Eddie Seal/Caller-Times

The Hunt home sits on a one-acre lot surrounded by 300 acres of farmland that’s been in the family for about 50 years. Hunt stocks the pond with catfish, bass, minnows and sometimes a blue dye for an oasis effect.

By Diane S. Morales, Caller-Times

August 14, 2005

Eddie Seal/Caller-Times

Old and new objects decorate the two-way fireplace that faces the dining room. A violin hand-carved by Jeffrey Hunt’s grandfather leans on a corner of the hearth, while an abstract farm art piece hangs above the fireplace. Copper tile insets around the fireplace mimic the back-splash accents in the kitchen.

PORTLAND — The changing landscape of farming is a daily part of Kim Hunt’s life as manager of Hunt Farms’ 300 acres on Farm-to-Market 893. She and her 14-year-old son Cody’s home underwent some changes too, creating wide-open spaces inside to capture the expanse outside.

Hunt began remodeling portions of their 3,300-square-foot home in spring 2004 because the three bedroom home’s lack of style and space trapped it in a time warp.

“It had an ‘80s look. We had a formal dining room that we never used,” Kim Hunt said, “and I wanted to take out a wall that was constricting to open up the place.”

Tackling the wall removal was the hardest part of the remodeling process, Hunt said, despite also remodeling two of the home’s three baths, selecting interior paint colors and replacing the kitchen countertops.

“I didn’t want it to look like we removed a wall and just stuck some columns there,” Hunt said.

Hunt’s concern for a natural decorative transition was achieved with the help of interior designer Jean Marie Giegerich,of The Place of Houses in Corpus Christi.

Eddie Seal/Caller-Times

Hunt converted the seldom-used dining room into a game room where the classy ranch motif is emphasized with a cowhide bench, western leather upholstered stools and a bronco-riding cowboy image on the area rug.

Together, the women collaborated on paint colors, a leathery faux finish for the living room columns, artwork, accessories and other design details to achieve the home’s rustic motif.

“It’s an upscale ranch look that has a comfortable feel,” Giegerich said. “It has masculine traits, but with femininity — the curvature of the archways, the subtle veining in the faux finishing, furniture, the silk flowers.”

Kim Hunt said she learned everything she knows about farming cotton and sorghum from her late husband Jeffrey Hunt. Her no frills, no fuss decorating style combines the masculinity of a western motif with feminine touches of dried floral arrangements, family mementos and antique furniture.

Eddie Seal/Caller-Times

Hunt’s mixture of collectible and non-collectible glass bottles make peering through the kitchen bay window a colorful daydream.

“I’m not into chandeliers or anything. I wanted something comfortable, livable — a cabin look,” she said. “It’s traditional with a western flair.”

A step down the wheat colored tile floor into the living room sinks a set of taupe leather furniture dressed with decorative pewter studs. Oak paneled walls, crown molding and a custom-made entertainment center contrast against the cream painted walls.

Bare windows and a patio door send light flowing into the living area.

Eddie Seal/Caller-Times

Copper and earthy shades dominate the half bath near the kitchen.

“Now you can see all the way to the bay when you walk in the front door,” Hunt said. “I love to sit and watch the kayakers, boaters, and the water birds in our pond.”

A white brick two-way fireplace subtly divides the living room from the dining room and the kitchen. An oval wood dining table set near a trio of windows overlooks the bay. Hunt’s collection of old soda bottles in a crate near an antique buffet and a sewing machine decorate the dining room.

“We find them (bottles) out on the property or at my parents’ property in Weesatche,” she said.

Peanut shell shaded walls in the dining room spread into the kitchen where refinished oak floors, granite counters and a travertine back-splash with copper tile accents lighten the kitchen.

Behind the dining room, a pool table replaced a seldom-used formal dining area. Instead of pool hall décor, family history fills the space: a rusty hammer and handsaw that belonged to Jeffrey Hunt’s grandfather, a framed Caller-Times story from 1965, featuring the Hunt family crop dusting business, and a childhood photo of Hunt’s husband.

Sitting in the living room, Hunt peers out of the windows to soak in a view of the bay.

“The view is what we enjoy the most,” Hunt said. “There’s plenty of land to enjoy for my son and his friends.”