Happy Trails Ranch
When our clients bought this Allandale Ranch home, it was full of old-Austin charm that our clients wanted to honor, while updating it for a modern family. Our pleasure. We followed the lead of existing Spanish and Ranch elements as our starting points, with plenty of extra character and function carefully woven in to each space.
The front living room is now a swanky gathering space for adults. Wes Anderson was our spirit guide for the vibe with a few iconic selections: Austin toile wallpaper, a lemon-yellow midcentury fireplace, and western touches in art and decor. (Plus the perfect backdrop for mom’s childhood leather rollerskates.) We furred out the wall between the living and dining rooms to create depth for a double-sided built-in that holds a record station on one side, and collected servingware on the other. A custom cantilevered bench anchored the dining room to the wall to create more room for traffic flow from front-to-back of house.
The kitchen got a major facelift. It went from dark wood paneling and royal blue formica counters to an elevated vintage aesthetic with details like black and white diamond tile floors, an antique barrister bookcase fitted as an upper cabinet, and dusty green cabinets. A range in the island lets dad play short-order chef for pancakes on the weekend, and pantry cabinets let us square off the kitchen while keeping everything organized and within reach. The original arch cut-out in the dining room gave us inspiration two create two repeating arches to weave the architecture in the kitchen and dining room.
We salvaged the pine wall paneling from the kitchen and used it to created balanced warmth along the interior wall in the sunroom. We kept the Saltillo tile, and created a family lounge space on one end, and a conversation circle on the other end. The real show stopper, though, is the view. The home overlooks a creek, but the view was wasted with small windows and doors along the back of the house. So we added floor-to-ceiling windows and five-foot sliding doors.
The primary suite got a complete overhaul. We reclaimed a screened-in porch as a dusty mauve walk-in closet, replaced double sliding door closets with a wall of chartreuse built-ins including a hidden desk, and moved the bathroom wall to create enough space for a water closet, double vanity, walk-in shower, and soaking tub. We wanted to create a vintage New York aesthetic with the deep botanical wallpaper, black and white mosaic tile floor, and collected art, to pay homage to when our clients lived in Brooklyn. We added extra storage in two rooms that really have to pull their weight—wrap around cabinets in the laundry room, a storage banquette plus caned mudroom cabinets in the kids’ play/art room.
We hope we accomplished what our clients said they wanted at the beginning of the project. In their words: “A bright and colorful home that feels one-of-a-kind and welcoming (why we chose Hey Now), and thoughtful storage and useful space to make day-to-day life easier.” We dare say we did.:)
