Earlier this month, students in Beginning Sculpture met with woodworker Steve Procter, a long-time member and former president of the Woodworkers Club of Houston. He invited art teacher Lauren Cunningham and her Sculpture class to tour his home in Missouri City.
Arriving at the house, students gathered in its handsome, two-story foyer, defined by a curving wood staircase and decorative molding. Procter prefaced the tour by explaining that he built most of the home’s interior, including the furniture. He also shared that some of the architectural features were inspired by Mount Pleasant—an 18th-century Georgian-style mansion-turned-museum, located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
In addition to this historical component, there were lots of custom projects and surprises that made the residence unique. For example, in the children’s playroom, Procter had designed an ordinary-looking bookshelf that doubled as a hidden door and led into a secret room. There was also an adult-size, mahogany rocking horse complete with a real horse hair tail! As Liz Burke ’26 summarized, it was “a beautiful home [with] lots of special memories and projects.”
The home theater was another highlight of the tour. The room featured mahogany floors, fabric-paneled walls, and a domed ceiling—one of three domes in the home. Procter revealed that he had crafted the dome and many other elements with accessible and relatively inexpensive materials, but these projects did require extensive planning and time. The theater alone took eight months to build. “I was astonished [by] how time management can get you amazing products,” commented Morrow Evans ’24.
The tour concluded in the garage workshop, a space where Procter creates projects for himself and others. Procter shared that he is motivated to bring joy to his friends, family, and clients through woodworking. By sharing his home with EHS students, Procter had accomplished just that. Evans reflected, “I enjoyed seeing his amazing house. I also enjoyed his passion. It was inspiring.”
Dome above living room
Students pass through a secret door
Mr. Procter tells about the dome in the home theater