BlantonDesignBlog.com

Stuart Sampley is a great local architect who happens to live down the street. I drive past his gorgeous green craftsman home pretty much every day when I am heading north. Baird and I always comment on it and point it out to friends visiting or are new to the area as a real example of Bouldin Creek architecture (whatever that is!) because it is a classic craftsman home with hip, modern landscaping and an amazing addition on the rear that includes his office. When I describe Stuart’s style in a nutshell, I say that it is “craftsman with a slightly modern flare”. He apparently pitches the roof line a little steeper and adds clean, contemporary elements throughout, while keeping the charm that everyone loves in a craftsman home. That’s not all Sampley does, of course, it’s just what I have mostly been exposed to.

Now, after admiring his home for the last 5 years on my drive downtown, I have finally had the opportunity to work in two of his latest projects. The first was actually a surprise to me, as I didn’t know he was involved until a week or so after the job was complete. This is the gorgeous Monte Castillo Parkway home built by Michael Alwan of RedBud Custom Homes. I have just updated my website with this job listed first under “Projects”. Michael is a real out of the box thinker and stays passionately true to his vision. He built this home in the middle of several “Texas Tuscan” around the corner from The Oasis, as not to follow sheep-like in the pattern of the other builders who are under the impression that this is what the buyer expects and wants in this location. I suppose that is yet to be determined as the houses finish construction and begin to sell! I knew when I entered this house it was something special - and yes, maybe not perfect for everyone - but you can feel the quality, and even though it is all new construction it seems to have a sense of history: perhaps this is where Sampley left his mark.

Monte Castillo Parkway

Monte Castillo Parkway living room

About a week or so after I completed staging the Monte Castillo house, I noticed a new Sampley house come on the market in the neighborhood. It is represented by Rob Albertson with Austin Fine Properties who coincidentally is also a Bouldin Creek resident.

I decided to contact him right away since the newly constructed house was not staged yet. Suprisingly, he told me that none other than Stuart Sampley had given him my information as a contact for staging this home on Johanna, as I had just done another one of his projects with Red Bud Custom Homes.  This is when I officially made the connection to the Monte Castillo house and how it all came together.  Aren’t referrals wonderful?

The Johanna house was a dream, as I can get away with a little more design risk in Bouldin than I can in other parts of town. People who live here are generally pretty progressive thinkers and won’t be deterred by a bright red modern table and some funky art in a craftsman entry.

Johanna Exterior

Johanna Entry

Johanna family room

Artwork in this house is graciously provided by Cheryl Finfrock, Rebecca Bennett & Andrew Anderson.

More of these photos are available in my opening slideshow as well as on Rob and Stuart’s sites I reference above. I look forward to working on more amazing projects with my fabulous neighbors!

Last time I wrote that I had a house sell in 3 days - well, this time we have topped ourselves with a contract in the first 4 hours! This was a really fun project where I worked in conjunction with the owners to bring this remodeled mid-century home to it’s best. Karen and Olivier took an old dingy 1950’s home and opened up a few walls, expanded a bathroom, remodeled the kitchen, added new hardwood floors and a deck to retain the charm of the home while bringing it up to modern expectations. They took some daring choices with some accent wall colors in navy blue and olive but it was fun to coordinate art and furnishings around and it really seemed to have paid off! They also had an extra sofa, some Eames bentwood chairs as well as a great bright red Bertoia bird chair I was lucky enough to incorporate with my existing furniture and art. Debby Reynolds with Turner Residential was kind enough to give me some repeat business on this one.

Corona Living Dining room

Coincidentally, I helped another great couple with their house just a few blocks away on Larkwood. They only needed a quick consultation and “To Do” list as well as a rug and a couple of plants and they were all set. Mindy and Daryl had done plenty with the instruction of their non-nonsense realtor Eileen Gill so all I had to do was come in and confirm their long list of tasks. I think the house looks amazing!

Larkwood exterior

Larkwood Living Room

Larkwood bedroom

In keeping with this more modern design approach, I completed the Summit Oaks condos in March (mentioned in last month’s entry). I included my Bonnie and Clyde sofas from IF+D, the coffee table from BoConcept, media stand from CB2, Tripod lamp from DWR and dining chairs from West Elm. I also have some great art in here from Kristy Battani, Rebecca Bennett and Andrew Anderson. Here are a couple of the photos from that job:

Summit Oaks Living Room

Summit Oaks Dining Room

I have been staying busy with other listings up north as well as Tarrytown. Stay tuned for more updates on those listings as well!

I was fortunate enough to be a part of the Modern Home Tour again this year - this time with TWO houses out of 16! The first is my project on Oakhaven that I staged for Kim and Don Fry with JB Goodwin and Brodie Builders (respectively). It is a new-construction home with strong mid-century lines and influences, which is perfect in this Barton Hills neighborhood where so many of the surrounding homes are ranch and mid-century. It was a smart choice by DeWitt Architects in creating something new and exciting while still remaining consistent with the neighborhood. The quality in the materials and construction in this home is impeccable. Every time I bring someone in to Oakhaven I get a series of wow’s. I had my staging represented as well as my fine art: www.BlantonArt.com, and Stacy Kirk Photography. My husband Baird came in for the duration of the tour to hand out business cards to any interested parties.

