2025 Whole Home

House Beautiful works with Austin design firms to build dream home

Every year, the design magazine shows off its chops with a "Whole Home." This year, it's in Austin.

Rendering courtesy of House Beautiful

For eight years, interior decorating magazine House Beautiful has taken on an annual big project to show off their skills from top to bottom. This year, the new build — called the 2025 Whole Home — is in Austin's Deep Eddy neighborhood. Readers will be able to see the home in the November/December 2025 Renovation Issue, available November 18.

The three-level "treehouse" was designed and executed by the magazine's partners to combine a homey, neighborhood practicality with a luxurious hotel approach, according to House Beautiful. The house covers 3,800 square feet, containing four bedrooms, four bathrooms, two decks outside, and a two-car garage.

The magazine does not share what street the house is located on (and it probably won't), but the Deep Eddy neighborhood is relatively small; Deep Eddy Avenue stretches only about 900 feet from West Seventh Street to Lake Austin Boulevard. The area offers an eclectic mix of houses, both new and old, with a sale price well above Austin's median; according to Realty Austin, that's $1,415,000 for Deep Eddy versus $435,000 across Austin.

A press release lists three Austin-based partners while introducing the build: Sara Malek Barney of BANDD/DESIGN, Katie Hastings Architecture and Rick Villani & Preston Graham of Villani&Graham.

In addition to the main partners, eight female interior designers have contributed work to the project, including Malek Barney and Kim Lewis, who are both partially based in Austin but also spend time in Los Angeles, California, and Boston, Massachusetts, respectively.

The other visiting designers include:

Rydhima Brar (Los Angeles, California)
Caitlin Creer (Salt Lake City, Utah)
Amber Guyton (Atlanta, Georgia)
Kathy Kuo (New York, New York)
Amber Lewis (Los Angeles, California)
Leah O’Connell (San Francisco, California)

“Austin’s vibrant, social energy and event-centric community were the driving forces behind this year’s Whole Home,” said director of editorial special projects Carisha Swanson in the release.

"We set out to create an environment that channels the spirit of gathering — bringing together the ease of entertaining, the sophistication of travel, and the comfort of home," Swanson continued. "It’s a house designed for connection, supporting everything from spontaneous hangouts with friends to laid-back moments with family. Every space invites you to rethink what home can be—joyful, expressive, stylish, and filled with creative takeaways for anyone looking to live more fully, no matter where they call home.”

House Beautiful 2025 Whole Home in Deep Eddy The back of the house shows how big it really is.Rendering courtesy of House Beautiful

Brand partners will presumably also have a big impact on how the home turns out. They include:

Artika
Brizo
Cuyochi Linens
Fabricut
Fibreworks
Four Hands
GM Energy
Hunter Douglas
Lee Industries
Minted
Phillip Jeffries
Samsung
Sanderson Design Group
Sherwin Williams
The Container Store
TimberTech
Trane
Visual Comfort & Co.

While waiting for details of this Austin home to be revealed, readers can check out seven prior builds in other cities. The most recent build was in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, near Asheville. The article starts with a cultural overview of the area, lays out a floor plan, and offers entire separate stories for each of the rooms with lots of photography within.

Update (September 17): A press release from the Austin chapter of Friends of the Children announces that the nonprofit will partner with House Beautiful on this build. "The community is invited to purchase tickets to tour the home on select dates from October 16-26 and will have the opportunity to purchase some of the exquisite furniture and items displayed in the home," says the release.

WINTER WONDERS

Weekend holiday market elevates Austin's Asian artists

Photo by Joi Conti Photography

Illustrator Lisa Crawford of LisaLisa, who brings a touch of Filipino-American culture to her art, at a recent vendor fair.

Expect Asian flair from a variety of local artists at Asian Season ATX’s first Holiday Market on the grounds of Beerburg Brewery this Sunday, December 14. The market will feature more than 20 creators of ceramics, prints, and photography with a dash of Asian or Pacific heritage.

The holiday market, launched by Asian Season ATX, will showcase both art and food through an Asian lens. Hours are noon to 5 pm. The vendor lineup includes:

The Filipino food truck KinAugi, known for its lumpia, pancit, and meatsicles, also will be on site. A pop-up art gallery will feature the works of various artists with Asian American and Pacific Islander background: Erina Rizal, Ngan Hoang, Bart Sasam, Lauren Hua, Andy Dunlavey, Gigi White, and RJ Gaulberto.

Tayo Na Vol 2 launch party Asian vendors gathered for Tayo Na launch part, which celebrated the area's second Filipino directory.Photo by Joi Conti Photography

Painter Ngan Hoang, for instance, was born in Saigon. She uses paint and found materials to explore themes of healing, identity, and belonging. Bart Sasam uses his photography skills to create digital dioramas of Austin. And RJ Gualberto, born in the Philippines, moved to Austin in 2018 and uses both drafting and rendering skills in his art.

Artist Andy Dunlavey and baker Cedric Silan created Asian Season ATX in early 2024. Silan, who serves as executive director, says the group came together because showcasing Asian artists together drew bigger crowds.The organization is committed to being a welcoming space to artists, artisans, creators and makers.

Asian Season ATX founders Asian Season ATX celebrates Asian Heritage Month at Austin Beerworks.Photo by Joi Conti Photography

The group began with its annual AAPI Month Kickoff at Austin Beerworks, which quickly grew from a small gathering into one of the city’s larger celebrations of Asian and Pacific Islander creatives.

From there, Asian Season ATX expanded into curating art spaces for Party at the People’s House, partnering with Bolm Arts Studios for the Look Mama, We Made It gallery, contributing to the Austin Studio Tour, and supporting community projects like the Walks of Life exhibition and the Tayo Na launch, the city's Filipino directory.

Now, the organization continues hosting events year-round and highlighting participating artists on social media. Austinites who miss this event — or attend and want more — won't have to wait long for the next event. Plus, many of the vendors have connections with other markets and sell their goods online.

asian culture markets holidays shopping