A young professional couple bought this Austin house for the location, which they love. But after years living in a Tuscan-style builder home, replete with elaborate faux finishes and ornamentation, the couple sought a simpler, more modern aesthetic that would better fit their lifestyle.
“The house was filled with turrets, twists, and turns,” designer Patrick Ousey says. “They wanted a home instead that reflected their youthful, sophisticated personality and love of nature, with honest, simple materials.”
The project began by turning the entrance into a modern front porch with limestone floors, metal roof, glass canopy, and steel columns. A limestone and gravel path leads from the street to the front porch.
Get a Statement-Making Canopy for the Entryway
The Corbusier-style living room is a composition of forms that are tranquil yet sleekly muscular. Tucked behind the fireplace and in front of the curved wall is a staircase that leads to the basement. The dark plaster helps the curved wall recede from the brighter living space and echoes the furnishings’ ebony finishes. A square window brings in valuable light. The fireplace surround was kept low so that sunlight could reach the stairway to the basement.
A white oak cabinet divides the kitchen from the living room, allowing the areas to feel separate while maintaining a nice flow between the spaces. The kitchen features Calacatta Gold marble mosaic tiles — similar to those on the living room fireplace — which run from countertop to ceiling. A skylight next to the custom range hood brings in light that makes the tiles sparkle. The perimeter white countertops are Calacatta marble, and the central island is topped with a local limestone. The floors throughout the house are white oak.
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The kitchen also includes a breakfast nook. The designers didn’t alter the architecture, but they added a new upholstered sofa and chairs, a shell chandelier, and a Saarinen table to modernize the space.
In the dining room, the design team squared off an arched alcove. Rift-sawn oak boards are juxtaposed with an ornate Italian mirror, a 1940s-era console, and gold Murano sconces. Modern, leather-upholstered dining chairs with black backs and legs continue the bold color theme, which includes ebony, white, and gold, throughout the house.
In the master bedroom, a cream-toned midcentury leather chair and ottoman encapsulate the sense of comfort and lightness generated by light coming through the floor-to-ceiling windows and the muted color palette.
In the master bath, floor-to-ceiling windows replaced glass-block windows behind the new freestanding tub. The contoured tub sits on a diamond-pattern mosaic floor of Calacatta Gold marble tiles.
The Case for a Freestanding Tub in the Bath
The house is now open from front to back, with the front porch visually leading to the rear porch. Located off the kitchen, the back porch includes a grill to one side. Steel columns support a ceiling of Spanish cedar. Modern glass railings provide unobstructed views. Limestone tile covers the floor. The glass doors lift and slide.
“Our goal was to bring a sense of authenticity to the project by erasing the cliche elements of the original house and replacing them with a materials palette that strives to surpass the trends of the day,” Ousey says.
The master bedroom boasts floor-to-ceiling windows.
Seen from the front, the 3,800-square-foot home has a surprisingly low profile.Photo courtesy of House Beautiful
These sculptural tables and the items on them are like a little museum exhibit. Design by Kim Levis.Photo courtesy of House Beautiful
Look at the little gallery light mounted above the wall art — classy and cute! Design by Kim Levis.Photo courtesy of House Beautiful
The soft details on this chair's arms look so touchable. Design by Rydhima Brar.Photo courtesy of House Beautiful
These orangey accents are complimentary to the blue wash without adding a lot of heat. Design by Amber Guyton.Photo courtesy of House Beautiful
Shelves on top of the backsplash house knickknacks that keep the space from feeling too sterile. Design by Sara Malek Barney.Photo courtesy of House Beautiful
Wrapping the wall tiles around the step up into the shower breaks up the floor in a fun way. Design by Sara Malek Barney.Photo courtesy of House Beautiful
Why not decorate with a nearly life-sized stuffed sheep? Design by Kathy Kuo.Photo courtesy of House Beautiful
The blue in these shelves, against the sky and white trim, make them look like a Southern porch ceiling doused in haint blue. Design by Leah O’Connell.Photo courtesy of House Beautiful
This is a perfect place to read a book and escape overstimulation. Design by Amber Lewis.Photo courtesy of House Beautiful
Potted plants bring the greenery over the balcony's ledge.Photo courtesy of House Beautiful
“I looked at the space and thought, 'How many different functions can I put outdoors?' Because I’m going to need to do them all,” designer Caitlin Creer told House Beautiful. Design by Caitlin Creer.Photo courtesy of House Beautiful