The crazy thing about building a house is that some things happen really really slow, and others seem to happen really fast. We designed and schemed for over a year, waited for permits and bank approval for months, and in a matter of weeks our house has gone from a bare foundation to framing in the shape of our dreams. We can actually wander around the space and imagine what the rooms will feel like and what it will be like to live in this home we helped design. Mind. Blown.
Read MoreIf you read my last newsletter then you probably already know that I recently made a big announcement. After years of looking around at real estate firms in Austin, I finally found one I wanted to be a part of. As of Dec 1st I officially joined the team at Skout. So what made me want to join them? You did actually. For me real estate is all about being able to meet my clients needs best. With that in mind I wanted to be part of a company that truly understands the importance of design and has the experience and resources to be able to best help my clients buy and sell well designed spaces.
Read MoreGrowing up in Utah I did my fair share of climbing. Despite my love of the outdoors however, probably some of my favorite climbing has been bouldering in gyms. For those of you who don't know, bouldering is a form of climbing where you ditch all the ropes and harnesses and stick to short routes with pads underneath them in case you fall. As soon as I caught wind of a bouldering gym in East Austin, I was super stoked.
Read MoreThis weekend I'm spending a 4 day weekend in Chicago, and the windy city has got me thinking about the roots of modernism in America. I've been a fan of modern architecture ever since the day I discovered it. Over the years I have found that architecture, like any of the arts, is more meaningful and powerful when you know some of the context surrounding it. While you can trace modernism back to Bauhaus in Europe, where it really gets interesting to me is when the war forced all of that talent to flee Europe, much of it landing in the United States.
Read MoreIf there is one thing you can count on when it comes to building a house its that it is always going to take longer and cost more than you planned. When we demo'd our property over 2 months ago we expected to start construction quickly. Unfortunately I hadn't anticipated the construction loan process would take as long as it did.
Read MoreI love homes tours as much as the next guy, maybe even more. As a realtor I literally walk through hundreds of modern and MCM homes in Austin every year, and every time I do I'm looking and learning. The 10 homes picked for this years AIA Austin Home tour are the cream of the crop and I'm excited to dig into them and see what there is to be found. Here are the top 3 picks (in no particular order) that I'll be visiting this year, and why they caught my eye.
Read MoreWhether you are new to a city, or you've lived there your whole life, there is a deep satisfaction that comes with finding the right person to cut your hair. It's a hunt that can be at times daunting especially for guys like me who don't go around asking other dudes where they got their hair cut. Maybe that's why my hair has gotten so long over the last couple of years. Either that, or I'm just lazy.
Read MoreSomeone asked me the other day what I do for fun, and the first thing that came to mind was "eat". I love food. I follow news of restaurant openings and chef changes like most people follow Hollywood celebrities. With that in mind recently opened Burn Pizza + Bar has been on my radar for a while, and to be honest, I wasn't super excited for yet another Italian restaurant. Italian seems to be the hot new thing in Austin, and several new ones are slated for east Austin alone. On top of that, while I love pizza, I tend to be more of an East Side Pies kind of guy. Lucky for me Burn has more than a few pleasant surprises up their sleeve. Hint; it's way more than just pizza and a bar.
Read MoreThis Oct 10th is the National Tour day for Docomomo. Local conservation group Mid Tex Mod has help put together a home tour this year featuring the homes of A.D. Stenger. In addition there will be a lecture by local architect and Stenger historian Riley Triggs. Definitely a not-to-be-missed event for any Stenger fan. More details and info after the jump.
Read MoreIf you have never been to a Rooftop Architecture and Design (RAD) film at the Contemporary Austin, you are missing out. Lucky for you there is still time to catch a few more this year. Next Wednesday & Thursday they will be airing The Competition which is an intriguing look into the offices of 5 "Starchitects" who are all competing for a commission. A usual, it is a great BYOB picnic opportunity. Bring some treats, enjoy the cooler evening air and stimulate your brain a bit. Trailer below. See you out there!
Read MoreThis week marks a monumental step in the progress of our house project, one that is met with mixed emotions. Our little house in east Austin is gone. In it's place is an empty lot full of dirt, a special pecan tree and most of all the promise of a dream come true.
Designing and building a modern home has been a dream of mine for over 10 years. I started Grassrootsmodern.com in 2005 to document my journey towards that goal, and after many starts, stops, reboots and full on failures I find myself now on the brink of the beginning. It's thrilling, terrifying and most of all exhausting.
Read MoreThere is just something about modern homes and swimming pools that go so well together. Finding a modern home in Austin for under $400k can be a challenge to say the least, but an architect designed home with a pool for $360,000, that's almost unheard of. But here it is:
Read MoreIf you know Agave, you already know that the neighborhood is a one of a kind. There is nowhere else in Austin where you can find an entire community of well designed modern homes at such a good price point.
