On any given Sunday, outstanding wide receiver Randall Cobb makes plays that cause jaws to drop and eyes to bulge in a “what just happened?” manner. (There are dozens of YouTube videos of the Tennessee native dodging and evading would-be tacklers, for those who haven’t seen him play.) However, Sunday is only one day of the week. Randall spends the remainder of his time somewhere that could be considered the antithesis of a high-pressure professional football stadium.
“It’s been incredible to have a place where our two young children can run around the yard and make memories,” Randall says of his recently finished home in West University Place, a city within the city limits of Houston, Texas. “We kept hearing about West U from our friends,” Randall says of himself and his wife, the attorney Aiyssa Cobb. “So when we were finally able to see the area, how it was so walkable to coffee shops and restaurants, it felt like the perfect situation for us.”
However, the Cobbs purchased their Houston property during the COVID-19 pandemic. And if that wasn’t enough to complicate the design process, consider that the young family was residing in Los Angeles at the time. To furnish their home, they naturally sought assistance, communicating with interior designer Brandon Fontenot and Roxanne and Jonathan Wimmel of Wimmel Design and Construction. “While neither of them are from California,” Brandon Fontenot says of the homeowners, “their aesthetic is consistent with that region of the country.” That became the premise for the design we developed. Naturally, they also have children, so we had to be mindful of that; the coffee table had to be rounded, while the living room had to be free-form…. [And] it had to appear chic.”
Chic indeed, because while the creation of beauty is not the objective of competitive sports such as football, it unquestionably is for interior design. Aiyda explains, “Roxanne and Jonathan really listened to our request that the space be both functional and aesthetically pleasing.” “We desired awe-inspiring experiences and a place where our children would be as joyful as we are. The fact that so much of this was occurring via FaceTime due to the pandemic made it all the more challenging. However, [the designers] did a fantastic job of bringing our home to life.”
The Cobbs, who met through mutual friends in 2011 and wed six years later, enjoy entertaining family and friends. The eleven-year NFL veteran Randall says, “We always have guests on game day weekends during the football season.” “Obviously, we’re still in the midst of a pandemic, but during normal times, we host monthly team gatherings at our home. Additionally, we enjoy inviting colleagues over for dinner or a game night.”
This does not imply that the residence is solely intended for entertaining. It is intended to be inhabited. With this in mind, the Cobbs desired for the space to be filled with ample natural light. This request, however, was incompatible with the primary bedroom’s design. Roxanne Wimmel explains, “We proposed to make their bedroom very gloomy.” “Therefore, [the Cobbs] told us, ‘Okay, we’ll trust you on this'” A few weeks later, when the homeowners saw the space, they were smitten: “We love it,” Randall says. That was the wisest choice we made.
The Cobbs’ family-oriented values, which are rooted in their origins, are ultimately reflected in their household. (Their three-year-old son, Caspian, was named after the Caspian Sea as a tribute to Aiyda’s Iranian heritage, while his one-year-old sibling, Cade, was named after a mountain range in Tennessee, where Randall is from.) “Above all, the home needed to feel familiar and homely,” Aiyda explains. Both Randall and I have always been drawn to this aesthetic.