< Previous60 COASTMONTHLY.COM | DeCeMber 2022 COASTMONTHLY.COM | DeCeMber 2022 61 In Independent Living you can be who you were meant to be.... It’s never too late to discover new hobbies, start an exercise program, and make new life-long friends. Choose The Meridian Independent Living and let us take care of the little things ~ so you can live big! Enjoy our fine dining, coffee bar, on-site library, fitness room and movie theater. Spend some quiet time in our chapel. Participate in scheduled activities. Take a walk on the beach. Your days can be filled with all of this and more! The Beach House Assisted Living & Memory Care gives the residents the support they need while they maintain their dignity and independence. On our Post-Acute Skilled Unit we provide Skilled Nursing and Therapy after a hospital stay where Medicare and Insurance will often cover your stay. We also offer Long-Term Care. At The Meridian, we are not just community... we are Family. Call us today or Book a Tour here! We can’t wait to meet you! www.themeridian-galveston.com Call today 409.763.6437 2228 Seawall Boulevard, Galveston Island, TX 77550 The Meridian is a Senior Living Community MOVE-IN SPECIAL $ 500 Credit CALLUS:(409)770-9503 LifeIsUnpredictable. YourInsuranceCoverage Shouldn'tBe. www.InsuranceGalveston.com We'veGotYouCovered! HOMEOWNERS.WINDSTORM FLOOD.AUTO.UMBRELLA COMMERCIALGENERAL LIABILITY ThereisNoBetterTimeTo ProtectWhatMattersMost! YourFamily'sFinancial Future. LIFEINSURANCE LONGTERMCARE DISABILITYINCOME ASSETPROTECTION62 COASTMONTHLY.COM | DeCeMber 2022 Karen Bunch created a coastal Christmas tree for her Galveston home. She incorporated hues of blue velvet ribbon with shades of silver and champagne accents. COASTMONTHLY.COM | DeCeMber 2022 63 FEATURE CHRISTMAS TREE BY THE SEA Island designer offers tips on creating a simple, stylish coastal holiday story by LAURA ELDER photos by JENNIFER REYNOLDS I slander Karen Bunch always has loved design and dec- orating. Before moving to Galveston, Bunch worked for a designer decorating homes for various holidays. “That is when I was introduced to large-scale season- al décor,” she said. “Now I love to take on smaller jobs on a smaller scale for any occasion. There is always a party going on!” This year, Bunch incorporated hues of blue velvet ribbon with shades of silver and champagne accents throughout her home. “The glass balls add sparkle and reflect the colors on the tree — ocean blues,” she said. For years, Bunch put holiday trees and decorations all around her home — mantels, staircases and chandeliers, she said. She would string garland inside and out. But these days, she’s paring back a bit. “Now I have simplified Christmas, but still decorate for every season,” she said. “Valentine’s Day is my favorite. I love pink.” Bunch graciously shared some holiday decorating tips for all of us on the go: • I have the table set and ready to go. Cloth napkins and candles are a must. I will use greenery and flowers from my yard any chance I can. • Investing in ribbon that you love will pay for itself over time. I have crates for every season that are rolled and ready to use. • Trees and decorative sprays don’t come fluffed! Sep- arating the limbs and spreading apart take time but is 100 percent worth it. • Organization is so important to me. I hate to waste time untangling anything. Believe it or not, there’s a trick to roll- ing up lights and cutting bolts of ribbon. I can tell you how many bows you can get from a bolt of ribbon in my sleep. But the most important tip Bunch offers is to honor your own style and enjoy it. “Everyone’s style is different,” she said. “I love to incorpo- rate my clients’ favorite things into the décor. Making people happy is what it is all about.” 64 COASTMONTHLY.COM | DeCeMber 2022 COASTMONTHLY.COM | DeCeMber 2022 65 HOMEPORT ‘VERY NICE FISHING CAMP’ Couple doubles the size of quaint seaside cabin in Kemah story by BARBARA CANETTI photos by STUART VILLANUEVA I f you keep something long enough, it even- tually comes back in style, or so the saying goes. George Najarian and Lizette Gaudin learned that when they returned to the upper Texas coast and settled in Kemah. Najarian has owned their canal house for decades. His first wife’s father used the property in the 1960s as a fishing camp and the half-acre lot stayed in the family. In 1975, he built a little cabin they used only when they went fishing. But it became very useful to them in 2008 when Najari- an and Gaudin’s Galveston house flooded during Hurricane Ike. The couple moved to the Kemah cabin for a few months while their East End home was being restored. Shortly thereafter, they moved to Georgetown, Texas, but the couple missed the water and the beaches. In 2019, they headed back to the coast and their little seaside cabin. But it needed some serious work, they said. They added more bedrooms, bathrooms, an office and dining room, nearly doubling the cabin’s size. They expanded the outdoor space below, giving them more water views and dining areas on the huge deck and under the raised house. And they worked hard on creating a yard with gardens and a park-like environment around the house. “We decided we needed to be on the water and in this part of the world again,” Gaudin said. “We added 1,000 square feet to the cabin. We made it into a very nice fishing camp.” The “front” door to the house, which is really in the back, opens to the kitchen and living rooms. But this interior door stays open all the time, giving the couple unobstructed views of the water. The living room is comfortable, and shelves are Lizette Gaudin and George Najarian’s Kemah home features canal views, spectacular artwork and cozy seating areas.66 COASTMONTHLY.COM | DeCeMber 2022 COASTMONTHLY.COM | DeCeMber 2022 67 HOMEPORT (Opposite) George Najarian and Lizette Gaudin moved to their seaside cabin in Kemah full time in 2019. Najarian has owned their canal house for decades. They nearly doubled the cabin’s size, adding more bedrooms, bathrooms, an office and dining room. (Clockwise from top) A painting depicting Lizette being rescued by George in the floodwaters of Tropical Storm Allison hangs at the couple’s home. The painting, created by a friend, is symbolic of the couple’s meeting after the 2001 storm; paintings by Galveston-area artists adorn the walls throughout the house.68 COASTMONTHLY.COM | DeCeMber 2022 HOMEPORT lined with books and special items. Large paintings by Galveston-area artists adorn the walls. One painting is especially significant to them. It depicts a man — Najarian — in a small boat rescuing a woman — Gaudin — who is floundering in flood waters. The back story was that after Tropical Storm Allison in 2001, Najarian met Gaudin when he traveled to Houston to help in her flooded home. There was an instant spark, and shortly after the couple wed and moved to Galveston. He didn’t actually save her from floodwaters in Brays Bayou, but a friend painted the picture as her interpretation, Gaudin said. COASTMONTHLY.COM | DeCeMber 2022 69 (Clockwise from top left) Lizette Gaudin opens a door in a beautifully crafted French country-style china cabinet in the dining room; the chef’s kitchen features a long granite island for prepping and serving; a mirror created by Gaudin’s grandfather Alfred Schoeffler, who was known for his ornamental ironwork; the first antique Gaudin ever purchased is a small, wall-mounted cabinet. Part of the restoration of the cabin was creating a chef’s kitchen, with a long granite island for prepping and serving. A small table is by a big picture window for meals when it’s just the two of them. Dinner parties are either in the large dining room on the other side of the kitchen, or outside at the several tables set up for coffee, dinners or Next >