Andy Phillips has never been one to shy away from a difficult undertaking. In partnership with builders Art Lenard and Dr. Sonny Cofer, Phillips is a co-owner of Integrity Homes, based in Kerrville. The company, which focuses primarily on upscale custom home building and remodeling work, is known for its expertise in tackling diverse and difficult projects. But without a doubt, the project closest to Phillips own heart has been the renovation and remodeling of his own home on Virginia Drive—a labor of love that he and his wife Maggie have taken on together.

Located in an older tree-lined estate home section of Kerrville, the Phillips’ house was originally built in 1945 by community philanthropist Charlie Peterson. (Peterson and his brother Hal were the driving force behind the construction of Kerrville’s Sid Peterson Memorial Hospital.) Later, Peterson sold the home to the Auld family, who owned it for more than 30 years, fashioning its interior to reflect Mrs. Auld’s love of all things French Provincial. In 1993, Andy Phillips was asked to act as broker in marketing the home, but soon decided to purchase it himself.

“The decision to buy the property had a lot to do with timing. Up until then, we had been living about ten miles outside Kerrville, in the country,” says Phillips. “But our daughter had just started to drive and we couldn’t bear the thought of her coming home alone at night along those winding country roads.”

Maggie recalls her delight when she first visited the Virginia Drive property. “I immediately loved the many live oak trees and realized that, even though the house was in the city, it felt like the country, because it sits on well over three acres.” Another plus was the trophy room. “The Auld’s were avid hunters, as is our family. Mrs. Auld knew and just kept pitching that trophy room to me, and the more I thought about it the more I wanted it.”

Still, once the purchase had been made, the home needed much attention. “The roof was very low-pitched, which clearly dated it to the 40s and 50s,” says Phillips. “Also, the kitchen and master bathroom were extremely small by today’s standards. Finally, when it came to the home’s French Provincial interior, it simply wasn’t in harmony with our active family lifestyle. Changes had to be made.”

During the Phillips’ sixteen years of ownership, the changes have come. Twice, they have remodeled and renovated the home, taking it from its original size of 4,500 square feet to 7,000 square feet. Rebuilding the low-lying roof and raising its pitch, they covered it with a material of lightweight textured steel that looks like Mexican tile, yet will last for a lifetime. Today, the interior reflects the family’s love of the rugged American Southwest in combination with an African influence inspired by their many safaris. Even their large formal dining-room set, left behind by the previous owner, “went wild,” when Maggie recovered its chairs in a bold leopard print. The transformation in style was further emphasized by repainting the walls in earth tones and re-tiling the floors with Saltillo and brick-look tile. “We’ve always wanted our home to have that ‘kick your shoes off ’ feeling,” she says.

When it came to structural changes, Phillips’ immediate concern was remodeling the tiny kitchen, which still bore avocado green cabinetry of the 1950s. Knocking out walls to the adjoining rooms provided space for ample whitewashed white oak cabinetry and transformed the space into a spacious gourmet kitchen, adjoining a large family dining area. Their children were energetic teenagers at the time, and the addition of a swimming pool received their enthusiastic thumbs up.

For himself, Phillips enlarged the trophy room to make space for numerous mounts of wild game (all legally taken). With an impressive collection featuring lion, cape buffalo, eland, zebra, baboon, sambar-stag, greater and lesser kudu, North American elk and much more, it’s no surprise that the room has received attention among huntsmen, even being featured on the front cover of the book Trophy Rooms I, by author Sherman Hines. In addition to the room’s trophy space, Phillips added a bar at which he jokingly states that he regularly “holds court” with friends and family.

Just last year, once again motivated by a turning point in life, a second round of renovations and changes was made. “Our kids had grown up and moved out of the house. Once again, it was just Maggie and me. We wanted the home to reflect our taste and meet our needs in such a way that if we chose to live in it the rest of our lives, we would be happy.”

Putting their heads together with Mickey Thompson of Archetype Designs, a master remodeling plan was drawn up. First, with the addition of a grand circular driveway and a massive Cantera-columned front porch, any lingering question of curb appeal has been magnificently resolved. Two additional porches were also added to the back of the home—one off the master suite and another near the pool, again with Cantera columns. Finally, the master bath, which had never truly been large enough, was expanded to include a Jacuzzi tub and a large walk-in shower. Beautifully tiled in Travertine, this change transformed the bath from ho-hum to a heavenly haven.

What began as a timeworn house with plenty of potential has now been transformed into a welcoming home, where the couple has each staked out favorite spots. “I love the trophy room,” Phillips says, “because there are so many reminders of our good times together. There are many family stories there.” Maggie’s retreat is the pool and backyard. “It’s where I go to relax because we have flowers blooming there all year long—camellias, daisies, and irises,” she says. Several years ago it was also the ideal location for daughter Kate’s wedding reception, when 400 guests were welcomed under the oaks, emblazoned for the evening with 25,000 twinkling lights. “It was magical,” says Phillips.

Yet even the simpler memories come to mean much in a well-loved home. The television room, filled with photos of family and friends is a reminder of all the good times the house has offered. “When Andrew Jr. and Kate were growing, this house was the gathering point for them and all their friends,” says Phillips. “In fact,” adds Maggie, “a young man recently approached me at church and told me he still remembers, with fondness, coming to our house on Friday nights after the high-school football games and just hanging out.” A simple reminder that though the Phillips’ home is striking and impressive, its most important design element has always been its comfort, warmth and welcoming spirit.