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A ceremonial skirt from the Sunda Islands depicting a mermaid, a wooden fish dangling above the kitchen bar and an Alaskan latch bowl resembling a crab reflect Murray’s love of the sea. ‘The bowl on top of the table just made sense to me because it’s fossilized limestone,’ she said.

By Diane S. Morales, Caller-Times

June 05, 2005

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Murray seeks colorful textiles on her travels around the globe. In the foyer, a wooden part of an Indian loom serves as a decorative hanger for a grain bag textile, a utilitarian piece of art, from Afghanistan. ‘I’m just fascinated people can do these things. We all have our gifts,’ Murray said..

Tucked in a corner among the Santa Fe Townhomes is a slice of the world traveled by a resident, whose fascination with color, cultures and the sea merge in harmony.

Lillian Murray, 61, a retired development officer who worked for a variety of non-profit agencies, moved into her townhouse about three years ago. It took seven months of renovations to convert the 2,300-square-foot home. A maze of walls and dark paneling was transformed into an open space fit for a trekker to live among eclectic sea-theme world objects her curious guests often question.

“They say ‘What is this?’ “ Murray said spreading her arms wide. “It’s just eclectic décor. It wasn’t something I set out to do. In every home I’ve had I enjoyed sharing treasures of the world because it’s who I am.”

Another part of Murray’s identity is her love for the water, which began as a young girl when she spent summers with her brothers learning to sail and participated in competitive and synchronized swimming.

“I just love the water. It must be the mermaid in me,” Murray said.

The mother of two has kayaked and scuba dived the Galapagos Islands, Greece’s coast and the Solomon Islands. She’s also climbed Mount Kilimanjaro, trekked Nepal, Africa, Turkey, Jordan, Ecuador, Thailand and a slew of other countries, toting back objects d’art that color her three bedroom, two and a half bath town home.

Murray credits interior designer and friend Susan Castor for overseeing much of the renovations while Murray was living and working in Austin. Together, the friends collaborated on selecting flooring, fabrics, a neutral wall color and layout of the open living space, which meant transforming five separate rooms downstairs into a free-flowing living, kitchen and dining areas, exuding a functional and casual atmosphere beginning at the entrance.

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Designer Susan Castor had a replica of an old bench custom-made for Murray. The designer reupholstered the bench cushion with a textile from the Sunda Islands, which is also the origin of the ceremonial skirt displayed above the bench.

A collage of cultures envelop visitors in the foyer. Haitian tin sculptures of a mermaid and a fish handcrafted from a drum lid draw the eye upward along the wall to the second floor. A wooden loom from India displays a colorful grain bag textile from Afghanistan with shades of teal, brown and burnt orange above a mantle propped by colorful wooden fish. On the opposite wall, a brown ceremonial skirt with a shell-patterned tribal mermaid was a souvenir from Murray’s trip to the Sunda Islands. Hair-braid strips of fabric from Ecuador hang on both sides of the skirt. The artful fabrics hang above a brown cabinet with hammered silver accents from Korea.

Past the entrance, visitors immediately enter the dining area, Murray’s favorite space, which she realizes has been the room visitors walk into in her past homes.

“It’s kind of a welcome. Welcome to my home and my table,” she said.

Murray waited patiently for four years for a solid piece of fossilized limestone from the Hill Country to be available as a dining table surface. Seashell fossil ridges and other undecipherable craters from sea creatures roughen the table.

Local designer Basilio Bachor created the table’s iron base and chairs. Colorful chair cushions in purple, fuchsia, red, teal and green brighten the limestone table, which weighs about 1,000 pounds.

“Once this table is in place, I don’t want to move it. It takes four men to move,” Murray said.

Next to the dining table is a granite kitchen bar with more seating space at the end.

“I love to cook,” Murray said. “And it’s great because my guests can participate or interact while I’m cooking. I can easily

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To celebrate her 50th birthday, Murray treated herself to a custom-made bronze cast table by Kathleen Coleman. ‘I wanted something to remind me of scuba diving in the Gulf of Mexico,’ Murray said. A Haitian centerpiece of mermaids completes the sea theme table

feed 16 people with the space.”

Murray can set up a portable table in the living area for extra guests and seat them at a glass top round table in another part of the living area.

Worldly textiles

Murray seeks out textile pieces on her travels and incorporates them in her décor, using them as table runners, hanging artwork or backdrops for holiday displays. She said she’s constantly amazed at the similarities of colors and patterns she sees among the textiles from different parts of the world.

On the other side of the living area is another sitting space where two teal-colored, oversized armchairs and a matching round ottoman mingle with the sea colors of the décor. A silk tie-dyed art piece of angel fish and other sea life swims on the wall above the teal chairs, while an acrylic painting “Water Lilies” by Betty Mobley in lavender, yellow and greens floats above the white brick fireplace.

Colors become earth tones

Murray’s 28-year-old blue and gold pet macaw, Inca, also adds color to the sitting area and occasional screeches from her black wrought iron cage. Back near the townhome entrance, a winding whitewashed wooden floor leads to the second floor where more

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Murray brought back a carved wooden fish from a business trip to Japan when she worked for the Texas State Aquarium. The fish hovers above the granite top kitchen bar.

textiles drape the staircase walls. In the master suite, color disappears in the neutral palette with a silk coverlet with an earth-toned weave reflecting Murray’s appreciation of textiles.

A wall of kallitype photos in sepia tones taken by Murray depicts outdoor scenes in Williamsburg, Pennsylvania, Santa Fe, New Mexico and the lighthouse in Port Aransas. Murray has plans in the works to visit Normandy, France this summer, then Israel and possibly Egypt next year. Although she has spent some time in Europe, she hasn’t spent an extended amount of time there.

“I’m saving England, Germany and Austria for my old age, when I can’t pedal or push there,” she said.