Posted: Sat, 4 Feb 2012 11:58 AM - 14,002 Readers
By: Nicole Villalpando
photo by Nicholas Smith photos Toursmith
Cesar and Marcie Sylva built their dream hacienda on Lake Travis. It was to be the place where the civil engineer and his wife planned to spend their retirement years after leaving the Houston area.
Born in Ecuador, Cesar Sylva wanted some of the stone and wood touches found in the Spanish style he loved. He enlisted the brother of a high school classmate as the initial architect, and then Gina Andre, who now works in New Orleans, completed the plans.
The home became even more of a one-of-a-kind design when Cesar Sylva and his son, Alex, who works as a prop master and carpenter on movie sets, acted as the general contractors to complete the home at the end of 2003.
It is filled with unique touches, Old-World materials including 30 antique doors, hidden storage and a reverence for the view of Lake Travis.
"This was Cesar's dream house," Marcie Sylva says, "But the best part of that dream was that he wanted a home that not only our children and grandchildren would want to visit, but all of our relatives and friends as well. And that it was. It's a wonderful place for entertaining. We invited everyone we know to come to visit, and most of them did."
After Cesar Sylva's death in 2006, the 7,059-square-foot-house at 2208 Bright Cove in Spicewood became too big for Marcie Sylva. She has put it on the market for $2.7 million with Erlinda VanDelinder of Beyond the Move Realty.
The home's front door is hidden behind a courtyard with an arched gate. The courtyard offers an inlaid star in the stone patio and an antique door from Afghanistan used as art along the wall by the front door.
The main floor is centered on the dining room with an antler chandelier. Marcie Sylva says she and her late husband bought it at the Houston rodeo and planned the house around designing the right spot for the chandelier.
The dining room features amazing views of the lake below. Wood beams and accents and 130-year-old longleaf pine floors add to the Old World, rustic charm of the room.
The large kitchen offers a breakfast space with more amazing views. The floor is wood-fired clay tiles from France recycled from a French cottage, the counters including the large island are Selina gold limestone. A built-in desk, separate door to the courtyard and large pantry round out the space.
Decks spill off most of the public spaces and the master suite.
A large library and office offers walls of shelves and glass cabinets. Storage for maps with a pull-down table is tucked into one wall.
The home is built on multiple levels, and an elevator goes to five of them.
A loft area can be used as a space for entertaining or sleeping quarters. A ladder leads to a tower with breathtaking views of the lake and hillside.
Off the dining room, steps up lead to the living room and game room. Cesar Sylva did not waste any space and carved out storage under the stairs and inside the stairs themselves.
The game room has a fireplace with a mesquite mantel and a bar area with a wine refrigerator, ice maker, microwave, dishwasher, sink and keg cooler.
Off another wing of the house, the master bedroom offers a large closet with built-in storage, glass-fronted cabinets, pull-down hanging racks and other storage features.
The master bathroom is done in travertine with a pebble floor in the walk-in shower. A large tub and double vanities make this a functional, spacious oasis.
Another wing in the house offers three bedrooms, 1 1/2 bathrooms, the laundry room and a large storage closet.
On the lower level, a wine room takes advantage of the home's limestone hillside to naturally cool the wine. The room is also climate-controlled.
A carpenter's workshop with a half-bathroom includes multiple rooms and built-in storage for tools.
On another level, the large three-car garage offers additional storage. Another space in the house was to be a bunkhouse with a balcony, but it remains unfinished. A future homeowner could make it a play area or media room.
The home provides an efficiency apartment on a lower level below one of the patios. A small living area with kitchen, full bathroom and bedroom make it an ideal place for guests or live-in help.
One of the outdoor patios offers a sink and grill. Steps from a patio lead down a path to the water. The property offers a lot of potential for boating enthusiasts.
The house was the realization of one family's dream, but another family could easily make it their own.
"This was his dream," Marcie Sylva tells her son. "He was making sketches before you all were born."
The house will be open from 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 5.
