 Livable
Luxury
in
Stone Oak
Fine craftsmanship
makes the difference
BY ROBYN BARNES
PHOTOGRAPHY BY VERNON WENTZ
Fine craftsmanship in new homes is a rare thing these
days. Beautiful finishes and attention to detail are
unavailable in production homes and frequently
ignored in the sprawling houses springing up around San
Antonio. But occasionally there’s a home built with such care
and attention to detail that it stands out like a fine jewel in a
rusty box.
The house, located in The Heights of Stone Oak, is home
to Michael Leonhardt and his active family. They downsized
to about 8,200 square feet when they relocated here from
Cordillera Ranch near Boerne.
The house they built in Cordillera Ranch was a Texasstyle
affair of limestone and a metal roof. In the house at
The Heights, Leonhardt went for a
Mediterranean look.
At the same time, he wanted a house
with a more open floor plan downstairs for
entertaining. “I wanted to have the kitchen
near the great room this time because
when we have parties, people always end
up in the kitchen. At the same time, I wanted
the kitchen to have easy access to the
pool area in the backyard, so I could keep
an eye on my kids and their friends,”
says Leonhardt.
 The downsizing involved making the
bedrooms smaller, eliminating a music
room and reducing the size of the home
theater. “Overall, this home had a little better
design than the last one,” he says.
Design improvement comes with experience;
Leonhardt has built a number of
homes for his family over the years. An
engineer by training, he has a startling eye
for construction detail and does not use an
interior designer when building his homes.
Instead, he works with custom builder
Jason Gallas, owner of Tri-Built Custom
Homes. Gallas’ company does its own site
work and is staffed with a cabinetry craftsman
who produces woodwork in the Old
World tradition, carving, cutting and staining
by hand.
Rather than use an architect to draft
floor plans, Leonhardt worked with Kim
Mockert of Kim Mockert Designs, a registered
Texas home designer.
“I took care of the structural input, but
the rest was between Kim and Michael,”
says Gallas. “Kim has an amazing imagination.
She takes ideas and runs with them;
she has a fabulous vision.”
The results of the trio’s labors are
breathtaking. The exterior is an Old World
Mediterranean finish of stucco and cast
stone created by Premier Antique Stucco.
 “This finish is made up of at least seven different
colors,” Gallas says. “It’s like a secret
recipe; nobody outside of Premier knows
how they make it, and you’ll never see
them create it. Premier’s crew will stop
work if anyone else is on the job site —
they are that serious about the quality of
their work.”
The soaring entry hall is impressive.
The ceiling rises to a glistening faux-painted
cast stone dome lit by a large alabaster
chandelier; recessed lighting is set at intervals
around the remainder of the room to
highlight the curved staircase with its
wrought-iron balusters. The marble and
granite floor has a hand-cut stone medallion
of a dove featuring a green tourmaline
for the bird’s eye. Sturdy faux stone
columns rise from floor to ceiling, leading
the eye to the deep art niches located
on either side of the entry to the great room.
The deep crown molding serves as a dramatic
accent in the luxurious hall.
Leonhardt designed his home for comfort as
well as beauty — and it has a touch of whimsy,
too. The master study off the entry hall is a classic
male haunt of dark judge’s paneling and a
bookcase wall. The wall swings open at the
touch of a button, leading directly into the “his”
portion of the “his and hers” closets in the
master bedroom.
Realtor Trey Flournoy, who has seen the
house, says this is a fun and practical feature: “For
the man who works at home, this lets him get
dressed and step directly into the office without
wasting time going through the house. It’s really
quite an efficient design.”
The pool area is a family favorite. The cascading
waterfall flows into a negative-edge pool that
is accented by a grotto filled with koi. “The
pool idea came from the Grand Wailea Resort
in Hawaii,” Leonhardt says. “It’s a place we’ve
always enjoyed visiting.”
The separate pool house serves as a game
room for the children. It has a 14-foot ceiling,
slate and wood wainscot and wood beam ceiling
accented with corbels. It has a special Nana
folding door that opens to the outdoor kitchen
for entertaining.
 “It’s a very livable house,” he continues.“While the kids’ bedrooms and
the home theater are upstairs, they
aren’t isolated from the rest of the
house. A back staircase takes them
directly into the mudroom off the
kitchen and gives them easy access to
the pool. I love to cook, and I use the
outside kitchen all the time. It lets me
keep an eye on the kids when they
are in the pool or in the game room.”
The house is packed with design
details that Leonhardt loves. The faux
stone on the columns and the fireplace
are a special stucco blend that
is hand-carved. Floors in three of the
rooms are Brazilian koa. Large, deep
art niches have custom-designed indirect
and picture lighting. The gourmet
kitchen features double Wolf
ovens, Wolf range with a French
stove, and a special microwave drawer.
There are cedar plank ceilings in the
master closets.
Any of these features can make a
home special, but it is the exquisite
craftsmanship that makes Leonhardt’s
home luxurious. The degree of
artistry and skill is a testament to his
desire to build a house both beautiful
and comfortable for his family.
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