Turning a Family’s New Indian Springs House Into a Home — Inside a Complete Interior Transformation In The Woodlands
Striking Touches With Room To Grow
BY Laura Landsbaum // 01.28.25A bold color on the island, new fixtures and hardware gave the kitchen a facelift without major renovations.
A move to The Woodlands’ Indian Springs neighborhood for a home in Hunters Crossing for the Thomas family saw them turn to Taryn Leto of Tiny Haven Design to help them transform their new house into a home. The plan? A refresh of every single space.
“The house had great bones. It is absolutely beautiful,” Leto tells PaperCity The Woodlands. “So they just wanted to refresh, make it theirs, brighten it up a little bit. And they said ‘We know none of this furniture is going to work,’ So they needed all new furniture.
“It was fun to be able to do the creative stuff in terms of wallpaper and paint and hardware and all that lighting, and furnish it as well.”
The goals for this home refresh project were clear. The new homeowners asked for an update so that the house was functional, stylish and comfortable.
The Thomases have two sones and son Benjamin’s reimagined room wowed homeowner Zach Thomas.
“Honestly, our son Benjamin’s room is my favorite room in the house,” he says. “Benjamin is obsessed with sharks and other marine animals. Taryn gave Benjamin the shark-themed room he wanted, while keeping it elegant and something that he can grow into.
“The window seat we added in his room is so cozy. He loves it.”

Leto created a room that will work for years to come.
“He (Benjamin) loves marine life,” Leto says. “So we knew out of the gates we wanted to to kind of focus on that, but also keeping pieces that could kind of grow with him once he grew out of the theme. So it just might be pirates next week. But the house had this great little bench seat.
“It had really good bones in terms of just being able to like accentuate the the coziness of it all. I always love to do a little snuggle zone somewhere to read and just hang out.”
An Indian Springs Home Reborn
The bedroom transformation is just a part of this complete reimagining. Tiny Haven Design even created a movie space for the family to enjoy out of previously unused attic space.
“They built this whole space out,” Leto says. “So they want to do a really interesting, dark, fun, fun space.”
Leto even built a bar area into the room, with space for wine, coffee and shelving.

Modern wallpapers from wallpaper artist Lindsay Cowles further updated the home.
“So we did two wallpapers of hers in this house,” Leto notes. “They’re all hand painted, and she’ll reprint them.”
The existing kitchen didn’t require major renovations, so Leto made only cosmetic changes.
“We painted the island, and we changed out the lighting,” she says. “We changed out the hardware and painted the cabinets. New hardware can make such a difference. We did all the window treatments.”
Travel is a big part of the Thomas family’s life. They love visiting all the National Parks. Leto used that love as a springboard for the boys’ playroom.

“They had all of these books and photography (on national parks),” the designer notes. “I thought ‘What a fun theme that they can grow with.’ These fabrics are also from the JAMES showroom. We did a little custom pinboard behind these built-in desks for the boys with new roman shades. And then we painted this all a teal green — quite a change from the previous gray.”
The biggest challenge for the Thomas family during the renovation?
“The most difficult part was just waiting with anticipation for everything to be delivered and installed,” Zach Thomas says. “Taryn’s digital design was so beautiful, but we couldn’t wait to see everything in place in person.
“Taryn and her team were so wonderful to work with. They took care of every detail and made the whole process seamless and easy for us.”
Sometimes waiting for your new house to be transformed into a home is indeed the hardest part. But more than worth it when it turns out like this.