Choosing A Home Style: Modern in a Historic Area

Choosing Your Home Style

From contemporary to traditional European, the number of home styles seems almost endless. Austin homeowners embrace many different home styles plus their own unique touch, which is often the case with our clients. This is the first in a series where C-Reese Design is looking closely at the architectural styles of past clients and offering insights into each one.  

Once you have chosen your perfect site to build, choosing a home style can be an equally important task. An easy place to start is by looking at the homes that surround you. What styles does the neighborhood feature the best? What style draws your attention most? What does the lot look like? Architectural styles can be somewhat flexible – from the massing and small elements to materials and color.

The first home in our series is located in the historic neighborhood of Bryker Woods located close to the heart of downtown Austin, Texas. While working in a historic district you need to be mindful and have a certain amount of friendliness with the existing home styles, but our clients also wanted to implement contemporary touches. We created something that mixed the historic charm with contemporary touches meaningfully.

The Transitional Home

This incredible, transitional home fits seamlessly into the area of Bryker Woods. It is reminiscent of a prairie style home made popular in the early 20th century that incorporates the mid-century modern elements that defined home building throughout the 40’s, 50’s, and 60’s.

Inside the Transitional House

In the bathroom, we incorporated both masculine and feminine elements to give a clean and fresh feel. C-Reese Design blended natural elements, such as dark wood cabinets, with beautiful light Silestone countertops. Striking lines mixed with attractive curves in the master bath create a space the couple could both enjoy.

The kitchen and dining areas also use some of the same elements as the master bath. The rooms are divided by clean lines, and both feature the same floor to create a cohesiveness through the rooms. The kitchen also incorporates contemporary industrial lighting and hardware and period cabinetry to create a whimsical feel to the house.

Each element in this build was thoughtful and aimed to blend in with the neighborhood charm while integrating the couple’s contemporary style preference. The final result is one that is incredible and timeless.