Best of Both Worlds

Rancho Viejo Dr. Kalim Habet and Gigi Habet

Couple's Memories of Belize Inspire Home's Outdoor Wonderland

Childhood memories of camping with her family beside streams with freshwater waterfalls in the sub-tropical interior of Belize inspired the creation of Gigi Habet’s enchanted backyard oasis.

Both Gigi and her husband Dr. Kalim Habet, grew up in Belize. While nothing will ever replace Belize, the couple feels like they have found the next best thing in the Rio Grande Valley. Much of what the couple treasures in life can be found in their lovely Rancho Viejo home.

Rancho Viejo is a small town located at the tip of tropical South Texas. The quaint community lines a lovely resaca. A resaca is a stream which is a former channel of the Rio Grande, named by returning Mexican-American War inductees who fought at the battle of Resaca de la Palma (translated Dry River Bed of the Palms) near Matamoros, Tamaulipas in 1846. The location of the community provides residents with easy access to both South Padre Island for beach fun and Mexico for quick shopping sprees or nights of entertainment.

“The lifestyle is the closest we have found to that of Belize,” Gigi said. “ It’s close to the water, we have beautiful weather and the area has attracted people from all over the world - making it very cosmopolitan.”

Finding a culturally stimulating city with family-oriented residents allowed the couple to create what they consider the perfect home. A neighborhood along the water, a delightful climate and beautiful tropical landscaping makes a great climate in which friends and neighbors regularly gather at each others homes for days of play and evenings of entertainment.

Mountain Pine Ridge was the inspiration for the couple’s backyard, which serves as their main entertainment venue. Mountain Pine Ridge is located in the Cayo District of Belize, an area spanning more than 2,000 square miles across diverse terrain, from rolling hills and sweeping farmland devoted to citrus orchards and cattle farming, to lush river valleys and rugged mountain ridges covered in sub-tropical jungle. As a child, this is the area that Gigi and her family spent time camping and enjoying nature. This is the inspiration for her backyard.

Plans for the home began from a simple drawing by the couple while out to diner on a napkin, according to Gigi.

The outdoor kitchen was constructed with an outdoor wood-burning brick pizza oven so that friends and family could gather casually, socializing, and making meals together.

Twisted brick columns that are styled after those seem by Gigi at The University of Texas in Austin, fortify the roof which is part brick and part wood lattice. The same bricks were used to promote a natural visual and aesthetic flow throughout the home and to the outdoor living area. Glass paneled doors open onto the porch and pool area, surrounding the outdoor kitchen. Large windows line the interior of the home and provide a constant view of the outdoor area from every room of the home.

In an attempt to make the area look as much like the natural, rugged, landscape of Belize, lush tropical vegetation surrounds the outdoor living area. Most stunning of the plants in the yard are the banana trees which hang over a man made waterfall which cascades into the poolbunches of bananas hang within arms reach of swimmers.

Around the pool and along the back porch are handmade mahogany chairs made from wood from Belize. Adding to the flavor of the porch, which is completely tiled, are intermittent tile squares of colorful mosaic lizards.

A home pulled together by the sentimental memories of childhood. A place that creates memories for her own family. The Habet’s have created a home that brings the best of both worlds together.