Coming soon: California mid-century modern in Austin.

Let’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.

HomesCindy WidnerMay 20, 2020Mid Century Modern, Coming Soon, Balcones Comment

O. Carl Happel

There 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.

DesignCreede FitchMay 30, 2018O. Carl Happel, Architecture, Mid Century Modern, Highland HillsComment

Stenger Diamond in the Rough

For 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.

HomesCreede FitchJuly 21, 2017A.D. Stenger, For Sale, Mid Century Modern Comments

Starlight Village Homes

Hopefully by now you have already heard of Starlight Village. It's a new development of 30 affordable mid century modern inspired homes that is being built in Austin. Err, well, not exactly in Austin. The development is really 30 min from down town (if the traffic gods are being kind) in Leander. They've been on my radar for a long time now so I decided to make the trek north to see just how things are coming along. Here's the good news and the bad.

HomesCreede FitchMarch 10, 2017Mid Century ModernComment

A Mid Century Masterpiece

Last week I gave a little teaser of my latest listing. The "Butterfly House" designed by A. D. Stenger is sincerely one of my favorite homes in Austin. and here's why. First off, I'm going to assume you are already familiar with Arthur Dallas Stenger. He was a bit of a radical and a visionary and he built a lot of beautiful homes in Austin in the 50's and 60's. This particular one stands out however thanks to its unique roof line. I've heard the inspiration came from a similar roof on the old Austin airport which was designed by another notable firm Fehr and Granger.

HomesCreede FitchAugust 12, 2016For Sale, Mid Century Modern, A.D. StengerComment

Coming soon : AD Stenger's Butterfly house

Austin has more than it's fair share of amazing architecture both modern and mid century modern. Of those however there are a small handful that I consider to be truly unique and architecturally significant. The "Butterfly house" above designed and built by local legend A. D. Stenger is one of those, and it's for sale.

HomesCreede FitchAugust 5, 2016A.D. Stenger, Mid Century Modern, Coming Soon, For SaleComment

Silvermine is golden

Earlier this week I featured 6806 Silvermine on my Austin Modern Homes blog, but I felt like the photos online didn't really do it justice so I snapped a few of my own. I still don't feel like the photos quite do it justice, but check it out and let me know what you think.

If you want to get a closer look, give me a call. I'd love to walk you through the home and tell you why I think it's so special. Have I mentioned it's priced at $375,000?

HomesCreede FitchSeptember 19, 2014Mid Century ModernComment

Blackshear Project : Moving time

Things have progressed quickly at our house project in the past few weeks. The kitchen is mostly installed, we have modern day conveniences like hot water and air conditioning, and out roof only leaks a little during heavy rain storms (ou vey!). This last week we started moving over some of our art, and a bit of furniture. The wall unit shown above is a piece I designed and built with my wife a few years ago. It's modeled after the classic Danish modular wall units, but I built it with supporting feet so it could be used free standing instead of attached to the wall. Something that was important as we moved from rental to rental.

DesignCreede FitchMay 16, 2014Mid Century Modern, East Austin, Furniture, Casa MarrakechComment