TEXARKANA MONTHLY
A tour of Bryan Callaway’s recently remodeled home is truly a reflection of his personal style. It is filled with pieces that are new and old. Some have been collected over the years, some given to him by past clients, and others were purchased through his business, Merchant House Interiors. Even with its modern nod, there is a welcoming warmth to the space and the feeling of a story ready to unfold. The structure Callaway remodeled is not a typical house; his best guess is that it was actually built in the 1940s or 50s as a duplex with a communal kitchen and central staircase. Each original unit sat atop a garage bay. At some point, a previous homeowner attempted to reconfigure the space into a single-family residence by taking in one of the bays and opening the upstairs a little. He said the original structure was so unsightly that when he purchased the property Merchant House sits on, his plan was to separate the house and sell it to someone else who might want to give it a facelift. Callaway said, “I tried to sell it off to someone that would want to do this to it, but the city wouldn’t let me because this garage in the back shares a wall with Merchant House.” Knowing this, he started brainstorming ways he could utilize
the building. It had seen a lot of abuse and not much love in recent years, but Callaway ultimately decided he was ready to turn it into his personal residence. It took him about a year to renovate the structure, which received a complete interior and exterior facelift. The outside of the house now boasts clean white stucco, large windows and a metal awning with wood accents over the front door. Callaway also insisted the beautiful large tree in the front needed to stay, despite many friends and the contractor trying to convince him to take it down. As a landscaper, he appreciates the beauty, shade and aesthetics the tree adds to both the building and the overall feel of the neighborhood. He also realized that keeping the tree would help the house maintain a more residential feel, so instead of taking it down, he added a large deck and Colorado river rock around the base of the tree. To soften the exterior even more, he has two beautiful potted olive trees flanking the front door and plans to add flower boxes to the deck railing. Inside you will find a mix of textures and subtle pops of color. A dark blue sofa invites you into the sun-filled living room, the heart of the open concept downstairs. This area is open to the kitchen and also the relocated stairway which leads you to the second floor. The house originally had
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LIFE & STYLE
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