When a retired couple moved to a new Texas home, they gave free rein to design advisor Tanner Dipple of Adobe Interiors to choose the rugged-yet-refined decor.
While horses and private river access are the main attraction for most of the high-profile residents of Silverado on the Brazos, it was horned frogs that drew Carolyn and Craig Carter to the gated development located just outside of Weatherford, Texas. "Our oldest daughter was at TCU", Carter explains. "We are retired, so we'd come up to see her from South Padre, and, honestly, I got tired of renting rooms at the Omni."
Because the couple wanted proximity to Fort Worth but didn't want to be in the city proper, they headed west into the country. Here, amid low rolling hills spotted with live oaks, next to the Brazos River — from the original name given by early Spanish explorers, Río de los Brazos de Dios, "The River of the Arms of God" — the streets have names like Silver Saddle Circle and Silverado Drive, and the tony homes have outbuildings filled with pickup trucks, boats, and horse trailers.
"We drove through the front gate at Silverado and ended up buying the first home we came up to," Carter says, acknowledging it would be a long while before they began hanging their hats there. "We owned it for two years before we spent a single night in the house," he says with a laugh. "We were coming and going, traveling, having it remodeled. Our home in South Texas was 10,000 square feet, and this one was 3,100, so when we bought it, we weren't thinking we'd live here full time."
Then two things happened — the Carters' younger daughter broke the news that she, too, wanted to live in North Texas, and a gorgeous plot that Carolyn had her eye on came available. "The rest is history. We bought it and started fencing and clearing the land; we dug a pond and built a guest house on the back end," Carter says. When it came time to design the 4,750-square-foot primary home, he put pencil to paper and then hired Ro Kellar from Bedrock Homes to make his vision a reality. "Even though we immediately hit it off, I had to convince him to build the house. He thought I was going to be picky, but while I'm a perfectionist, I'm pretty easy to work with," Carter says. "In spite of COVID, it wasn't a bad build. Carolyn and I lived in the guest house during construction."
Furnishing the house was a breeze thanks to the Carters' secret weapon: Tanner Dipple of Fort Worth's Adobe Interiors. They loved what he had put together for their first home, so they gave him carte blanche on the second. "This house has a modern rustic feel, so we started from scratch with everything — art, rugs, and all the accessories," Dipple says. "I love going in and building the room around core pieces like leather sofas, classic chairs, and recliners. We kept the palette very neutral and brought in pops of color with throws and accent pillows, which can be changed over time, but the statement pieces are made to outlive us all."
That sense of permanence suits the couple just fine. Craig is now the president of the Silverado HOA, and he says he can't imagine living anywhere else. "Carolyn and I have been married 33 years this September, and we have lived in 19 different homes — we built a dozen of them. So far, this is the only one that I have no changes." His contentment goes beyond the confinement of his property line. "Our home is about two and a half miles from the front gate, and there’s not a house I wouldn’t feel comfortable stopping by if I needed a glass of tea."
