Ever wonder what a house costs in one of the small towns outside of Austin? Maybe you live in Austin and have gotten priced out because of the ever increasing home prices in town, or maybe you want to move to Austin but can’t quite afford to buy. No matter what the case is you are in luck, because there are several small towns less than an hour from Austin that are equal parts affordable and charming.
Read MoreAustin may be the capital of Texas, but it’s always been a bit of a little brother to its bigger, more sophisticated siblings Dallas and Houston. However as the eye and envy of the nation has turned to the city that likes to keep things weird Austin has decided it is time to grow up. That means a lot of things are changing for the good or the bad, but in my opinion the Hermes store opening on South Congress is a good cultural canary in the coal mine as to where things are going. With businesses and billionaires like Tesla adopting the city as their new home, a new Austin is getting ready to welcome them with open arms. Enter the Four Seasons Private Residences Austin.
Read MoreMy current and recent past clients know I’ve been keeping a secret for a while. My little team has just gotten a bit bigger. For those who haven’t had the pleasure of meeting my newest team member I wanted to take a moment to introduce you to Greg Pike.
Greg joined my team at Skout last year and has hit the ground running. He’s already helped a handful of folks find their perfect houses here in Austin, and while there is a long list of nice things I could say about Greg I’ll just sum it up like this.
This dude get’s it. He gets the full co-sign from me.
Read MoreIt’s hard to believe that it’s been three weeks since we got back from Portugal, just a tad longer than the time we spent there. This is our second trip to Portugal and to say that I’m smitten is an understatement. The first time we went we covered pretty much the whole country, and while it was fantastic in many ways it was a lot of moving around. This time we wanted to slow down and get to know one area more intimately, namely Portugals southern coastline, the Algarve. While the Algarve is relatively unknown to most American, that’s definitely not the case for europeans. In fact it has a bit of a bad reputation for being a cheap all inclusive getaway for Brit’s and others looking for a bit of sunshine and beach time. Think of it as the Cancun of Europe. But like Cancun there is much more than just the resorts (shout out to Merida) in fact in the Algarve they are much less apparent and prevalent than in Cancun.
Read MoreJohn Watson may be one of Austin’s least famous and most accomplished architects. The mere fact that he studied under Frank Lloyd Wright in the 50’s should have been enough to keep him forefront in the Austin architecture scene, but much like the style of houses he built he decided to do things his own way. I’ve featured some of his works from the late 70’s on my website before and they are some of the most amazing examples of organic architecture I’ve ever seen. Since sharing I’ve had numerous inquiries from folks that knew Mr. Watson but have lost touch with him over the years. I even had an opportunity to speak with him briefly on the phone once. He is a deeply private man, and has somehow managed to do one of the most elusive things in architecture; design lucrative projects in the exact unique style he wants to do, all while staying completely off the radar.
Read MoreThe concept of indoor-outdoor flow is foundational to residential modernism. Iconic architects such as Richard Neutra took advantage of the International style’s minimalism to create spaces that incorporate and emphasize their surroundings and contribute to the health of residents with natural ventilation, natural light, and the ability to enjoy large parts of home life in the fresh outdoor air. But what happens to that vision when, as is currently the case, the relative health of indoor and outdoor spaces is part of daily conversation, and the transition between them is qualified, negotiated, and usually far from seamless?
Read MoreLet’s say, for the sake of argument (and it would be a lively one), that residential-scale modernism first took hold of this country in California. Yes, there’s Frank Lloyd Wright’s midwestern reign, along with certain claims for the region that could be made by Mies van der Rohe’s Farnsworth House in Illinois.
But to really capture the American imagination, modernism had to capitalize on the American dream—a dream that invariably lies to the west. As with many things, Southern California proved the best place to turn aspirational ideas about living and lifestyles (swimming pools, movie stars) into mass-produced realities (swimming pools, wet bars), offering home buyers a reasonable facsimile of stylish, easy living and preserving their au courant bona fides.
Read MoreToday is the official first day of summer, which means it’s only going to get hotter here in Austin. A lot of my clients that are moving to Austin from cooler states ask me how the summers are here, and I never sugar coat it. It’s hot. Very hot. You’re going to sweat a lot, and your’e going to need to cool down.
Luckily there are two very good solutions to both those problems. Swimming, and deliciously refreshing summer time drinks. Over the years I’ve shared a lot of my favorites on my newsletter so I’ve decided to do a big round up here of how to survive a summer in Austin.
Read MorePerhaps one of the most ironic parts about our house is that the focus from the very beginning has been the inner courtyard, and yet somehow it has been the last thing to be finished.
