Couple's Katy home is designed to be family-friendly

Amanda and Joe Boyle had big expectations when they built their Katy home: It had to be both elegant and indestructible.

The Boyles have a 5-year-old daughter, a 2-year-old son and a 10-year-old Labradoodle named Gus. So in 2013, when construction began on their five-bedroom, 5,000-square-foot home in Cinco Ranch, they enlisted the help of Karen Davis.

Davis specializes in designing interiors that are stain-resistant and "family-friendly." She calls her business Marker Girl because her own daughter, at age 2, had a tendency to use a Sharpie on herself and the furniture. That "marker girl" phase made Davis find ways to accommodate the unavoidable spills and messes of life with young children.

In the Boyles' home, which was finished last year, the family spends time together in several spaces, both upstairs and down. "We're all over, really, and that's what I really like about this house," Amanda Boyle says. That means several rooms needed durable furniture, stain-resistant textiles and an easy way to hide clutter. And the couple didn't want to compromise on style.

The living-room furniture is an inviting mix of pale blues and neutrals, the sort of colors that really show ink marks and juice drips. But Davis had them upholstered with Sunbrella fabrics, a woven fabric that can be cleaned. The soft rug that defines the conversation area is carpet made by Stainmaster. More stain-resistant carpet lines the main staircase and covers the floor in the playroom and the upstairs game room.

Built-ins abound too, so the children's toys can be tucked out of sight and don't litter the floor. Even the home's mud room has cabinets to hide the jackets and nap mats, backpacks and shoes that collect as the kids come and go. "That's one thing in our old house my husband hated," Boyle says. "There was a planning center by our back door, but everything was just thrown there."

Also downstairs, the couple's master bathroom includes two spacious walk-in closets with adjustable shelves and built-in drawers so that Boyle and her husband, an attorney, each have plenty of storage as well as a dressing area. The bathroom area itself was designed to be a retreat; a soaring ceiling, pale blue walls and large frosted windows make it light, bright and soothing, while Quartzite countertops and a chandelier add glamour. A deep-drop tub is the space's centerpiece - "not that I get to use it very often," Boyle says with a laugh.

The Boyles do use the media room upstairs, with its Kincaid sectional and ottoman, every day. "This is kind of our 'before bed' place," Boyle says. "The kids have their baths, we watch a little TV before bed, and my husband gets home about that time, so he'll come in here and hang out."

The game room next door is another natural gathering spot. "We built this so they can grow into it," Davis says. "The kids are little such a short time." When they're older, the built-in desks will be a place for them to do homework and keep their computers. And when toys give way to video games, the plentiful cabinets and cozy carpet will still meet the family's needs.

"We kind of decorated (our house) for their age, but we didn't invest a lot of money into it," Boyle says. "It'll be easy to change it out. As they grow, I think there are a lot of things we can do."

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Couple's Katy home is designed to be family-friendly