Eddie Seal/Special to the Caller-Times

The cantera stone mantle, base and columns is a solid piece from Mexico, a major influence in the home’s decor. “We drove home very carefully with it,” Linda said. The couple laid the fireplace stone, grinding the rock into a powder to make the mortar blend with the cantera stone.

By Diane S. Morales, Caller-Times

June 18, 2006

Eddie Seal/Special to the Caller-Times

The office, family room and dining room all offer views of the Laguna Madre, the Peeples’ backyard. ‘After work, we’ll get a beer, sit on the deck, fish and watch the sun set,’ Wayne said. ‘We catch enough fish here without having to go out on the boat. If we do, it’s just for a change of pace,’ Linda said.

The world ends at Linda and Wayne Peeples’ house on Padre Island. At least that’s what their grandson Ryan implied when he heard his grandparents might move to Mexico someday.

“My grandson said ‘But I don’t want you to go’ and I asked ‘Why?’ He said ‘Because I don’t know where Mexico is,” Linda said, mimicking Ryan’s tearful plea. “He was four at the time.”

Retiring to Mexico is a ways off. The Peepleses have too many memories to make in their renovated home on Primavera with their five grandsons, who can’t get enough of grandma and grandpa’s waterfront playground.

Creating their playground was hardly fun and games. The couple practically gutted the nearly 3,000- square-foot, two-story house themselves, living in a 300-square-foot space with their German shepherd Grifford and Gracie, a Yorkie.

“It was quite cozy,” Linda said. “Very tight surroundings but we knew when we were finished it would be worth it.”

Eddie Seal/Special to the Caller-Times

The family room is part of the 300-square-foot space where the couple lived with their dogs during the renovations. ‘We had a microwave, a TV and a refrigerator. We breathed in a lot of sheet-rock dust,’ Linda said. But they always had a view to enjoy.

The couple, who own Peeples Construction, put their craftsmanship to work, building red oak cabinets, laying floor tile, cantera stone and talavera bath tile. Together the couple’s vision evolved into a Spanish Mediterranean hacienda floating on a fingertip lot. It gets better. The bountiful fishing off the deck at the couple’s Casa de Soñadores, or house of dreamers, is almost too good to be true.

“Don Quixote was a dreamer and so are we. We’re so blessed,” Linda said.

Vast views

Linda was familiar with the architectural lines of the two- bedroom, two-bath house and knew Wayne would fall in love with the view.

“I can walk into a house and just know what it needs. I just see it,” she said.

The couple has lived in island homes for quite some time, acquiring and remodeling houses. But they had never lived in a home during its renovation.

Eddie Seal/Special to the Caller-Times

A guest bedroom downstairs near the kitchen follows a western theme, a part of Linda’s childhood interest in cowboys and Indians and from growing up on a farm. Boots from friends became part of the décor. Linda refinished the iron bed and had a welder add the medallion. ‘It reminded me of my grandmother’s bed,’ she said.

For 18 months, the Peepleses slaved over their dream, dividing time between other renovation projects.

“In one way it was a terrible experience and in another way a great experience,” Wayne said. “It really makes you appreciate it.”

Past the front door, a sliding glass door shaded by an arbor with ferns, a potted orchid and other plants frames a view of the swimming pool. An antique iron daybed covered in a Mexican red bedspread across the glass door is Linda’s spot for watching her grandchildren in the pool.

Up a step is the living room where bone-colored ceramic tile with a dog-tooth pattern set diagonally with a tile baseboard establishes the couple’s skill and talent.

A brown leather sofa with decorative studs and a matching chair work with the rustic feel of the room. Wild game mounts of deer, nilgai, javelina and a moose from Wayne’s former days as an outfitter line the walls’ perimeter. From the living room, a slightly deeper shade of tan frames the windows overlooking the water in the dining and family rooms, adding depth to the spaces. The color values are Linda’s artistic touches.

Eddie Seal/Special to the Caller-Times

The master bath is an open space at the top of the stairs. Opposite this vanity is another vanity with talavera sinks. Linda and Wayne tiled the entire space and built the red oak cabinets.

Coming to life

Near the dining room is the family room where the grandkids watch TV alongside a view of the water and the JFK Causeway on the horizon.

The kitchen granite, master bath tile and talavera sinks either came from trips to Mexico or Laredo. A few glass kitchen cabinets repeated in the kitchen showcases Linda’s prized family china and red Hungarian crystal.

A walk up the ceramic floor staircase leads to a landing and nook at the top of the stairs. Wayne’s childhood books and some photos are displayed on an old trunk. Linda designed a compass star in a square for the floor tile in the nook.

But what captivates the scene is the loft design of the second floor with its multi-colored talavera bath tile exposed at the top of the stairs.

“I wanted liveliness, color upstairs,” Linda said. “People thought I was crazy wanting five different colors of tile for the bath.”

Eddie Seal/Special to the Caller-Times

Linda said her grandsons didn’t want her to move the lamp from the family room because they liked the color. The lamp’s orange and red colors mimic the sunset.

Next to the bath is the open master suite and an office space too with a daydreamer’s view of the water. Linda treated the office walls in a copper transparence with hints of brown, blue and purple that change with the sunlight.

Linda and Wayne have a few more projects planned for their home. That will happen all in good time for the couple whose dreams and grandsons makes their world go round.