What was the hottest happening in all things design and style this year?

The European mega-retailer, after what seemed like months of teasing and whispers and rumors, opened a 24,000-square-foot store at The Domain this fall. The store, known for its opulent mix of trendy and bargain-priced apparel, has a cult-like following — especially considering it doesn't have an online store for its U.S. customers. 

As a way to diversify from its usual mix of hard-to-find and distinct books, 'zines and toys, Domy turned its open spaces into mini pop-up shops, selling clothing and accessories (Olive Vintage), paper goods (Paper Party), jewelry and art (Busy Being) and sandwiches (Scmaltz). 

It was like a Bravo reality show: four architecture and design firms competed to redesign (and reinvent) Waller Creek, but only one team, Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates, Inc. and Thomas Phifer & Partners, would win with their towering space-age pavilion. 

For the acclaimed drummer of Shearwater, building his house was about going back to the very basics: over the course of seven years and in the dead heat of multiple Texas summers, Thor Harris built his two-story home with his bare hands. 

Block 21, home of ACL Live and the W Austin Hotel, became the first-mixed occupancy project of its time in the world to achieve LEED, or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification. It's the most fashionably green building in the city. 

The new beer bar already has an expansive (and appetizing) array of drinks and cheeses (and pretzels and sausages), but designer Veronica Koltuniak dressed Easy Tiger's interior with a whole other flavor: the highfalutin WASP of director Wes Anderson's films.