Uncommon Cabin

Inspired by the trees on his clients' East Texas property, architect Max Levy designed a camplike family retreat that treads softly on the land

Photographed by Jack Thompson • Produced By & Written By Diane Carroll

Stenciled onto the walls surrounding the fireplace in Garrett and Cecilia Boone's East Texas family retreat, a poem by W. B. Yeats serves as a reminder of the benefits of cabin life. "And I shall have some peace there," it proclaims, a sentiment that first caught Garrett's attention when he learned these famous lines (from "The Lake Isle of Innisfree") during his undergraduate college days.

Decades later, the Boones live a hectic life in Dallas. He is chairman emeritus and co-founder of the Container Store, and both are actively involved with several charities -- so much so that they longed for their own peaceful cabin, a place where they and their three grown children, who also live in Texas, could reconvene. They purchased land on Lake Tawakoni, a 75-minute drive from their Dallas home, opting for a wooded marshy area that they found appealing for its bird-watching possibilities.

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