A lifelong Houstonian, Daphne Scarbrough is the owner and creator of The Brass Maiden. Since 1982, she has designed, fabricated and installed handcrafted, iron, brass, and steel beds, custom railings and metalwork, and created one-of-a-kind stairways, tables, antique reproductions, linens and more.

THE SHOP

Always a believer in the conservation and repurposing of historical buildings and architectural components, in 1995 Daphne designed and built the shop house of her dreams. The two-story, English arts-and-crafts-style building has a homey feel and was constructed with many recycled materials, from the rustic wooden barn flooring to the flying pig weather vane, including the 100-year-old Houston brick and stained glass windows. The fireplace was a labor of love, made from Rio Grande river rock. And of course, she designed, fabricated and installed her own railings for the stairway, kitchen tables and countertops, the brass bathroom sink stand, and custom vent hood over the retro stove.

Daphne is passionate about preserving the green space in her neighborhood, maintaining a nature habitat in the backyard that includes rainwater tanks and a pond (a few rescued turtles have lived happy lives there). That support for nature extends to the green space in Houston, including her work in the Richmond Avenue Coalition (RAC) saving trees along that street, promoting the preservation of Buffalo Bayou and green space along Post Oak Boulevard.

Friends are also encouraging her to finally start writing that cook book (when she's not designing, fabricating, or out installing, that is.)