Before & After: A Houston Photographer Casts New Light on a Historic Craftsman

For years, photographer Divya Pande and physician Nakul Gupta would take walks in the Montrose neighborhood of Houston, admiring the historic homes in Avondale Place, one of the few remaining historic districts adjacent to Houston’s city center. Among the Tudor revival, Prairie, and American four square homes, a seafoam-green Craftsman caught their eye every time. "We always said that property in particular would be our dream house," recalls Divya.

In 2019, Nakul was casually browsing a local real estate site, and he was thrilled to discover the home listed for sale. However, his excitement deflated when he realized it was listed as a package with three neighboring properties, all being sold as investment rentals. "We thought, we owe it to ourselves to at least inquire. Maybe they’d be willing to sell the home separately," recalls Nakul. After writing a heartfelt letter to the listing agent, the couple were able to walk the property, which had been converted to multifamily rentals over the years and needed a full gut renovation. "After some back and forth, eventually the listing agent convinced the seller to split up the houses and sell us this one off the end," says Nakul.

The journey really began once Divya and Nakul got the keys. They enlisted the help of their friend, Heather Rowell, whom Divya first met when they were in architecture school together at Rice University. Together with fellow cofounder Eric Hughes of Houston-based HR Design Department, Rowell began to draw up a plan. "Of course we said yes to taking on the project, even though it was in disrepair," recalls Rowell. "Divya has an architectural background and great taste, so we knew she would have a good grasp of what would improve the house."

Before: Entrance

Soon, Divya and Nakul discovered they had acquired a home rich with history. "The house was inhabited by Ross Sterling, former governor of Texas and founder of Humble Oil, which is now Exxon," explains Rowell. Inside, it was a different story. "There was no electricity, and it was completely boarded up—it was a real rabbit warren," says Divya.

Because all the historic interior elements had already been altered or removed before the couple bought the house, they had a clean slate to modify the spaces as they saw fit. Outside, neighborhood historic requirements meant they were obliged to keep the home’s profile, so Rowell and Hughes sought to bring it back to its original proportions and materiality.

After: Entrance