Floor-to-ceiling windows from Ram usher in light during the day and emit a welcoming glow at night.
In the large central courtyard, a heritage pecan tree rises above the roofline, and a 10-by-30-foot pool is set into the ipe wood deck.
The soaking tub overlooks an exterior rock garden that is illuminated by a light well.
“Brick was such a good material for this project,” says Hughes’s partner, architect Heather Rowell. “It creates a rhythm and simplicity on the outside—a mathematical rigor—but on the inside, it’s so easy to set up a playful contrast with bright white drywall.”
Sherry Birk and Anthony Orona, tapped HR Design Dept, whose co-principal, Eric Hughes, is a longtime friend of Anthony’s, to design the midcentury-inspired, one-story house in Austin. The dark metal fascia emphasizes the home’s horizontality and complements the earth-toned brick facade.