by Kristina Wrenn
Looking at the home of Lynda and Lourell Sutliff from the outside, you can appreciate the original bones of the 1937 home built by Bashie and Marion Witherup and how the home unfolds across the property.
It was the second home the Witherups had designed by Shirley Simons, Sr. (the first being an English Country style, which is now Pyron Garden). The Spanish Colonial Revival home is warm and welcoming and speaks to Marion’s oil company travels. The style gained widespread fame after the 1915 Panama-California Exposition, celebrating the opening of the Panama Canal, ushering in a blend of Spanish and European architecture with Mission, Baroque, and Moorish styles prevalent in Latin America. Now some design buffs might choose to call this home Santa Barbara style, given the prevalence of Spanish Colonial Revival homes located there.
The adept skill with which subsequent owners, Debra and Jack King, Jr., expanded the home’s footprint is beautifully captured in the cover image as well. Enclosing the colonnade to the wood-paneled, vaulted ceiling den created lovely indoor flow, while the pool and the elegantly appointed back garage added livable luxury.
It is apropos, given Lourell’s love of cars (rivaled only by his interest in a great pair of shoes), that the home has multiple garages, places to park, and commodious closets. Both retired, Lourell, an OBGYN, and Lynda, a Nurse Practitioner, came to Tyler after raising a family of four in San Angelo. They wanted to be near their daughter, Elizabeth, and grandchildren Mary Katherine and John, who live around the corner.
In the music room at the front of the home, Elizabeth features prominently above the grand piano, painted as a young girl in a dress Lynda made and smocked in one of her many talents. Lynda also created the shell-framed mirror shown in a later image. This room is the perfect place for the consummate hostess to entertain with wine and nibbles, all the while waving to her neighbors who walk by regularly.
The den sees many a game of Mahjong, Lynda being a bit of a Mahjong savant, and college game day parties when the family isn’t on site at Ole Miss. The connective tissue runs deep—be it from Memphis (where Lynda grew up and Lourell trained), to San Angelo, to Oxford, to a lake house outside of Austin where Lynda has held countless cousins’ camp extravaganzas (there are other beloved grandchildren that don’t live locally), to Tyler.
It’s fitting that the family blends seamlessly into the rich tapestry that is the Azalea District. A love of the neighborhood and the signature Simons round/oval windows flanking the front door (here, an unusually special two, that are repeated upstairs and in the pool bath, completing a lucky foursome) drew the Sutliffs to the home. It has been the perfect canvas for their collection of Asian art and family heirlooms (everyone should have a framed picture of their Big Daddy in the guest room, accompanied by a quilt made from their grandmother’s blue wedding dress).
The home is light and bright at all times of day, given the layout with multiple courtyards and outdoor spaces. One of Lynda’s favorite features is the prism effect of the kitchen chandelier over the warm white walls, the Dacor Steam Range, and Sub Zero each morning. The light dances a little differently, given the time of year, but the changing location of the sun is part of the joy of this sun-dappled home.
The exquisite finish out effected over the years, including the French-Brown ceramic tile mural in the kitchen, marble primary bath (with what can only be described as a walk-in shower room), and the regal draperies, lend drama to the overall personality of the home. The attention to detail in ironwork and open hallways creates a cohesive living space in keeping with the architectural style. The myriad mirrored walls engage lighting and sunlight in a deft interplay of space.
A bold use of color and pattern elevate the spaces in such a way that you wonder what view will delight you next. The dining room is resplendent with the grand blue and white Delftware tulipiere from Details on the table, coordinating with the blues of the kitchen and breakfast room. Perhaps a seat in the amethyst grotto or under the shade of the loggia will give you just the pause you need to look back at the house and see something new you hadn’t noticed.
Lourell treasures the pool and was keen on finding a forever Tyler home with a signature pool. The raised design adds visual interest from every direction, especially from above, with the added benefit of easier ingress and egress.
With such wonderful, private outdoor entertaining spaces, it feels like a resort, flawlessly scaled to its prominent corner, making this home an integral part of Tyler’s history, present, and future. The landscape plan executed by David Collins of The Greenery is lush but understated to let the house shine.
The Sutliffs will be opening their home for the Candlelight Party & Home Tour, celebrating the kickoff of Historic Tyler on Tour 2026. Tickets go on sale March 1st at historictyler.org.