landscaped steps now lead from the house to the lawn. The reception and dining rooms in the Wiess President’s House also harken back to Watkin’s original design. This is the space that Lindeberg reconstructed as a large dining area and cloakroom when the Wiess’s started to entertain more. The renovation reestablished a smaller dining room, but during a large event, it can open into the reception room, which can be set up with tables. For even larger events, additional tables can be situated in the hall that extends in front of the reception and dining rooms. The sparsely furnished reception room is a favorite of Jamail, who was a longtime friend of Caroline Wiess Law, one of Harry and Olga Wiess’s daughters. “I love the idea of a big, open room. It will be a wonderful area for entertaining.” Lindeberg’s work still can be seen in the two-story addition he built in 1926. The living room of this wing, which sits lower than the rest of the first floor, had suffered water damage, and the original wood floors could not be saved. Practicality dictated that another surface be used instead of hard wood, so today the room boasts beautiful travertine marble floors. Elsewhere in the house, though, about two-thirds of the wood floors are original to the home, Buchanan notes. Adjacent to the living room is the library, whose wood-paneled walls and bookcases were restored along with a marble mantle. An ornate, hand-carved wood mantle in the dining room also was restored. The second floor of the Wiess President’s House is every bit as spectacular as the first. The master bedroom added by Lindeberg is now being used for guests of the president. The suite—which consists of a smaller “flex” room, a large bathroom, and the bedroom—offers many original features, including the bathroom sinks, shower, and tub, as well as beautiful parquet floors. “It’s a fantastic room,” says Neuhaus, “and in our minds, it could very well be used as the master suite. Guests will be delighted to stay there.” A new master suite is located at the north end of the home, which offers more privacy. It has been outfitted with all the conveniences of the modern home, including his-and-hers bathrooms and closets that, while not enormous, still offer more space than what would normally be seen in an older home. There are two smaller bedrooms, an office, and an enclosed sunroom upstairs. Originally, there was a third small bedroom; however, it was sacrificed for modern bathrooms. The family space upstairs can be closed off from the second-floor
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landing and a public-area bathroom. Of the three primary architects who designed elements of the home, John Staub—perhaps the most famous of the trio—is least represented in the restoration. That’s because the wing that Staub designed on the northwest corner of the house had termite damage and had to be demolished. But this wing still served a significant purpose, Neuhaus explains. It was used as the blueprint for the new wing that includes an informal kitchen and living room downstairs, which can be completely shut off from the first-floor public space. A back staircase leads from the informal living room, giving the president’s family private access to their upstairs space. With closets that lead from one room to the next on the second floor, an elevator, and plenty of nooks and crannies, the house will be fun to explore, says LouAnn Risseeuw, Rice project manager for interiors. “I think it’s going to be a wonderful house to live in. It has the right balance of family and public space.” Jamail describes the house as “elegant but understated.” “I think the house always had that quality about it,” she says. “That’s the look we were trying to return to through this renovation, and I think we achieved it.” Her friend Caroline Wiess Law, who passed away before the renovation was complete, would be pleased with the home, Jamail says. Law, known for her contributions to the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, had a sense of humor about the house. “You’d have to know Caroline; she was a funny person,” Jamail recalls. “She joked to me, ‘That’s the ugliest house in Houston. I don’t know why Mama and Daddy gave it to Rice.’ But I could see that she really wanted the house redone.” Jamail gives credit to the team that worked on the project, including facilities and engineering staff, particularly Barbara White Bryson, associate vice president of facilities, engineering, and planning; Neuhaus; interior designer Herb Wells of Wells Design/Jerry Jeanmard, Inc.; contractor W. S. Bellows; and landscape architect Scott Slaney of the SWA Group. The project was funded through donations by the families of Caroline Wiess Law and Margaret Wiess Elkins, another of the three daughters, by Lee Jamail and her husband, Joe, and by the Houston Endowment Inc.