"A Magazine"
Featured Article - Worlds Collide
Like the eagle occasionally spotted nearby, the location is a rare bird.
So wait, just wait. The narrow road winds across the rolling Hill Country ranch land, offering glimpses of faraway fields, a deer or two in the distance, and a pinkish rock bluff quickly hidden by trees.
Without warning, a steep dip reveals a site created by the patience of nature -- the confluence of Grape Creek and the Pedernales River. Human ingenuity has added an old-fashioned dam, creating two lakes separated by a low-water crossing. And above this shimmering entrance, on a steeply rising peninsula across the creek, sits the Germer residence. |
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Inspired by the unique -- a much over-used word, but fitting, in this case -- setting, Larry and Sammi Germer have built a home for sharing and entertaining. They're not much for fancy social whirls, mind you. They're more likely to invite 60 of their extended family over to celebrate a birthday or holiday; or bus out his entire staff for a barbecue under the stars; or simply invite clients, colleagues and friends to use the house as a retreat.
Larry Germer's a "work hard, play hard" trial lawyer who grew up vacationing on the banks of the Sabinal River in the heart of the Hill Country. A board-certified personal injury and civil trial attorney, he's a founding partner in Germer Gertz, a 60-attorney practice with offices in Austin, Beaumont and Houston. Germer's a road warrior traveling the country on client business, so he relishes a change of pace on the 400-acre ranch.
He originally envisioned a rustic Hill Country home.
But Sammi Germer -- who holds down the fort at the couple's primary residence in Lakeway's Vineyard Bay -- had Europe, not Texas, in mind when designing the ranch house. What resulted was "Hill Country meets Provence," as architect Glenn Nees describes the 8,000-spuare-foot residence, built two miles from a back road between Fredericksburg and Johnson City.
The Germers are now proud grandparents to five, and all three generations love nothing more than messing around with tubes, dogs and kayaks in their own private splash fest under the dam. If he can't be in the water, Larry Germer is likely to takeoff on one of his all-terrain vehicles, either crunching over a carpet of acorns for an early-morning jaunt with Sammi, or riding out the grand kids to feed the deer. (The kids also get a big kick out of spotting the herd of wild goats that roam the property.) |
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Porches hug the south-and east-facing aspects of the house, creating 3,600 square feet of river breeze-cooled outdoor living space. "With such a site, how could you not want to be going from inside to outside? It just draws you out," says Nees, a luxury home specialist.
A fire pit, grill and massive outdoor fireplace provide ample settings for outdoor dining and just plain visiting under the stars. Master builder David Young gave more than a passing nod to Larry Germer's University of Texas affiliations by adding the outline of a UT Longhorn to the stone fireplace. Outdoors it's impossible to escape what Sammi Germer describes as the "bass and treble" of the creek (its bass lent by the dam's thunder) and the lighter-sounding river.
Two vast walls of glass form the outer walls of the 1,400-square-foot great room, a gathering place that both Germers claim as one of their favorite rooms in the house. It's a testament to architect Glen Nees' subtle touch that the room suits all moods. Sammi enjoys quietly contemplating the striking double vista over the Pedernales and Grape Creek, snuggled on one of the hide-and hair sofas snapped up by Larry on a whim one holiday at A Christmas Affair.
Speaking of Larry Germer and holidays -- the great room's the perfect place for a crowd to watch the Longhorns battle the Aggies in their post-Thanksgiving clash. Germer did his undergrad work at UT and then stayed in the 40 Acres to attend law school (class of '66). Even back then he was an all-or-nothing kind of guy, placing in the top five percent of his class while also playing in the Longhorn band as well as putting in time with the Texas Cowboys, the longtime spirit and service organization.
While the Germers' personalities set the tone for the the home's warm and spirited atmosphere, other factors are also at work, including the caramel-hued rock used throughout the home. Put a hand on the wall to realize this is no factory-produced stone. Fanciful as it might sound, this rock has character. True character. Turns out, the stones were found the property, having been used by the original German settlers to build boundary walls. They are dolomite, a sedimentary rock, extremely hard, yet challengingly brittle. |
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There were other building challenges, recalls David Young, an Austin-based luxury home builder with 25 years' experience. Namely the glass and the vaulted gabled ceiling in the great room. At 32 feet to the ridge, the ceiling's lower than the 40-foot turreted entranceway. However, the great room challenge was weight, not height. A steel skeleton solved the problem. And with I-beams wrapped in western fir, to match the A-framed mortise-and-tenon beams above the porch, the room's secret remains hidden. As for the glass: the largest pane is 50 square feet. "That's as large as you can buy," explains Young. And although it's the other side of the house that receives the western sun, the great room windows are inch thick insulated safety glass.
Throughout, entrances have been set at an angle. It's a subtle yet effective touch, giving a human scale to the home. The living areas flow into each other with equal subtlety. From the great room, through the dining room with its dresser displaying Sammi's Spode Woodland dinner service, to the roomy kitchen and breakfast nook (where, of course, the view includes a couple of canoes, dragged out of the water to lean drunkenly on the grassy slope.)
The upstairs includes a loft area designed to extend the overnight sleeping accommodations. While set up with three twin beds in individually outfitted sleeping nooks for the Germers' older grandsons, it's a spacious, flexible area. Think Alpine chalet or upscale East Coast boarding school. And it comfortably sleeps 20 or so, as the teachers from Waco-based Live Oak Classical School can attest. Thanks to the school's director of curriculum and instruction, Allison Germer Buras, they've held four in-service training sessions at the ranch.
Back downstairs, the master suite whispers Southern Colonial, with simple linear detailing on the woodwork, armchairs at the bay window and white wicker furniture on the patio shaded by a magnolia tree. The room echoes the style of Beaumont house where the Germers raised their children. Soon to celebrate their 40th wedding anniversary, the couple met at a bar association dinner dance in Beaumont. "We were introduced by a dear mutual friend, Pike Powers," says Sammi Germer. Powers, who among other accomplishments was executive assistant to governor Mark White in 1983 and from 1972 to 1979 represented Jefferson County in the Texas House of Representatives, and Germer owned their first sailboat together; and the two families have gone on to be lifelong friends.
Follow the stone-floored passageway past well-stocked butler's pantry to find yet more guest rooms. This part of the house was designed to allow guest to visit when the Germers are absent, explains Gleen Nees. "The guest rooms are a lock-off, with a private entrance, a kitchenette and sitting room."
Remaining true to their intention, the Germers have built a house to entertain -whether they are in residence or not. Among other groups, Sammi Germer has hosted her Vineyard Bay Bible study group at the house. She has also hosted wellness seminars led by clinical nutritionist Pam Machemeh Helmly. "This house is a wonderful expression of the generous spirit of the Germer family, and their gracious, giving lifestyle," says Helmly, chief science officer with New Braunfels-based Neurogistics, Inc. Truly, the Germers have created a home that surrounds and enfolds, nurturing every guest who crosses the threshold. It's a house they share, and it's a home to savor, just like that occasional passing eagle. |
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