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About Junto House
Junto House is a twelve-studio shared workspace at 1516 N Durham Drive in the Houston Heights. The space opened in spring 2026, founded by Andy and Morgan Sommer, the husband-and-wife team behind Forth & Nomad and Café Forth. Domo, the Sommers' new mindful cafe, opens one block north in September 2026. Each studio is a private office. The building includes a bookable meeting room, a kitchen, and a common lounge. Studios start at $975 a month. The meeting room is open to the public at $75 an hour or $450 a day. juntohouse.com
About the name
The name comes from Benjamin Franklin's 1727 mutual-improvement society in Philadelphia. Franklin's original Junto started with twelve members. We borrowed the name and we borrowed the number.
Why the Heights
The Sommers have been in the Heights for a decade. Forth & Nomad opened at Heights Mercantile in 2017. Café Forth followed, inside Forth & Nomad. Junto House is the third concept on the same handful of blocks. Domo, the Sommers' new mindful cafe, opens one block north this September.
"We have spent the last decade in the Heights. It is where we built Forth & Nomad, where we live, and where we wanted to build the next thing."
Andy Sommer, co-founder
Behind Junto House
"OffChance is the brand architecture studio Morgan and I co-founded. Forth & Nomad was the first concept. Junto House is the latest. Domo comes next."
Andy Sommer, co-founder
OffChance designs, creates, and operates the concepts: Forth & Nomad, Junto House, and Domo. Somco Capital, the Sommers' real estate development and investment firm, owns and developed the buildings these concepts go inside.
The design POV
Interiors are by Amanda Heineman of Studio Heineman, designed in close collaboration with the Sommers. Andy and Morgan brought the mood board and brief, pulling from The Proper Austin and the work of Kelly Wearstler. The palette is ink, terracotta, and cream. Materials were chosen for weight and longevity over novelty.
"The brief was clear. Materials with weight. Natural light. Nothing that announces itself. Amanda Heineman of Studio Heineman helped us bring it to life."
Morgan Sommer, co-founder
Founders
Andy Sommer, Co-founder
Andy Sommer is co-founder of Junto House and co-founder of its parent OffChance, a brand architecture studio. In 2017 he and his wife Morgan opened Forth & Nomad at Heights Mercantile, a 500-square-foot shop that grew over eight years into a 4,000-square-foot flagship with Café Forth inside. At Junto House he handles brand, strategy, and long-term planning. Domo, the Sommers' new mindful cafe, opens one block north in September 2026.
Morgan Sommer, Co-founder
Morgan Sommer is co-founder of Junto House and its parent OffChance, a brand architecture studio. In 2017 she and her husband Andy opened Forth & Nomad at Heights Mercantile, a 500-square-foot shop that grew over eight years into a 4,000-square-foot flagship with Café Forth inside. At Junto House she runs the space day to day. Domo, the Sommers' new mindful cafe, opens one block north in September 2026. The Heights has been her workplace for a decade.
Quotes
Pre-approved quotes a reporter can use. Andy and Morgan are reachable for fresh quotes if a reporter wants something specific to their angle.
"There is a real place for an open floor plan. This is not that. Junto House is twelve private offices, because that is what the people we know were looking for."
Andy Sommer, co-founder, on private studios versus open floors
"Twelve was the original Junto. Benjamin Franklin started his club in Philadelphia in 1727 with twelve members. We borrowed the name and we borrowed the number."
Andy Sommer, on the number
"People who are building something of their own and would like good neighbors while they build it. Independent founders, creatives, and operators."
Andy Sommer, on who the space is for
"We opened Forth & Nomad in five hundred square feet at Heights Mercantile in 2017. Junto House is the same ethos, for a different set of people."
Morgan Sommer, co-founder, on lessons from Forth & Nomad
"The meeting room is open to anyone in the Heights who needs a room for an hour. You do not need to be a member to book it. That mattered to us."
Morgan Sommer, on the meeting room
Fact sheet
Photos
Andy and Morgan Sommer, co-founders of Junto House.
Photo: Traci Ling.
The bookable meeting room at Junto House. Available to members and non-members through juntohouse.com.
Photo: Traci Ling. Interiors: Amanda Heineman, Studio Heineman.
The studio corridor at Junto House, with private studios behind each door.
