Although J. Long Builder, Inc. builds 35-40 custom homes a year, owner Johnnie Long had never entered a parade of homes until October 2000. It wasn't that he didn't see the value in participating, but because he typically builds in areas outside the larger cities where the parades are traditionally held. Long, who's been building since 1980, works in six counties north and west of San Antonio in an area known as Texas Hill Country. When Long learned a parade would be held in the New Braunfels area near San Antonio, he decided to enter the Tealwood Estate, #9162-33A-01.

"I was drawn to the design because of its simple beauty which blends well with the Greek revival style often done in the area," he comments. "The formal dining room, study and downstairs master suite make it an ideal home for retired couples, who make up a large part of our market. There's also a great area above the garage which could be finished into additional living space."

Working with his decorator, Long a gave the  home a vintage Tuscany look  with mottled stucco and an innovative product called Chateau Cool Stone™. "The latter is actually  a concrete product that was applied on the job by an  artisan trained in Europe, where the technique was developed to refurbish old  chateaus and castles," Long explains.

The same product was used in different patterns and textures throughout the  house: on various floors, around the fireplace, covering archways into the family room and dining room, on an enclosure  around the cook top and on the base of the eating bar in the kitchen.

Long brought a rich, nostalgic sense into every area of the home in a variety of  ways. In the study and dining room, he used antique heart pine flooring,  which he estimates is over 100 years old. The kitchen cabinets and the crown  molding in different rooms were painted in a white enamel and then covered  with an antique glazing. A similar process was applied to the wrought iron  railing in the entry. The dining room ceiling was covered with a wallpaper  product that looks like pressed tin once it is painted and glazed. Faux painting  in warm, dusty colors was applied to the walls of several rooms.

It would be an understatement to say the home was well received. It not only won the "People's Choice Award" in the parade, it was also featured in Country Lifestyle, a home magazine distributed throughout the 13 counties in the Texas Hill Country. By providing a concrete example of the quality and character of home his company is capable of producing, it has helped Long move into a higher price range of homes.

Epitomizing the Texas motto of doing things bigger and better, Long has developed a marketing brochure using pictures of his "vintage" Tealwood Estate and is launching a development with his look of "Texas Tuscan™" homes.

Originally Printed in "2002 SPEC BUILD" Magazine Published by Design Basics, Inc.