“Every elevation has some kind of exterior space,” explains owner/architect Diane Hays of her Spring Branch, Tex., home. “They double the size of the house.” Nearly 800 square feet of the architectural exterior is devoted to a casually formal outdoor dining hall with a mammoth stone fireplace that converts to a giant grill when custom stainless steel racks are inserted. Native Texas limestone forms landscape walls that define the area and also serve as grounding bookends for a contemporary house. The wall peaks above the fireplace at 18 feet, helping block fierce Western rays as the suns sets. Hays produced a floating effect for the deck by emphasizing the natural angle of the ground as the wood subtly morphs into stone. With their horizontally growing branches, mature live oak trees form a dense shade canopy. The room’s showpiece—a 12-foot-long, custom-made cypress table and bench set—rests on a bed of granite pebbles, contributing a change of texture and the pleasing sound of crunching footfalls. Builder: SK Quality Custom Builders, San Antonio; Architect: Diane Hays, Chumney and Associates and University of Texas, San Antonio.
Photographer: Leigh Christian.
