I can't believe another year has slipped by and the modern home tour is upon us again. Tickets are on sale today for $30, or they can be purchased tomorrow for $40 at any house. While the lineup is as impressive as always there are a few that I am particularly excited about. Here are my top 4 picks in no particular order:
Read MoreA home is so much more than just four walls and a roof. It's a place where you carve out your little space in this world and fill it full of memories. It's where you return at the end of a work day or the end of an adventure. It's where friends meet, glasses clink and laughter comes easy. Where you choose to carve out that space is one the biggest choices we make in life.
This is the first in many future posts that peels back the curtains and takes a peek inside not just someone's space, but someone's life. This one happens to be inside the home for sale at 5413 Agatha in Agave, where the adorable couple that lives there have managed to create a place that truly represents them and their lives. The next chapter in their life is taking them away from this fine city. What would your life look like in their space?
Read MoreThis week is the third and final recap of my trip to Morocco. We spent the last 4 days in the city of Fez. Talk to any Moroccan and they will tell you Fez is the heart of Morocco. It was immediately apparent as soon as we arrived that this was a city with nothing to prove. While I expected the same hard-sale hustle we experienced in the souks of Marrakesh, Fez proved to be much different. Don't get me wrong, the actually haggling was just as intense with opening prices often being 10 times what I ended up paying in the end, but here you were much more at ease to come and go at shops without feeling pressured to buy.
Read MoreWhile the first part of our Morocco trip was all about getting lost in the city and the culture, the second part was more about relaxing. We scheduled an overnight glamping trip with Scarabeo Camp. It wasn't true desert camping as it is only located a short drive outside of Marrakesh, but we didn't have time to go to the Sahara. Despite it being a faux desert the camp itself was absolutely stunning.
Read MoreIf you remember from my earlier post, the whole point of going to Morocco was to gather inspiration for the construction of our home this summer. I fully expected to go there and find new inspiration I would want to incorporate into our house. Instead I found the backstory to all the design cues that Bercy Chen had incorporated into our design. I can honestly say I left the country with way more appreciation for the work Bercy Chen has done.
Read MoreI've been on Instagram for 193 weeks, but despite the fact that it is for social media, I've kept my account private from everyone but close friends. Now that I'm about to embark on a epic journey through Morocco for two weeks, I figured it would be a good time go public. CreedeFitch, my public profile, is officially on Instagram.
For the next two weeks things on my Austin Modern Homes blog will be pretty quite, so follow me on Instagram, and I promise not be lame.
Read MoreWe all get in our routines. I remember when I first moved to East Austin all I wanted to eat was East Side Kings. I still miss the Grackle and Shangri La locations, but even without them we certainly don't have any lack of great food on the east side. In fact there is so much great food over here that I don't branch out enough and try new things. Last week I finally broke the mold and hit up El Sapo. I had no idea what to expect, and I have to say I was. . .
Read MoreIf you get my newsletter, you know that last week we sat down with our architect Bercy Chen and took a first peek at the renderings and floor plans for our new house. I'm going to dig into them in a second, but I wanted to give you a little bit of history as to how we got to where we are.
When we first met with Thomas Bercy, we had a decent sized list of requirements for our house. It must have a main house between. . .
Read MoreWell, just like that another year has slipped by and E.A.S.T. (East Austin Studio Tour) is here again. Like usual the sheer amount of artists and venues to visit can be a little overwhelming. All the official information can be found at Big Medium, and I definitely recommend picking up a catalogue or flipping through the online version to pick out what sounds interesting to you. If that sounds entirely too daunting, the good folks at Austin360 have done a nice job of breaking it out into more manageable chunks with their online map and synopsis. Lastly, if you are just looking for a top 10 list, check out Citygram's recommendations here.
Read MoreJust in case you didn't get my newsletter, I thought I would share with you this great opportunity to check out some homes for sale in Agave.
Ok, it's not really a home tour per say, but there will be at least two open houses on Saturday, and three on Sunday. That means it's a great time to come look at some modern homes.
