Houston Heights couple's metal home is full of cool art

In the historic Heights, a 3,500-square-foot tin house shouldn't be too hard to spot, rising above the bungalows. Yet Sharon and William 'Dub' Bartlett's metal home on a quiet corner of Sunset Heights is surprisingly hard to spot, wrapped on the exterior by a bamboo fence and tall greenery.

Dub, a mechanical engineer, designs offshore drilling platforms for oil and gas companies. He drew up plans for the couple's unusual home 10 years ago.

"We lived in the Heights before in one of the old Victorians, and oh my God, they are so high maintenance. We loved the Heights and we wanted to stay, but we wanted to build a lower-maintenance home," said Sharon, an artist who specializes in assemblage works.

"There's such a large artist community here, my impression is that you can build either a new home that looks like it's old, or you can build something that's kind of artsy, so that's what we tried to do."

The Bartletts kept the house easy to care for with stained concrete floors, an open living space, exposed metal rafters and a tin exterior, while the layout is designed to respond to the couple's passions. The living space is open, with a loft bedroom and an open air office that serves as Sharon's art studio occupying the rim of the second floor and a raised platform with a piano that seems to float over the airy, two-story living room.

"Working in the oil and gas industry, Dub thought we should have a platform in the middle of the room," said Sharon.

A shady courtyard between the main house and garage holds Sharon's garden, another passion, as well as multiple seating areas, a water feature, a large metal sculpture by Houston artist Nic Noblique and statues depicting the Buddha and the Buddhist mercy goddess Guanyin, all of which combine to give the space a relaxing, Zen-like quality.

Original Article with Photo Gallery

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