Photo: Traci Ling. Interiors: Amanda Heineman, Studio Heineman.
The entry at Junto House, 1516 N Durham Drive.
Photo: Traci Ling. Interiors: Amanda Heineman, Studio Heineman.
A private studio at Junto House.
Photo: Traci Ling. Interiors: Amanda Heineman, Studio Heineman.
The lounge at Junto House.
Photo: Traci Ling. Interiors: Amanda Heineman, Studio Heineman.
The kitchen at Junto House.
Photo: Traci Ling. Interiors: Amanda Heineman, Studio Heineman.
The common area at Junto House.
Photo: Traci Ling. Interiors: Amanda Heineman, Studio Heineman.
A desk in a private studio at Junto House.
Photo: Traci Ling. Interiors: Amanda Heineman, Studio Heineman.
For high-resolution print files, the floor plan, or any asset not shown here, download the press kit or email press@juntohouse.com.
Logo and assets
Download the Junto House marks below. For higher-resolution files or any asset not listed, download the press kit or email press@juntohouse.com.
Press release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Junto House Opens in the Houston Heights
Twelve private studios, a meeting room, and a common floor at 1516 N Durham Drive.
HOUSTON, May 27, 2026. Junto House opened in spring 2026 at 1516 N Durham Drive in the Houston Heights. The twelve-studio shared workspace was founded by Andy and Morgan Sommer, the husband-and-wife team behind Forth & Nomad and Café Forth. The Sommers opened the original Forth & Nomad at Heights Mercantile in 2017, elsewhere in the Heights, and Junto House is now leasing private studios.
The building is a single floor of twelve private studios, a bookable meeting room, a kitchen, and a common lounge. Each studio is a private office, sized 66 to 148 square feet. There is no open floor, no hot desks, and no day passes onto the studio floor. Studios are members only, priced from $975 to $1,800 per month based on size. The meeting room is open to members and non-members at $75 per hour or $450 per day, bookable through juntohouse.com.
Junto House is built for independent founders, creatives, and operators who want a real office without the overhead of a long commercial lease. Tours are by appointment.
The Sommers opened Forth & Nomad in a 500-square-foot retail space at Heights Mercantile in 2017. Over the next eight years they grew it into a 4,000-square-foot flagship with Café Forth inside, becoming a regular fixture of Heights life. Junto House is the third concept from OffChance, the brand architecture studio the Sommers co-founded together. Domo, the Sommers' new mindful cafe, opens at 1420 N Durham Drive, one block north of Junto House, in September 2026.
Interiors are by Amanda Heineman of Studio Heineman, designed in close collaboration with the Sommers. Andy and Morgan brought the mood board and brief, pulling from The Proper Austin and the work of Kelly Wearstler, and stayed involved in sourcing. The palette is ink, terracotta, and cream. Materials were chosen for weight and longevity over novelty. The studios, meeting room, kitchen, and common lounge are built for focused work. Natural light carries through the floor; sightlines are deliberate. It is the same eye the Sommers brought to Forth & Nomad, applied to a different brief.
"Building Forth & Nomad, we met the kind of people you want around when you are working," said Andy Sommer, co-founder. "Junto House gives them a room of their own to do that work."
"The brief was clear," said Morgan Sommer, co-founder. "Materials with weight. Natural light. Nothing that announces itself. Amanda Heineman of Studio Heineman helped us bring it to life."
The name Junto comes from Benjamin Franklin's 1727 mutual-improvement society in Philadelphia, a small circle of tradesmen and printers who met weekly to improve one another's work.
Studio tours are available by appointment. The meeting room is bookable by the hour or the day at juntohouse.com. Press inquiries should be directed to press@juntohouse.com.
About Junto House
Junto House is a twelve-studio shared workspace at 1516 N Durham Drive in the Houston Heights. The space opened in spring 2026, founded by Andy and Morgan Sommer, the husband-and-wife team behind Forth & Nomad and Café Forth. Domo, the Sommers' new mindful cafe, opens one block north in September 2026. Each studio is a private office. The building includes a bookable meeting room, a kitchen, and a common lounge. Studios start at $975 a month. The meeting room is open to the public at $75 an hour or $450 a day. juntohouse.com
Media Contact
Junto House
press@juntohouse.com
713-510-3204
juntohouse.com