The 2nd house I staged was specifically for the tour itself. Vireo Cove is a magnificent modern home in Westlake built on a steel frame with dramatic floor to ceiling glass throughout the living room and master bedrooms. Built for the site which is on a steep slope leading down to woods and a small creek, the house is on several levels, which Architect Erik Gonzalez said made the house more “dynamic” than if it were on one plane. You can see the architect’s photos here:

http://www.sagointernational.com/work_plushouse.html#

I gathered several of my favorite artists from around Austin to help showcase them as well as the staging for this amazing home, including: Chris White, Andrew Anderson, Rebecca Bennett, Sharon Kyle-Kuhn, Kristy Battani and Rene Norman. I printed up postcards with all of our information to hand out to tour patrons so they could refer back to it to see more of these artist’s incredible work. I tried to select pieces that would compliment the house, not compete with it. I respect the fact that the tour is mostly for architects to showcase their amazing projects and it was a real honor to be a part of this tour on any level.

Vireo Cove

I believe about 2500 tickets were sold for the tour again this year. It was a beautiful day and I think people were glad to be out and about after our little snow and ice days earlier in the week. I enjoyed meeting so many enthusiastic people and especially the great ladies from Wilson & Goldrick who have been marketing this incredible house while on the market. I’m looking forward to next year!

I have had a busy summer and many of my listings have sold. This creates a fun challenge of moving these items to new properties in a timely manner. I was lucky that Megan Gattis with Avenue One forwarded my email indicating this to another great agent, Susanne Lee, who has this amazing listing in the Heritage Neighborhood, also called Oakwood, in central Austin. It is featured in October 25th’s real estate section of the Statesman and you can read about it’s great features here:

http://www.statesman.com/business/content/business/stories/statesmanhomes/2009/10/25/1025hotprop.html

3108 West Ave

We also did some streamlining in another amazing property in Westlake called Haven Hill Estate. Visiting and working in this home was a real experien ce. It’s like walking into your own private enclave with 3-story Spanish style home with elevator, detached game room, guest house, pool, jacuzzi and cabana. Linda Biderman with Wilson Goldrick is the listing agent. Check out the details and photos here:

http://www.austinhomesearch.com/Search/Details.aspx?li=141838&or=1&cp=3

I currently have several other listings with Linda in a great and up and coming neighborhood in South Austin considered South Terrace, just off Bluebonnet, west of Lamar. I didn’t know about this area until I staged three properties there for Linda and her green-building investors in early September. There are a lot of late mid-century homes here that are in well-preserved condition or are being updated with a slight modern edge - a really smart choice considering the architecture. It’s a really great little pocket with a ton of potential. I can’t see it becoming a big, over-built condo factory back there but a nicely updated area with tasteful growth and improvements. If this neighborhood has been off your radar, you should check it out!

Overcup Oak

3206 South Oak

3202 South Oak

I’m a little late in passing along this story but thought it deserved some additional attention. Our friends Ivan and Priscilla got a nice feature from the Statesman a few weeks ago for their wonderful work on The Marlin House – a subject I was going to write about anyway but the paper beat me to it. My husband Baird and I always say that, “when we grow up, we want to be Ivan and Priscilla”. They are doing what we have done and will continue to do as the economy improves, just a bit bigger and dare I say it, a lot better than we have had the luxury of doing so far, which is invest in properties, improve them and resell them. Some could call it “flipping”, but let me assure you, none of their homes are “flips”. They carefully select a home with great bones and sometimes historical architectural significance, then painstakingly repair, refinish, revive, refresh and renew every single detail, resulting in a masterful work of art every single time.

I met Ivan while he had Floribunda Plantworks on Lamar. http://www.floribundaworks.com/

I needed a water feature for our back yard and after seeing his portfolio in the shop, I knew he was the right one for the job. He did not disappoint.

Photo by Ivan Spaller

Since then, we have been trying to keep up with his projects with Priscilla on a grander scale, the first being the Nickerson house, just off the main drag area of South Congress. They took a little craftsman, gutted it, made historically accurate improvements like replacing bad windows with new ones that look and operate like the old ones, adding new white oak flooring and white marble countertops but also added fresh, smart architectural details that are distinctly modern, like the steel gable on the front of the house and two giant wooden beams used as stairs, hand torched to bring out the grain. He also took great pains to add custom steel and glass doors that lead to a small courtyard with – you guessed it – a water feature. Outstanding.

Now they have done it again with The Marlin House. The link to the Statesman article is here:

http://www.statesman.com/search/content/business/stories/statesmanhomes/01/25/0125marlin.html

Whoever buys this house is like a lottery winner. You get the magic of a grand old Victorian with all the luxuries of a contemporary home. The detail is dazzling.

Luckily, the home is for sale and represented by Carrie Bills at Green Mango. Here’s their listing.:

http://greenmangorealestate.com/index.cfm?p=homelisting&type=forsale&id=672

I have much more to say about Ivan and Priscilla’s plans for other homes in 78704. Just wait – you won’t believe it!