The Ultimate Butler

Do you need to track down a luxury Norwegian ironing board? Hire a gardener? Find an antique towel warmer?

Balsamic Marinated Boretane Onions? Leland Stone deems them a pantry must have.

Then again, who doesn’t already have a can of Balsamic Marinated Boretane Onions on hand?

Never fear: Jeeves is here.

Meet the butler superhero. Leland Stone is the owner of Stone Standard, a company with the goal of making people happier in their homes - and, by extension, happier in their lives. Texan-bred Stone, who received hospitality training at Cornell, doesn't have the prim English accent many associate with the P.G. Wodehouse interpretation of the word "butler." But he does have the dapper wardrobe, the meticulous eye, and a strong belief that not a single detail of your home should go unconsidered. He's made it his life's work to give these details the care they deserve.

"I wish I could have ten Lelands," says Olga Kucerak, owner of a San Antonio mortgage company. Stone has helped her cater events, track hard-to-find light fixtures, and find the best architect to remodel her nearly 100-year-old home.

"I consider him the ultimate concierge," she says.

Formerly, Stone worked as an estate manager at some of the most prominent households in the country. He started his own company in 1996. Now, whether you live in a studio apartment or a multimillion-dollar mansion, Stone can make it feel like the gracious, well-appointed home you deserve.

For those who prefer to help themselves, Stone's inimitable skills, years of experience, and his belief in maximizing every aspect of your home come together on his Web site, where he offers an index of vendors and an online store, where he sells everything from cloth-covered electrical wires ("not an option . . . a necessity,") to indispensable pantry items that help clients "get to the next level of entertainment." (But then again, who doesn't already have a can of Balsamic Marinated Boretane Onions on hand?)

"We increase the standards in your houses, so you can get more out of living in your home," Stone says. Leave it in his hands, and he'll make your house into a home suitable for a butler, a superhero . . . or you.

Posted on May 22, 2006