Health and safety drove design of this doctor's gorgeous Houston home

When Dr. Maria Cabanillas and Kris Griffith set up a new home in the museum district, their goal was to be health-conscious and environmentally friendly.

Large sliding glass doors open the kitchen to its terrace and garden. Here, Maria Cabanillas relaxes on the terrace, while Kris Griffith works in the kitchen.

The kitchen has a 12-foot island.

The large dining table can accommodate up to 14 people.

They used this space instead of a window seat instead of a breakfast corner. Its panels are inlaid with boat laps from the original residence on this plot.

The master bedroom has its own balcony, which is a great place to enjoy morning coffee.

The main bathroom has a cantilever cabinet and a sleek rectangular bathtub.

The residence of Dr. Maria Cabanillas and her partner Kris Griffith is built with healthy and environmentally friendly materials.

In the past, Cabanillas and Griffith's furniture was a hodgepodge, but they invested in more modern furniture for the new house.

Cabanillas, an endocrinologist at the Texas Medical Center, asked interior designer Britt Design Group for help to help them find furniture with less flame retardants.

Painted CMU (Concrete Block) blocks are used for part of the exterior of the house and the back wall of the living room.

Dr. Maria Cabanillas has been thinking about her cancer patients, the causes and treatments of thyroid cancer all day long.

Therefore, when an endocrinologist in Houston and her partner, Kris Griffith, a 45-year-old health care manager at the Texas Medical Center, decided to build a new home for themselves, they Put it into practice and focus your work on the same principal.

It sounds easy to adopt a health-first approach in house construction and design-after all, no one really advocates the use of toxic materials. But delving into the world of wood, masonry, interior decoration and ceramic tiles can be complicated.

As a thyroid cancer expert, Cabanillas, 48, knows that research has focused on the link between thyroid cancer and increased exposure to flame retardants.

They are used to make textiles and other materials safer and to help electronic products and building materials meet fire protection standards.

But to some extent, for some people, they may cause health problems,

In search of interior designers who could help them find products made with fewer harsh glues and flame retardants and more natural materials, Cabanillas and Griffith found Laura Britt

In Austin.

Since childhood, Britt has suffered from upper respiratory disease, and there is a connection between her health and her living environment or other factors. She is not a chemist. Although she hopes to be a chemist recently, she strives to find or create products with fewer toxins, such as flame retardants or glues and chemicals that can make the products last longer.

She introduced Cabanillas and Griffith to the new environmental protection knowledge she had learned while making her own healthy modern furniture in Austin.

Paints with low volatile organic compound content are easier to find. Other materials may be difficult to study. For example, on a chair or sofa, you must consider its frame, cushions, and upholstery, as well as the way in which it is manufactured or handled in each step of the process, including glue and chemicals in antifouling treatment.

"I almost specialize in the treatment of thyroid cancer, and during our construction (conducting medical research), there were some publications showing that there were pollutants (flame retardants) in American houses, some of which have been eliminated but have been replaced by new ones. Chemicals." "We know it will be a challenge to find furniture free of formaldehyde and flame retardants. They are everywhere, everywhere. You can't eliminate them completely, but at least you can minimize them."

Britt helped them find furniture made of safer materials and some furniture that can deflate faster.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency:

National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences:

Harvard University:

Consumer Reports:

Cabanillas is a Puerto Rican who has lived in Houston for many years. In 2002, he bought the original house of this house on the land near the Med Center. The house was built in 1938, and the history of the backyard shed can be traced back to long ago. Eventually, the walls and ceiling of the house began to buckle due to damage caused by a nearby tree planting.

In 2018, Cabanillas and Griffith hired

Designed and built the 4000 square foot house they moved in more than a year ago.

Sustainability and care for the environment promoted Cabanillas and Griffith's dream of this place.

with

Both of them rescued construction materials from the old house to help them stay away from the landfill. The original lap joints have been used in various places in the new house, including in the headboards of the guest rooms and as paneling in the corners of the window seats.

The main living and dining area has an open concept. Sliding doors provide an indoor and outdoor experience directly from the kitchen. When they prepare food, they can look out over their terrace and vegetable garden.

Cabanillas’ parents had a room when they visited, and Griffith’s two daughters (15-year-old Josephine and 14-year-old Catherine) had a bedroom when they visited on weekends. Cabanillas' son Raul Ramos is 25 years old and lives in Austin.

The artworks of Puerto Rican artists are scattered everywhere, many of them are friends of Cabanillas and her family, including

,

,

There are tall beds with red, white and yellow onions growing on them, and lush beds of sweet peas, tomatoes, lettuce, garlic and herbs. Fruit trees include citrus, figs, olives and avocados.

with

Connect to the sprinkler system to irrigate the vegetable garden. Heat and drought resistant plants are used for the rest of the landscaping.

A small indoor storage room-they call it the "Harry Potter Closet"-is equipped with shelves and lights for the start of the seedlings, plus a hungry Binger worm composting machine that uses food waste to make fertilizer. (No, it won't stink.)

Solar panels on the west-facing and south-facing roofs power almost all buildings. Griffith said their electricity bill is usually about $60 per month.

Cabanillas works at the desk in the small study next to the master bedroom-her Peloton is also there.

Their garage apartment is where Griffith has been working from home. Before the pandemic, it was a fully furnished apartment with a kitchenette, living room and bedroom. The couple believes that this is very convenient for any friends or family members who need to stay during medical treatment. One of their friends lives in Dallas, drives down once a week for cancer treatment, and stays in the garage.

Both Cabanillas and Griffith have recently tackled some new hobbies, including bread making (he is obsessed with "British Baking") and cheese making.

Griffith is a beer lover and always brews beer. The original shed in the backyard was converted into a brewery-they called Griffith's "Brewshedda"-where he kept his own brew. The bar counter is made of materials from the original house, which is a handmade work by the woodworker/artist Joy Fucci of Joy Reimagined.

It will soon have its own solar panels, and some seats inside will be redecorated with more environmentally friendly materials.

A fire pit surrounded by comfortable seats and ample covered terrace space allows you to sit outside with one or two friends. Both Cabanillas and Griffith have been vaccinated against COVID-19, but they still attach great importance to social distancing and wearing masks.

"We work in the field of cancer, and (health) is always in our minds. I'm glad we did all these things because now we have been here," said Cabanillas.

diane.cowen@chron.com

Diane Cowen has been working for The Houston Chronicle since 2000 and is currently its architecture and home design writer. Before working for The Chronicle, she worked for the South Bend (Indiana) Tribune and Shelbyville (Indiana) News Agency. She graduated from Purdue University (Purdue University), and is the author of a cookbook: "Sunday Dinner: our favorite pastor of food, family and faith."

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