Mike and Debbie Smith Home
Traditional Virginia meets Colleyville Tuscan. The home of Mike and Debbie Smith is best characterized by its traditional 18th Century-style furnishings, the Smith’s Virginia treasures, and the family’s personal, very special collections.
When the Smith family moved to Tarrant County from Virginia, they were challenged with adapting their classic possessions to the proportions and style of a North Texas home. In a word, the Smiths won. Their home is a warm blend of classic furnishings and modern comfort. Becky Smith stated that their primary objectives was to create a welcoming home for their adult children—a place where each would have space—so instead of downsizing when the children left, they went larger.
While the Smiths decorated their family room with large leather sofas and chairs, typical of North Texas homes, much of the rest of their home reflects their love of Virginia and the styles more common on the East Coast. The dining room features a large cherry table with fiddle-back chairs as well as a graceful Queen Ann sideboard. Yet the walls are a soft Tuscan stucco and the hardwood floors a hand-scraped finish covered with oriental rugs from the Virginia days. Becky chose not to employ the services of a professional decorator but rather did the job herself, making many of her own drapes and window treatments and incorporating her family photos and mementoes. The living room, home to several of Becky’s collections, is furnished with a camel-back sofa and patterned wing chair that one might find in a Williamsburg home. The multi-layered window treatment was a creation of Becky and ties the colors together.
In addition to graceful reproductions, the Smiths have numerous special items scattered throughout the home. For example, a small dressing table in the guest room once belonged to Becky’s mother who bought it as a pre-teen instead of a much-longed for Bluebonnet painting (which she later purchased and which now hangs in the hallway). The antique piano in the study was given to Becky’s mother when she was four by her grandmother. Early in their marriage, Becky gave her husband a small Virginia tobacco jar lamp; it occupies a place of honor in their family room. A wedding sampler Becky stitched in 1977hangs beside the master bedroom door.
Becky’s mother collected Thomas Jefferson portraits and memorabilia; Becky has gathered many of those treasures in the formal living room. A familiar Virginia tradition, the pineapple symbolizing welcome, is the subject of another of Becky’s collections.
Mike Smith has given the members of his family various collections over the years. The twelve-foot Christmas tree in the foyer is decorated around the silver bells he has given his wife—one for each year of their marriage. The study off the foyer is filled with the nutcrackers he has given the oldest Smith son (his bedroom is dedicated to Texas A& M). The youngest has a collection of special figurines scattered throughout the house. For their daughter, Smith presented her with a collection of silver bells and crystal figurines. She also has an extensive collection of beauty contest trophies and ribbons.
The game room and upstairs media room are designed for family gatherings. They had part of the ceiling painted to mirror the granite of the snack area and the room is generously outfitted with game tables, a pool table, and comfortable seating.
In their effort to combine the years they lived in Virginia, Becky’s family’s Texas heritage, and their strong family values, the Smiths have created a home that accomplishes all their goals. The Colleyville Woman’s Club is grateful to them for sharing it with the community.
P.O. Box 181 * Colleyville, Texas 76034 *
Hotline: 817-416-3000
info@c-w-c.org
webmaster: larkwebdesign.com
