106-year-old house is home for the Burchs

By Dawn Burleigh / Dawn Burleigh

BURCH TURNS ANOTHER HOUSE INTO A HOME By Dawn Burleigh Photos by Dawn Burleigh

SAn Edwardian style house is described as cheerful, elegant, fresh and light while being wider and roomy with bigger hallways and more windows than a Victorian style house. A Prairie Style architecture has more emphasis on the horizontal than the vertical. Paul and Raul Burch’s home is a blend of Edwardian and Prairie Style making it a unique step back into time when you enter the house.

It was built in 1916, making it 106 years old. With antiques gracing each room, on can step back into another era while still feeling like they are visiting dear friend. A dining room has a table with hand carved faces along the edges and a cabinet which was in a plantation in New Orleans. “We found it at an estate sale in Scott, Louisiana,” Paul said referring to a lamp in the room.

Paul, who is known for buying and flipping houses, said this is the last one. Friends would joke that he was beatifying Orange, one house at a time.

As one enters the backyard, they notice the fragrance of floral while observing the temperature change as the tall greenery helps drop a few degrees. One observed they could almost forget they were in the city.

He once lived in the house across the street from this one. Seven years earlier, he and Raul were married there.

“We were not moving again,” Paul said. “But then we heard this house was for sale.”

The house was previously owned by Ebb and Kim Moore.

While they owned it, they restored it and added a porch, a building and a pool. As one enters the backyard, they notice the fragrance of floral while observing the temperature change as the tall greenery helps drop a few degrees. One observed they could almost forget they were in the city. Paul has a passion for antiques, and it shows in the décor. Each room, while unique in their own, show another side of Burch’s personality and brings it all together in one showcase A bedroom on the second floor displays a bed with European carvings. “We were told it was from a most prominent in Galveston,” Paul said. “It is not conformed, but we are thinking it may be from the Bishop’s Palace from the 1800’s.”

Downstairs is a crucifix and the Virgin Mary hanging on the wall. “They came from a farm in Iowa,” Paul said. “They are over 100 years old. A friend gifted them to me.” In another room is an image of Lady of Guadeloupe. “She is the Virgin Mother of Mexico,” Paul said.

From unique railings on the staircase to a hidden vent a hood, the house is a spectacular blend of old and new without compromising either era.