when you enter the understated master suite and feel the tranquility of less is more. The restfulness of deep gray-green walls is punctuated with touches of soft lavender, bright white and shimmering silver in architectural moldings, bedding and accessories. All of this is tied together by a lovely triptych photograph of feathery lavender fields in Provence. The wall opposite leads to the master bath and the utter luxury of a picture window-directly above the tub- looking out on natures wonders below.
With one foot still in Houston and their hearts and hands reaching for Wimberley-the river, the valley and the hills just a breath away-Lisa and David look forward to the day when they can answer Wimberley's call forever and say, "We are home."
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