I’m sharing a house I’ve been working on for the past few years, remotely, over email and the phone. This home is in central Texas, on the edge of the Texas hill country. I visited last week (for the very first time!) and took some pretty good iPhone photos I’m sharing today.
Living room fireplace wall with built-ins. Carla Aston, Designer
This project started out as consulting on just the kitchen and primary bath with only 10 hours of work in the first contract and snowballed from there. The home morphed into more square footage with a better layout and overall design. Kudos to the building designer, Janet Hobbs of Austin, TX, involved in the planning stages getting the architecture right in this home.
I consulted on exterior and interior finishes, interior layouts, overall interior design and consulting on the furnishings, lighting, hardware, etc. For the most part, the homeowner bought all the furniture and furnishings herself at retail with my input.
It is not the way I normally work. :-) I did it this way because the project started so small, was remote from me and because it was during Covid, so we couldn’t really meet up much anyway.
I felt a real void by not working more hands-on with this big of a job. I love making regular site visits, that’s one of my favorite parts of the job and where I can feel like I have a handle on how the details are fitting together. I can catch things so much easier this way before they become a bigger problem.
However, this homeowner was the builder so they had their process and methods and it was interesting to see it all unfold from a distance.
The rendering I had done of the kitchen during the design process. Carla Aston, Designer
I finally visited last week for the very first time ever, and I was most impressed! The exterior stone was beautiful, the wood floors rich and gorgeous, the marble impressive. The homeowner did a great job of pulling all this together, it is truly a remarkable feat!
Here are some walk through photos to inspire you if you are considering a new build! I hope to get back again to do more professional photos. There are some really interesting spaces not shown here, the kitchen, laundry and an amazing pantry. Once some last details get completed I hope to return with a photographer. :-)
Living room fireplace and built-ins with warm leather seating. Carla Aston, Designer
Second kitchen island with bar seating looking out to back yard and outdoor kitchen. Designer: Carla Aston
I did provide a few special touches like the wallpaper and rugs. The homeowner’s mother had an upholsterer that made custom upholstery, so they did the living room sofas and pillows with fabrics I recommended.
The powder room has a subtle watercolor look wallcovering with some special sconces and a curved marble backsplash. Carla Aston, Designer
The homeowner’s favorite color is a bold pink so we incorporated it in this one special nook designed for reading. The sofa and chairs came from Ethan Allen. The rug combined the colors perfectly and some custom pillows and a cushion helped tie the scheme together.
Navy paneled library with bold fuschia accents. Carla Aston, Designer
Love the bold Schumacher fabric on these pillows and how it works with the rug. Carla Aston, Designer
This cherry fabric on the Ethan Allen chairs worked perfectly to set the fuschia accent color. Carla Aston, Designer
Navy coffered ceiling with brass chandelier | Designer: Carla Aston
The primary bath is all marble with brass touches.
I think of “quiet luxury” when I see this white marble bathroom. Carla Aston, Designer
The brass accents warm up the cool white look of the marble. Carla Aston, Designer
We decided to go with wood cabinets in the guest bath off the back hallway. A fun light fixture and some black accents give this a sleek but warm vibe.
Wood cabinets warm up this bathroom and black accents add to the sleek vibe. Carla Aston, Designer
I hope to get back later in the fall when more is finished up! It was such a delight to get to see it in person!
Kudos to this homeowner for tackling this custom new build project. They now have their forever home and it is beyond their original expectations.
I’m favoring single room full service projects these days and it seems to fit with what people are requesting with the economy right now. If you have a full room you’d like to redo, I have openings later in the fall and in 2024.
BTW, lead times on furniture are looking better every day in our industry!
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Library / Study
Lighting and Mirrors
This blogpost was thoughtfully written by me, Carla Aston, and not by AI, ghostwriters, or guest posters.