The guest room tent is one of four structures on the 84-acre property in Azle. The Munsons host guests almost weekly, from family and friends to families in need who can’t afford a vacation. Photograph by Aiden Franklin
When Dave and Suzette Munson, the founders of Saddleback Leather Company, sold the sprawling eight-bedroom home they shared with their two young children in Keller, they were interested in building a new house but quickly realized it would take a year. As they started looking for a rental to move into in the meantime, Dave couldn’t get an image out of his head: the waxed-canvas safari tents the family stayed in during recent trips to Africa. Dave called Rob Flowers, of East African Canvas Company, a Nairobi, Kenya–based outfit that has created tents to house everyone from British military troops to high-end safari campers. A series of tents were forthcoming and the Munsons moved in. That was almost two years ago.
“Once we moved in, we were hooked, and we have no intention of moving out,” Dave says. “The wind, rain, and cold weather can be a bit of a challenge, but at the end of the day, it’s been the best experience. We wanted to instill in our children a sense of adventure while giving them room to roam—all with Starbucks fifteen minutes away.”
Dave Munson (pictured by the porch with his morning coffee) doesn’t have a long commute to his office. He simply walks out the door and heads just a few hundred yards. Though the headquarters of Saddleback Leather Company are in Fort Worth, his home office is where you'll find him most days.
Photograph by Aiden Franklin
All the tents have wood floors and a sturdy metal frame that supports the canvas roofs and walls. Built-in screens with canvas flaps on the exterior and heavy plastic covers that velcro to the canvas on the inside serve as windows throughout.
Photograph by Aiden Franklin
The guest room tent is one of four structures on the 84-acre property in Azle. The Munsons host guests almost weekly, from family and friends to families in need who can’t afford a vacation.
Photograph by Aiden Franklin
The Munson family with their two Labradors pictured on the deck of one of their tents.
Photography by Ralph Lauer
The Munsons’ two children, who have traveled the world with their parents, are home schooled. Their bedroom sits just off the living room. Walls made of wood were added to the interiors of a few of the tents to add structure and division between rooms.
Photograph by Aiden Franklin
The vintage butcher block in the kitchen was sourced by Suzette at the Montgomery Antique Mall, in Fort Worth. Often found cooking up a family favorite like enchiladas, she also designed all the tent interiors.
Photograph by Aiden Franklin
Procuring the perfect copper tub that Suzette envisioned for the outdoor shower space took several tries, but she eventually settled on this one, made of Santa Clara del Cobre copper.
Photograph by Aiden Franklin
Storage is minimal in the master bedroom, where the couple shares one armoire for clothing and accessories.
Photograph by Aiden Franklin
When is comes to decorating, Suzette is constantly on the lookout for finds on Craigslist or at garage sales, which she pairs with treasures she finds during their world travels.
Photograph by Aiden Franklin
Each structure has indoor and outdoor plumbing along with electricity, but there are no locks—or televisions.
Photograph by Aiden Franklin
All of the tents are connected to one another with decking, where a gaggle of kids can usually be found running. The Munson quarters have become the most popular spot for playdates.
Photograph by Aiden Franklin
The couple often works from their home office (where they also homeschool the kids). The business was born back in 1999, when Dave was working as a volunteer English teacher near Mexico City. He had been searching for a sturdy bag to carry his books but couldn’t never find exactly what he wanted. So he went to a leather shop and had the owner make a bag he designed. After friends and strangers inquired about buying one of their own, he started peddling bags from the back of his car between Juarez (where he eventually moved) and El Paso. He finally sold enough to officially launch the company a few years later, in 2003.
Photograph by Aiden Franklin
The family traded in the swimming pool at their former home in Keller for a pond that sits just past the row of tents.
Photograph by Aiden Franklin
“We thought we were going to build our dream house, but staying in those tents in Rwanda changed everything,” Dave says. “We just decided it was time to simplify our lives and live with less stuff.”
