Louis Lambert Creates a Nostalgic Urban Oasis

It’s difficult to know where to begin with Louis Lambert — Culinary Institute of America-trained chef, cookbook author, restaurateur, builder, designer, tinkerer. Then there are the collaborations with his sister Liz, owner of the uber-chic Hotel San Jose and Hotel Saint Cecilia on South Congress in Austin and Hotel Havana in San Antonio.

I suppose the Louis Lambert story begins with Texas roots that span generations. And the influences are as large and varied as Texas itself, from the big skies of  West Texas to the salty marshes of Port Arthur. His signature “haute cowboy” cuisine derives from the family ranch near Odessa and its cook, Lalo. His aesthetic style contains a nostalgia for the fishing cabins on the Texas Coast, home of his paternal grandparents.  A stint in Austin as founder and chef for Lambert’s Downtown Barbecue, among other endeavors, reinforced a relaxed outdoorsy tendency in style.

In 2006, Lambert moved to Fort Worth where he opened Dutch’s Hamburgers across from TCU, deemed one of the best burger eateries in Texas. Deeply missed are the legendary steaks served at his White Settlement Road restaurant, Lambert’s, which closed in 2012. Whatever Louis Lambert turns his hand to, it’s certain to be fascinating and original. He is in that rare category of beings who improve the environments they inhabit.

It therefore comes as no surprise that a house of Lambert’s design would be sui generis. Louis had coveted the acreage along the banks of the Trinity and got his opportunity when friend Bill Bostlemann bought the tract for the new location of his home and shop, Flowers on the Square. Bostlemann needed the road frontage so Lambert bought the much-more-challenging-to-build-on back acre and a half. Formerly the site of a trailer park, the plot sits on a live oak covered hill.

“You couldn’t have chosen a more Austin-looking site,” I observe.

“That’s what drew me to this place,” he said. The views are tranquil with hardly a house in sight, and yet we are less than five minutes from Rivercrest.

“People ask me why construction has taken so long,” Lambert said. “Just look at all of the retaining walls and site preparation I had to do before we could even build.”

Indeed the site had some rather bizarre landfill, including rubble from building demos and even a 1964 Dodge pick-up. All of that had to be cleared, graded, and filled.

“We ended up excavating to bedrock, which made for sturdy foundations,” Lambert said. “Of course, we had to begin construction at the back for access.”

Road work above the property exposed a spring, which seems to have been tamed and contained for the time being and may be tapped later for irrigation and a water feature in the main courtyard. So far, basements have remained dry.

Natural stone and wood cling to the hillside and blend into the landscape. Belying the cultivated simplicity of the design is an unperceived complexity. In fact, the home is a complex of main house and out buildings with basements and connecting subterranean passageways.

“We’ve dubbed the style Fish Camp,” says Lambert recalling his boyhood Port Arthur holidays. The construction appears to have been a process of evolution. Though there was a general plan, much was invented on site. At every stage, Louis acted as impresario, maintaining control of the project and shaping its design.

“I told my builder this was not going to be a built-from-plans kind of project,” Lambert said.

Interiors are a textured mix of slick and rusticated materials. Smooth maple and terracotta floors. Marble, granite, and poured concrete surfaces. Slick gallery walls and river rock fireplaces. Living room ceilings are quite high at 10 feet, but the illusion of low profile is sustained by the length of the room and clerestory windows. The design focuses on entertaining with the large chef’s kitchen completely open to the main room, whose fireplace will function as an additional wood burning oven. For large events, the garage, with its unique, self supporting, quonset-hut roof can be emptied and a secondary kitchen deployed for use.

Every opportunity has been taken, at every point — from the screens of the guest house to the slats in the fences and the “windows” in the pool wall — to harvest the stunning river views.

Optimistically 45 days from completion according to Lambert, the place already has the appearance of a timeless retreat.

Eric Prokesh is an interior designer whose work has appeared on HGTV, and in books and publications including D Home, Southern Accents, House Beautiful, and House and Garden. In January 2005, HG named Eric one of the 50 tastemakers in America and D Home has included him as one of Dallas’ Best Designers for 10 years. Having lived most of his life in Dallas, he now calls Fort Worth home and is one of our experts on beautiful Fort Worth Dirt.