Eddie Seal/Special to the Caller-Times

Tucked around the staircase is a comfortable den equipped with a full wet bar. Red and gold tapestry accent chairs and matching sofa blend with the room's warmth. A window offers a view into the front courtyard.

By Diane S. Morales, Caller-Times

May 21, 2006

Eddie Seal/Special to the Caller-Times

Jones remodeled the fireplace, adding decorative woodwork above the mantle. The addition creates a perfect frame for her favorite watercolor art.

Muriel Jones lives for the moment. Always has and always will. She bought her Padre Island home on a whim in December 2003. A few weeks later she learned she had cancer.

Life has changed for Jones in many ways, but loving it hasn’t.

“This is just grammy’s house,” she said. “It’s a revolving door with kids and kinfolk. They call it ‘grammy’s swinging door.’”

Jones came upon the house on Primavera Drive when she accompanied daughter-in-law Roberta Soward on a house hunt. The two had seen the back of the house across a canal.

“Roberta just wanted to take a peek at it,” Jones said. “It was the nineteenth house we saw in two days. And once we walked in, I started placing furniture in my mind.”

Jones pointed to rooms and darted her eyes, demonstrating how her decorative mind works.. She claims no talent, but she used her love of decorating to incorporate furniture and accessories from her previous home in her new three-bedroom, four-bath place.

Eddie Seal/Special to the Caller-Times

The master bath is an elegant retreat with a delicate purple swag softening the ice block glass. Jones’ artist friend Virginia Plekosic, painted the seaside villa mural.

“I didn’t buy one new piece of furniture. I used it all,” Jones said proudly.

She also used visions of European trips to influence her décor. The home’s gentle Tuscan ambiance is reflected in the home’s art mixed in a traditional setting.

Jones was tickled to see a separate dining room in the house because it meant more space to handle her six grandkids, three sons and whoever else pops in for a visit.

Eddie Seal/Special to the Caller-Times

Sunlight from a window overlooking the courtyard casts an amber glow in the dining room, spotlighting the silver tea set on the sideboard.

Beige walls with oak wainscoting surrounds a polished wood dining table. An ornate gold-framed mirror above a sideboard reflects the silver tea set and accessories in the room.

“A lot of my pieces are from travels to Hong Kong, Holland and Europe, and a lot are from my great-great-grandmother, which would only be special to me,” Jones said.

Through an archway, the kitchen opens complete with a wet bar on one side and a breakfast bar overlooking the kitchen. Emerald green tile covers the oak counters and flows into the back-splash.

Light filters through windows in the kitchen and a glass door leadsto the covered patio.

Tireless views

Living by the water has been a soothing experience for Jones, who enjoys the canal view from her living room.

Eddie Seal/Special to the Caller-Times

A life preserver on Jones’ deck says it all when it comes to her grandkids. “I just love those stinkpots,” Jones said laughing. “And I have so much to teach them and stories to tell.”

“I love to watch TV and look out the window,” she said. “Hummingbirds have been coming around. I can watch them for hours. And I love to fish, too. All of my sons are fishermen.”

Jones extended the backyard deck, added another boat slip and built a kayak lift and a double jet-ski lift for her sons’ watercrafts.

On the patio, Jones arranged teak wood and wicker furniture for outdoor living spaces. Black and tan fabric with a fish pattern covers a sofa, while Jones’ favorite chaise is upholstered in a floral black and tan fabric. Matching wicker chairs with tropical patterned cushions offer another sitting spot for daydreaming by the canal.

To enliven a stark white fence, Jones’ artist friend Virginia Plekosic painted a mural of a seaside village complete with sailboats and a café table topped with a bottle of wine.

Art and family mix

Eddie Seal/Special to the Caller-Times

Escaping to a seaside villa is easy on Jones’ covered patio with a mural painted by artist friend Virginia Plekosic.

Back inside, Jones surrounds her favorite space with art and her collection of Lalique crystal and Cybis porcelain figurines.

A rust-colored ceiling interrupts the beige palette in the home just enough to give the living room a punch of color and interest with a tropical mural of palm fronds and draperies with tassels.

“Michael Lee Scott painted it freehand. He just stood on a ladder and painted from paper plates,” Jones said.

Jones mixes textures and styles with a red poppy print sofa, a burnt-orange leather accent chair and two celadonwingback chairs with an Asian-inspired black lacquer coffee table. Across from the sofa, a treasured watercolor by artist friend Irene V. Fuentez graces the marble tiled fireplace. The artist recreated a waterfront village scene from photos Jones took on a trip to Sorrento, Italy.

“It’s every color I imagined. It’s my favorite,” Jones said.

Up the oak staircase, family photos remind her of fond memories. A balcony overlooking the living room breaks the landing between the master suite and guest bedrooms.

In the master suite, purple chenille bedding and iridescent purple taffeta pillows adorn a wood-frame bed. Jones’ Yorkshire Terrier, Tess, sleeps in comfort on a matching chenille doggie bed at the foot of Jones’ bed.

“I tell you, she’s right up there with my grandchildren,” Jones said laughing.

When the sun sets, Jones sometimes takes in the view from her bedroom balcony, watching the sun sink between the houses at the end of the canal.

“It’s just a big house for everyone to enjoy,” she said.

And who wouldn’t, when grammy’s door is always open.