Shelley, along with her husband Richard, a former Denver Broncos player who is an attorney with Daly & Black, wanted a home that would be beautiful and symmetrical — but completely functional and practical. "The quote 'Form must follow its function' from Ayn Rand's novel The Fountainhead, founded my philosophy on this project," says Shelley, who believed if something didn't have a purpose, it didn't belong in the home.

For example, in Shelley's office, which overlooks the property's verdant courtyard full of stately oak trees, a sophisticated space of monochromatic cream — much like the rest of the home — is lined wall-to-wall with cabinets and drawers. Inside, every Sharpie and stapler has its own perfectly built place. The Alexandra von Furstenberg clear acrylic coffee table fits beautifully, not just from a style perspective, but positionally. It is situated within a precise and balanced space, accompanying a petite nude sectional sofa and two walls filled completely with black-and-white family photos.

Even the mailbox placement is intentional, built in to the side of the home and dispensing mail directly into a tray in Shelley's office.

"I measured items, from kitchen utensils to bikes and fishing rods, to make sure every drawer, cabinet and cupboard would fit our family," says Shelley. In fact, the home is built so specifically to the Daly family that the word "resale" was even banned from all contractor conversations to deter standardized design features for future homebuyers.

Next to the office is a powder room, adorned wall-to-ceiling with slightly dark tinted mirrors. A quirky neon-pink light-tube installation placed above the lavatory reads "Hey Y'all" in the opposite mirror. It's a piece commissioned by Shelley from the local Neon Gallery. "I took inspiration from art shows I attended in New York that create their own catch-phrases, not unlike those that eventually end up on t-shirts," she explains.

A love of fine contemporary art is evident throughout the home; pieces from internationally recognized artists such as Damian Hurst and Richard Serra to local Houston creators hang in nearly every room. A piece by Houstonian Paul Fleming features tiny individual blue glass stones traveling in a diagonal line across three walls of the spacious, open-concept living space. Boasting an expansive floor-to-ceiling height of 22 feet, the big room is the heart of the home, housing the kitchen, dining and entertaining space.

Here, large windows are dressed in ethereal cream-colored treatments by Houston's G&S Custom Draperies, and the dining room table sits on a base of four kiln-dried wood posts created by Cooper Meaders with ReCoop Designs.

Impressively, this ground floor space expands even further, opening up into the backyard, with a whole wall of windows sliding and effectively disappearing into the home's brick frame. "I wanted to be able to have the flexibility to fuse two separate areas, creating a space for our family and friends to intermingle, or be independent," says Shelley.

This fusion is made possible by the materials; the same cream bricks and floor tiles flow from the inside out. "The idea was to bring a natural and neutral elegance to the home, while creating warmth," explains Loya, who used no white, instead opting for cream, brown and grey tones.

Inspiration for the project's color scheme derived from one fabric swatch Shelley fell in love with. The material, which was ultimately used to upholster the gold-framed lounge chairs in the living room, is cream with a pattern of copper and pewter.

At the very back of the living space, constructed between the kitchen and living room, is a strikingly symmetrical, V-shaped, metallic-toned wooden staircase, leading upstairs in two directions. In between the lines of the "V" is a built-in 1,000-gallon tank, full of exotic fish — the curator of which cites LeBron James and Elon Musk as clients.

Ascending one side leads to the master wing; on the other side is a Missoni-inspired pink and white apartment for the Dalys' 12-year-old daughter Payton. This vibrant, multi-functional room, which she shares with Conure the parrot, boasts two queen bunks carved neatly into the wall — perfect for sleepovers with friends. A large Missoni floral sofa oozes style in an attached lounge and study space. There's an en suite bathroom, and the walk-in closet with a standout print of crazy-color "Watch" by Michael Craig-Martin.