5413 Agatha Cir : Sat 1-3, Sun 11-2
7305 Ava : Sat 2-4, Sun 1-5
5344 Sendero Hils : Sun 1-4
If you have been following me for a while, by now you have surely heard me rave about Agave. If you are new here, let me summarize. Agave truly is Austin's only modern neighborhood. Sure there are pockets of modern homes in other parts of the city, but here you can walk for blocks and only see modern homes. In 50 years people will look at Agave like we do Eichler neighborhoods now. The homes are all amazing, architect designed, and best of all affordable. Located just 6 miles from downtown, or even better a short, easy (no traffic) 10 min drive to all the good stuff on the east side.
Read MoreIt's been such a crazy busy summer between work and travel that, despite best intentions, it's been a long, long time since we threw a Sunday Sips party at my place.
That's about to change.
Details are still working themselves out, but I can tell you three important things.
As you may know by now, my wife and I are venturing down the path of building a new home. It's been a dream of mine for a long time now to design and build a home custom tailored to my life. Of course a big part of achieving that goal includes finding the right architect.
When choosing an architect the question isn't "Who is the best architect in Austin", rather it should be "Who is the best architect in Austin for me?". Sure, on the most fundamental level you need to find someone with talent, who has a aesthetic that is similar to yours. I've compiled a short list of some of the most talented (in my opinion) modern architects in Austin that you can check out here.
Read MoreIf there is one thing Austin loves, it's a good homes tour, and while it's hard to believe a year has gone by already, the AIA Austin homes tour is back. As always the AIA manages to round up an impressive list of local starchitects, and this year you'll be able to gawk at works by Dick Clark and Michael Hsu among others. While I'm sure all of them are worth checking out, here is a preview of the homes I'm most interested in seeing.
Read MoreEvery year Docomomo (Documentation and Conservation of buildings, sites and neighborhoods of the Modern Movement) has a national tour day. Our local chapter Mid Tex Mod is in charge of ours and tomorrow they are having a tour based around Modern Texas architect Milton Ryan. The tour is going to be in San Antonio where Ryan did the majority of his work, and will feature 3 of his commissions. It's a great opportunity to get out of town and skip the ACL madness and learn a little more about the rich architectural history Texas has.
More info, from Mid Tex Mod:
Read MoreIf you are looking for a modern home at an affordable price, it's hard to beat Agave. Unfortunately there isn't a lot of turn over out there, so that means inventory can be a bit limited, until now. If y'all remember, there are lots of vacant lots out at Agave. The original developer has financial issues, so those lot have been held by the bank until recently. Now a new developer has stepped up and is getting ready to break ground on a new round of homes. The first 6 should begin construction in the next month or so, and depending on sales hopefully there will be many more to follow. There are still nearly 200 empty lots out there
Read MoreThe north/south corridor of Chicon street in East Austin has had it's ups and downs. Businesses like the now shuttered Rosewood Community Market and East Village Cafe looked like they would bring a new vibrancy to the area. While it's unfortunate to see they weren't able to make it, its refreshing to see a new group of business owners having their go at it.
Figure 8 coffee purveyors has now moved into the old East Village Cafe, and besides a complete interior renovation of the space, they've also brought with them some serious coffee expertise. The shop is run by Ryan Hall and Kathleen Carmichael formerly of Houndstooth and Cenote and features the ever so delicious Tweed Coffee roasted right here in Texas.
Read MoreAustin has a lot of great things going for it. It's an amazing town for music, it's making it's mark in the film world and it consistently gets recognition in the culinary world. One area where we are still working to gain a reputation is our art scene. The museums here, while good, pale in comparison to other cities our size.
Pop Austin is looking to change that though, and they are doing a damn good job at it. They have rounded up a list of Internationally renowned contemporary artists (seriously, check out this list), and they are bringing them to town.
Read MoreEarlier 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?
Read MoreAs summer wears on I've been doing more and more cooking at home. There is one recipe that has gotten the heaviest rotation however, and it's homemade ice-cream. I remember as a kid sitting around the ice cream maker in the summer making a fresh batch of homemade ice-cream. Now that I'm all grown up, I haven't been able to commit the time or energy, until now, mostly because this recipe takes almost zero time or energy. Don't be fooled though, it's incredibly delicious, versatile and addictive.
The basic recipe is from Nigella Law and goes like this.
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