I'm super excited to give a sneak peek of my newest listing coming soon in Agave. Among all those great houses there is only one with a pool, and it will be for sale early next week. It's a pretty great pool too. The kind you would want to throw a summertime soiree at or film a commercial. The rest of the house doesn't disappoint either. Designed by Earl Swisher of the Lawrence Group it has a fantastic layout with an open kitchen / living room area that makes it perfect for entertaining and has the added bonus of some breathtaking views.
Read MoreThis post has been a long time coming. So long in fact you may have forgotten where we started from. So let's do a brief recap.
Two years ago my wife and I decided we wanted to build a modern home in East Austin, and we started looking for land.
16 months ago, we bought the house we are currently living in. Mostly we bought it for the lot, and the amazing tree, but we figured we would do a quick superficial remodel to it so we could live in it and save money while we designed our home. You can see the before and after photos of the remodel here.
Read MoreIn case you missed it in my newsletter last week, tomorrow, May 2nd, is Preservation Austin's annual home tour. The theme is Austin through the age's and there will be home feature from the 1870's to the 1960's. Of particular interest is the Butterfly House designed by A. D. Stenger and featured in Dwell magazine. That one house itself is worth the price of entry ($25-$35).
I'll also be collecting tickets in front of another 1960's home on River Road for a few hours. Make sure you come say hi.
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This week I learned that not one, but two homes designed and built by Austin mid century modern architect A. D. Stenger have requested demo permits from the city of Austin. The first, located at 1908 Airole Way and pictured above, may look familiar. That's because it was for sale just earlier this year. You can see my feature of it here. Clearly the big draw for the new owner was the .45 acres that the home sits on, and not the amazingly original mid century modern home. The crazy thing is that it even ended up selling for more than $100,000 over asking price! The home was originally built in 1950, making it one of the first Stenger homes to be built in Austin.
Read MoreI love a good project as much as the next guy, but lately I haven't had much ambition to take on anything too big. Ever since we moved into our new house we've had plan of installing some lighting above our dining room table, but the thought of putting more money or time into this house was a hard pill to swallow. Despite my laziness, when 8 new Plumen bulbs showed up on my doorstep, I just had to do something with them. So I took the easy way out.
Enter the DIY Chandelier, just screw it edition.
This idea has been kicking around my head for some time now. I'm sure I'm not the first one to think of it, I probably saw it on Pinterest or somewhere once upon a time. The secret to this chandelier is it's all about the bulb. You could dramatically change the look just by switching out the style of decorative bulb.
So, here is what you need.
Read MoreNope, that's not a typo. South by San Jose (SXSJ) is the annual music festival put on by the fine folks at Hotel San Jose. I'm typically not to excited to jump into the SX madness, but I find SXSJ to be just the right amount of crazy for me. While the idea of heading to South Congress during SX seems like a bad idea, rolling up to Hotel San Jose on a bike actually makes for a pretty stress free experience. Sure you'll probably have to lock up a block or so away, but then it's just an easy stroll over to the parking lot for some free music, cold beer and of course, a little people watching. The full lineup for this years festival can be seen on the Facebook event page. While I haven't heard of a bunch of the musicians, I can say that the Golden Dawn Arkestra usually puts on a show not to be missed.
Read MoreMuch has been written about the East Austin restaurant Qui, by food critics far more knowledgeable and talented than I. I have no intentions of waxing poetic about the perfect combinations of sweet, salty and umami (though I would love to) or the creative use of platting or the brilliant interior decorating. As we slowly get ready to transition towards spring, one of my favorite months in Austin, I wanted to touch on what it's like to have a great restaurant like Qui right in your neighborhood.
When Qui was just getting ready to open. I was super excited to have such a top notch restaurant right in my neighborhood, but guess what. When it finally did open, I found myself walking right past the door and into the Liberty to grab a beer and some Chicken Karaage from East Side King. I'm not sure if I was intimidated by the big white building or what, but it almost felt too nice for the east side.
The first time I ate there was many months later when some friends were in town. A group of us managed to make our way through the entire menu (this is before they were prix fixe) and quite a few cocktails. Though the menu was full. . .
Read MoreThis week East Austin lost another local landmark the Jumpolin Piñata store on East Cesar Chavez. It's not the first, and certainly not the last, but it has sparked renewed debate about the effects of gentrification in the city. I used to live a block away from Jumpolin, and have fond memories of buying balloon and piñatas there. You can read more about the demolition, and how it was done with all of the store owners products still inside the store here, here, and here. I'll let you come to your own conclusions. For me, the last straw is the fact that it appears the demo was all part of an application to have sufficient parking for a SXSW event.
Living in East Austin I've always felt a little guilty. I'm pretty much the exact definition of
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