Clear Sightlines in Modern Austin Home
Natural elements and watery hues imbue this resort-like home on Lake Austin. Limestone and smooth acrylic stucco cover the home’s main body, while the second story is clad with zinc panels. The interiors combine modern and natural elements in reference to the lakeside setting.
A cantilevered roofline creates variations in this modern Austin home’s geometric lines, while warm wood soffits and zinc panels break up its stone-and-stucco massing. Aluminum-clad windows and a custom steel-and-glass pivot door fabricated by Dynamic allows in sunlight and creates a sightline through the home to the backyard.
“This home is all about the lake lifestyle. It’s almost like a resort.” – Principal architect, James LaRue
Throughout the home, interior designer Kelle Contine incorporated calm shades reminiscent of the home’s tranquil surroundings. An aqua silk-and-wool rug in the living room creates a soothing canvas for a sleek sectional sofa and a sculptural swivel chair. When the area’s large lift-and-slide doors open, the space unifies seamlessly with the exterior patios around the elevated swimming pool. “It creates a viewing plaza that buffers you from the landscape,” LaRue says. “You don’t see the grass, so it fools the eye into thinking the water comes all the way up to the house.”
For continuity, wood also appears in the kitchen, where a custom-stained oak border lining the cabinetry contrasts with the modern white lacquer finish as well as the marble mosaic backsplash inlaid with a mix of clear and smoked glass squares. “While it doesn’t have color,” Contine says, “the smoky mirror creates shadows and depth.”
The surroundings also factored into the processes of building and landscaping. Faced with a high water table that would eventually erode a standard foundation, Shoberg brought in a diesel-powered machine to drive more than 100 steel pilings deep into the earth below the water. “It’s a cast-in-place, pile-supported concrete foundation with piles seated in bedrock,” he says, noting building near the lake requires specific construction techniques. “While the pool and home foundations are integrated, there is a gap between them that funnels water out into the landscape and keeps it out of the foundation.”
Landscape architect John Hall, working with his company president, Rick Scheen, incorporated plants that would tolerate the high water table and rainy weather and designed drainage pipes that jog around the natural dams created by the cypress tree roots. “We worked diligently to preserve the critical roots, as required by Austin’s tree regulations,” Hall says. “Plus, they add real value to the property.”
Read the entire article to view photos and learn more about this modern Austin home.
Courtesy of LUXE Interiors & Design Magazine
Architect: LaRue Architects
Builder: Shoberg Custom Homes