Because of budget reasons the pool and all our landscaping for the back yard didn’t get completed with the house. That doesn’t mean that we weren’t planning ahead though. Our guest house is at the exact level as the main house, which meant until now it has been sitting awkwardly above grade. The pool that we added a year ago was also at the same level, meaning it too stuck above grade making it look like an above ground pool. There were also stub outs for gas and electric to go to the back yard.
Read MoreI have a confession to make, I’ve been holding out on you. It’s partly because I’m lazy, and partly because I’ve wanted to keep it all to myself. It’s time to come clean though and introduce you to House of St. Clair. I’m not a particularly fashionable guy, but I’ve always thought that menswear is feeling fairly stagnant these days. That’s exactly what got me so excited about HOSC. They take deep inspiration from the past (like their Detroit influenced fall winter collection) but execute everything with a contemporary twist.
Read MoreI went to Mexico City for the first time this spring, and the whole trip the only thing I could think was "Why in the hell did it take me so long to come here?". It's an easy and inexpensive plane ride from Austin, and once you get there it's super affordable. If you've never been before, it's probably nothing like you would expect.
Read MoreThere are many architects names that are universally recognized, Frank Lloyd Wright for example. Then there are those names that are well known to local architecture fans like our own A. D Stenger. But for every well know architect there are countless others that go unnoticed, and not because they weren't talented or deserving of recognition. If you are a true architect nerd like me those names like Herbert Crume, John S Chase, Barton Riley, or Roland Roessner may ring a bell. Today I'd like to introduce you to another. O. Carl Happel.
Read MoreIf you get my newsletter you have probably heard me mention Esby a few times in the past. They are a local clothing brand founded in 2014 by Stephanie Beard. Stephanie comes from a background of designing menswear for major brands and started Esby to focus on quality clothing for men and women with a menswear mentality. What they mean by that is that the close are made to be comfortable, durable and worn often.
Read MoreLet's just start this post off saying that I've wanted a pool since I was a little kid. My wife would probably argue that I am still a kid which is maybe why we have had a pool at every house we've lived while in Austin. You can see a few prime examples below. How much did they cost? Cheap. How long did they last? Not long enough. Did I love them? Abso-fucking-lutely.
Read MoreEver wish you could wander through some of the houses I post? First off, you can, just call me. It may cost you a beer if you are just a Looky Lou, but you know I'm down. Second, next weekend is your chance to get through the doors of a few I've featured. It's the 2018 Austin Modern Home Tour, and below are my top three favorites (in no particular order) that I think you need to see.
Read MoreLast year I was fortunate enough to have some talented friends over to help document our house and capture a few of my thoughts about what makes a good space. If you haven't already seen the gorgeous photos taken by Andrea Calo stop what you are doing right now and check them out here.
Special thanks also goes out to Sisterwolf for getting me in front of a camera and picking my brain a bit about why I love architecture and the work I do.
Read MoreAustin may be known as the live music capital of the world, but it has an equally robust art scene. If you've ever attended the East Austin Studio Tour you have an idea of just how immense the art community is here. You may also have noticed that it's hard to wade through the huge amount of art out there to find something that really speaks to you. For those looking to drill down to the good stuff I have two recommendations. First, Instagram is your friend. Some of my favorite artists in town I first discovered via Instagram. Second, keep an eye on well know galleries for rotating exhibitions.
Read MoreWhile there is no shortage of homes tours in Austin, the AIA Homes Tour is always my favorite. The quality of the homes is always amazing, and there is usually a little something for everyone. This year is no exception. In fact, I'm going to go out on a limb and say this may be the strongest group of houses in a long time.
With that I have a confession to make. I just don't usually have it in me to go and look at a bunch of houses on my day off, so I whittle it down to two or three homes that can't be missed. This year however I may just need to suck it up. There are just two many good homes. So in no particular order here are a few that I'm excited about and why.
Read MoreA house is never really done, and ours is still a long way from being finished, but we finally got to the point that we felt comfortable having photos taken of the space. Huge thanks to Andrea Calo for making a pretty good looking house look even better. Thanks also to Bercy Chen for the amazing house (architect and builder), Sasha our project manager, McCray & Co for the help with interior design, Westshop for help with landscaping, the Ankor boys and Clar for the custom couch, and all the other amazing people that helped out on the project.
Read MoreFor those that follow me on instagram, or are part of my A. D. Stenger facebook group you probably heard about and saw the latest Stenger home to hit the market. For the rest of you I wanted to share a couple quick photos I took of the house when I walked through it a few days ago. It's a real diamond in the rough with lots and lots of potential.
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