Historic Gardener’s Cottage

Austin, Texas

Surrounded by trees and situated on a river in Austin, our goal was to embrace the natural environment of this house, which was once the gardener’s quarters of the main house nearby. With a focus on organic textures, I framed the kitchen window and custom glass door with six slabs of granite – installed so no seams were visible, making it look like one solid piece. The green hue with white veining echoes the trees beyond and blurs the distinction between indoors and out. As another nod to the trees, we featured wood prominently throughout the house by creating the kitchen island, dining room table and nightstand in the master bedroom from a single slab of wood sourced from Brazil. In the bathroom, we kept the focus on the serene vista outside by adopting a minimalist approach: a single glass pane on the walk-in shower, an understated tub, monochromatic palette, white marble and matte black finishes. I also installed a new roof and windows, added new light fixtures and custom railings and painted the interior and exterior.