Art, modern furniture shine in a civil rights lawyer's Hermann Lofts abode

The living room in Terry Demcha Hermann Lofts condo. The living room in Terry Demcha Hermann Lofts condo. Photo: Michael Paulsen, Staff Photo: Michael Paulsen, Staff Image 1 of / 38 Caption Close Art, modern furniture shine in a civil rights lawyer's Hermann Lofts abode 1 / 38 Back to Gallery

It was the 180-degree views that sold Teresa Demchak on her seventh-floor apartment in the Hermann Lofts building downtown. Nearly wall-to-wall windows fill every room in the 1,275-square-foot space with light, but the prospect from the south-facing windows in the living room is the real standout, from the historic storefronts around Market Square Park to downtown's sleek skyscrapers.

"At night, the view of the city is really neat," said Demchak, a retired attorney. "I'm very much a downtown person."

After earning a bachelor's degree and a master's degree in social service administration, Demchak attended law school at night in her home state of Ohio while working for the NAACP during the day on school desegregation cases. She moved to the San Francisco Bay Area and became managing partner in the noted civil rights law firm Goldstein, Demchak, Baller, Borgen and Dardarian in 1995.

In addition to representing workers in race and gender discrimination cases against companies such as Home Depot, Walgreens, Lufkin Industries and State Farm Insurance, Demchak was an attorney on the historic Ridgeway v. Denny's lawsuit, which alleged that the chain of diners discriminated against black customers by requiring them to pay in advance, seating them after white customers, charging them more, and discouraging them from dining. Settled in 1994, Denny's agreed to pay thousands of plaintiffs more than $54 million, the largest public accommodations class action settlement in the history of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.

Demchak purchased the loft in 2004 while still living and practicing law in Oakland, though work and family brought her to Houston often. In 2011, she hired architect Heather Rowell to give the space an update, making it her full-time home when she retired from law at the beginning of 2013.

The exposed brick and concrete ceilings of the nearly century-old building remained untouched, while the flow of the apartment was increased by separating the internal walls in the kitchen and bedroom from the rear of the apartment, adding a second walk-through space. The set-up of the kitchen was also reversed, moving the range to the island so that Demchak, an avid cook, could appreciate the view and interact with guests in the living room as she cooked. In the bedroom, a large wardrobe was added to delineate the space, and the entrance to the master bathroom was shifted to make room for a larger closet area.

"We were doing this long distance while I was still living in the Bay Area," said Demchak. "This is very similar to what I was living in at the time, an open space, an open kitchen like this, and I wanted to replicate it."

Filling in the loft space are a mix of modern furnishings, sleek pieces made of reclaimed materials, artful souvenirs from Demchak's global travels and a sizeable collection of outsider art.

In the entrance hallway, the walls are filled with works by artists including Thornton Dial, Lynette Collins Walker, Rogelio Diaz, Lonnie Holley and Brigitte McReynolds, a collection that dates back to Demchak's time in law school.

As the hallway transitions into the open loft space, a makeshift dining area includes a striped reclaimed-wood table by Houstonian Bob Card flanked by Arne Jacobsen chairs, a trio of framed lotus leaves and a modern light fixture by Pelle.

"I wanted something chandelierlike, but edgy," said Demchak.

In the living room, an ultra-modern chair made of bent strips of natural beechwood by Cappellini mingles with a coffee table made of reclaimed iron industrial pieces and a pair of antique French armchairs dating to the 1940s from Kuhl-Linscomb in Houston. Books on travel, history, fashion and architecture are interspersed with pottery and examples of African art purchased in New York and San Francisco, all framing a tufted, caramel-leather sofa found at Kuhl-Linscomb.

"I saw it and I fell in love with it, and I kept on going back and going back until finally it was on sale," said Demchak.

Past the sleek kitchen area, with its Caesarstone countertops and white ceramic tiles, the newly opened space holds an office nook that disappears behind mirrored sliding doors and a Bergere chair covered in a graffiti camo fabric by 1980s artist and fashion designer Stephen Sprouse. Continuing to the north end of the apartment, Demchak's airy bedroom includes reclaimed wood floating shelves by Bob Card, an Italian armchair and a steel wire side table designed by mid-century master Warren Platner.

It's all a thoughtfully-designed nest for retired "downtown person" Demchak, who said her favorite spot to spend time is on the couch in the living room, enjoying what sold her on the loft in the first place:

"I just love the view."