Eddie Seal/Caller-Times

Glenda Webb said a touch of antiques make a home. In the entry way she combines a leaf table on rollers and a sideboard to blend with the wall of family photos, a project she recently completed. “I’m so proud of it because it’s history,” she said.

By Diane S. Morales, Caller-Times

June 12, 2005

Eddie Seal/Caller-Times

On a wall near the French doors, Glenda Webb arranged some cowboy hats, antique branding irons and a King Ranch scarf for a decorative ranching motif.

KINGSVILLE — A South Texas ranch look. That’s what Glenda and Bill Webb set out to achieve when they built their home 36 years ago.

“We got the look we wanted and still love it after all these years,” Glenda Webb said.

Married for 48 years, the Kingsville couple raised three children in their Jay Vee Avenue home, where lazy mesquite trees sprawl across the front yard of the one-acre lot the Webbs cleared themselves when they bought the property.

“It was solid cactus,” Glenda Webb said.

The 4,000-square-foot Mexican brick home, with its Spanish tile roof trim, arched entry with a black wrought iron gate, stucco chimney and weathered wagon wheel yard art, shapes the ranch retreat.

Through the hand-carved Mexican doors, guests step into the “Webbs’ Wildhorse Desert” home, a moniker Glenda Webb took from the area’s history of wild horses roaming the land.

Eddie Seal/Caller-Times

If these pecky cypress wood walls could talk, they might chuckle when Glenda Webb and her brother-in-law Darwin Marek balanced on a scaffold to stain the wood. “We had bees after us,” she laughed.

Rich, masculine earth tones dominate the entry furnished with modern and antique wood, setting the tone for the rest of the home.

“My whole house is masculine with a feminine touch,” Glenda Webb said. “I love wood and deer horns as accent pieces, antiques, and Mexican culture.”

In the center of the entry room, two chenille armchairs flank a square antique table with a Mexican custom-made deer-horn chandelier dangling above it. A hand-carved dark wood buffet from Mexico lines a brick wall on the left, while an antique buffet set between two French doors displays young photos of the Webbs taken in Las Vegas.

“That’s the queen and king of the palace,” Glenda Webb said.

Rich sable-colored tile flooring from D’Hanis leads to the living room where plush tan chenille sofas and neutral geometric patterned fabrics add texture to the wood-laden furnishings.

Mixing styles

Glenda Webb, who majored in business and interior design, enjoys mixing prints of fabrics, the old worlds of antiques and Mexican craftsmanship to create South Texas casual living.

Eddie Seal/Caller-Times

The fallow deer antlers, gifts from Glenda Webb’s friends, mix with elk and deer antlers on this mirror displayed above a handmade Mexican desk in the living room. “I’ve collected horns for years because my dad collected them and arrow heads too, so I have a lot from his collection,” Glenda Webb said.

“You have to be a little daring to mix prints. And as long as you use the same colors in geometric patterns, it works,” Glenda Webb said. “But you know what, do what you like because that’s what it’s all about.”

And what Glenda Webb likes is a lot of old Mexico mingled with sentimental family heirlooms and images of the ranching life.

Across the sofa, an arched Mexican brick fireplace, Bill Webb’s idea, mimics the home’s entry. More deer antlers accent the room, propped around the fireplace and atop the square coffee table.

Learning the craft

Bill Webb, a retired electrical engineer, homebuilder and oil service businessman, learned the homebuilding craft from his father. Bill Webb’s eye for design is evident in the fireplace mantel he crafted, which includes a large, wood-framed mirror hanging above it.

“He copied it from an antiques magazine when we were young,” Glenda Webb said. “I’m very proud of it and I’ll never move it.”

Another prized possession is a leather-seated rocking chair that belonged to Glenda Webb’s grandfather. The 150-year old sturdy dark wooden chair blends with the Mexican hand-carved dining table that seats four.

“The reason I’ve incorporated Mexican culture in my home is they still do things by hand,” Glenda Webb said. “I think that’s been lost in the U.S.”

Two-story Den

On the other side of the entry, distressed pecky cypress wood lines two walls from the floor to the ceiling, with the cypress wood accenting a small bar near the breakfast table. A wrought iron stairwell, also custom made, leads to their two sons’ old bedroom, now a place for their visiting five grandchildren.

Eddie Seal/Caller-Times

The Webbs often cool off in their kidney-shaped swimming pool after spending some time gardening in the backyard.

At the foot of the stairs, a formal dining room with amber velvet upholstered chairs and dainty cut crystals adorn a wood and wrought iron chandelier.

After running a restaurant for six years and a gift shop for 20 years, the Webbs are ready to spend their days gardening in the backyard, lounging poolside and spending time with family and friends.

“We’re tired. We’ve worked so hard and now we want to play,” Glenda Webb said.

The Webbs tend to their pink crown of thorns, yellow and peach bougainvilleas, rock lilies and other plants, while red umbrellas shading patio tables add another splash of color to the yard’s decor.

Bill said he enjoys listening to the bubbling swimming pool and watching birds while he sits under the covered patio.

“We get a lot of gratification looking at our home and saying, ‘Hey, look what we did,’” Glenda Webb said. “It makes a big difference when your blood, sweat and tears are part of your home.”