SoCo Sneak Peek

Everything you need to know about the new South Congress Hotel opening this summer

South Congress Hotel is slated to open this summer, and along with 71 rooms and 12 suites, the space will bring a bar, restaurants, retail (including a custom and vintage motorcycle shop), and a swanky rooftop pool to the Travis Heights neighborhood.

Designed by Dick Clark + Associates and Michael Hsu Office of Architecture, the posh boutique hotel is part of the ever-growing Violet Crown hospitality company which counts La Condesa, Sway, Fair Market and Malverde among its properties. South Congress Hotel, currently under construction on the 1600 block of South Congress Avenue between Monroe and Milton streets, joins historic Hotel Ella among the group's hospitality offerings.

"Everyone at Violet Crown is excited to unveil South Congress Hotel, a landmark development in Austin that countless local partners [including] designers, artisans, chefs, retailers and builders have been working on for nearly three years," said Violet Crown partner Jesse Herman in a press release.

Among those partners are Sunroom, a specialty boutique with a location on South Lamar; Manana, a coffee shop; Revival Cycles, a retailer for custom and vintage motorcycles; Tenoverten, a New York City-based nail shop; and a South Congress Hotel store.

South Congress Hotel will also house two restaurants, both of which will be overseen by Executive Chef Michael Paley. Central Standard is being billed as an "American bar and grill" and will be open for lunch and dinner. Café No Sé will offer "California-inspired American," and provide breakfast, lunch, dinner and late-night options. FÖDA Studios, the designers behind Austin staples like Perla's, Clark's and Jeffrey's, will create the brand identity for the hotel and the property's two restaurants.

South Congress Hotel will officially open in summer 2015.

Cafe No Se will serve California-inspired American.

Studio MAI

Cafe No Se will serve California-inspired American.

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Pools, pergolas, patios – oh my!

Annual Outdoor Living Tour returns for 2024 in Austin's 8 best backyards

Photo by Jake Holt, via MA+DS

The single-day Outdoor Living Tour offers inspiration for backyards of all kinds.

Although Austinites love to enjoy nature year-round, spring is the best season to get outside before the mosquitos descend in full force and patio furniture is liable to scald the thighs. For locals looking to spruce up their own slice of nature at home, the annual Outdoor Living Tour on May 4 provides the perfect inspiration from Austin’s best landscape architects and designers.

The event is presented by the Modern Architecture + Design Society, which also hosts the annual Modern Homes Tour. Whereas the latter takes place over a full weekend, the Outdoor Living tour is designed as a “lighter, more summer-fun day,” according to the website.

Rock garden backyard This pebble-covered area maintains visual interest with geometric sectioning.Photo courtesy of ecotopes, via MA+DS

As such, the truncated catalog of participants features just eight backyards, gardens, and outdoor living spaces. The shorter list allows visitors to enjoy the self-guided tour at a more leisurely pace, taking in the amazing work of Austin’s talented design professionals and maybe even connecting with someone for a future project.

As always, the 2024 tour spans a wide geography across Austin: the eight locations are spread over six neighborhoods, including Travis Heights, Rollingwood, Milwood, Allandale, Highland Park West, and Rosedale. Guests can visit the homes in any order of preference, viewing projects that run the gamut from outdoor rooms and expansive backyards to pools, pergolas, and perfectly manicured gardens.

Backyard pool Any pool is nice, but the pool deck is where the real design is.Photo by Itzel Ponce, via MA+DS

Participating landscape architecture firms include: Open Envelope Studio, Ecotopes, Maas Verde Landscape Restoration, Colectivo Creative, Seedlings Landscape Design Build, Dick Clark + Associates, ADLA Studio, and Austin Outdoor Design. As with the Modern Home Tour, architects and designers are on hand during the tour to guide visitors through their projects, answer questions, and provide inspiration for guests’ own outdoor areas.

Tickets for the tour start at $35 and are available via the Modern Architecture + Design Society, which also includes previews of the 2024 homes. A map of participating locations will be mailed out to ticket holders before the event. (Note that since the tour features private homes with pools and other features that may not be child-friendly, children need to be 10 years of age or older to participate – though infants who will be carried are allowed to attend).

gardening home design tours