Peek Inside Photographer Casey Dunn’s Dreamy Austin Home

An exercise in restraint, this picture-perfect photographer’s home radiates beauty and warmth from every angle.

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As one of the most sought-after architectural photographers in Texas, Austin native Casey Dunn has developed a keen eye for design. So, when it came time to tackle his dream home from the ground up, he turned to his longtime friend Arthur Furman to help realize his thoughtfully crafted East Austin abode.

The home's simple gabled shape is emphasized by the use of burnished stucco on all sides.

Casey Dunn

At the time, Arthur was still working for his father’s firm at Furman & Keil Architects and had yet to start his own practice. Yet Casey’s belief in Arthur’s talent helped spur the young architect to leave his job and—with his wife, Annie-Laurie Grabiel—launch Side Angle Side, an Austin–based architectural practice that remembers Casa Casey as their first project.

The entrance is located to the side of the house. The recessed Douglas fir front door was built by Austin’s Honea Woodworks. The roof is Galvalume standing-seam metal.

Casey Dunn

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"When we started out, Casey wasn’t married and wasn’t dating anyone," says Arthur. "So the original project brief was less about bedrooms and bathrooms, and more about the character of the home. Specifically, the shape. Casey had an image in his mind of a house he had photographed early in his career in a wooded area of Maine. The house was a basic shape—as one would draw as a child—just a box with a gabled roof."

A view of the home from the east side.

Casey Dunn

The double-height living space is anchored by a wood-burning stove by Lopi in the corner. The large east-facing window on the far wall floods the room with magical morning light. All the windows and doors are by Quantum.

Casey Dunn

That simple gabled shape persisted even after Casey began dating Sarah—who is now his wife—and the plan of the home shifted from a modest two-bedroom to a two-story with three bedrooms.

Here, Sarah and their dog, Mandy, are seen in the kitchen. The counters are soapstone and the cabinets stained white oak.

Casey Dunn

"With the client as our editor, we adhered to that vision of simplicity," notes Arthur of the 1,900-square-foot home. "The result is a monolithic dark volume with carefully placed punched openings."

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Texas Made/Texas Modern: The House and the Land

A compelling survey of Texas houses that draw both on the heritage of pioneer ranches and on the twentieth-century design principles of modernism. Helen Thompson and Casey Dunn, the writer/photographer team that produced the exceptionally successful Marfa Modern, join forces again to investigate Texas modernism. The juxtaposition of the sleek European forms with a gritty Texas spirit generated a unique brand of modernism that is very basic to the culture of the state today. Its roots are in the early Texas pioneer houses, whose long, low profiles express an efficiency that is basic to the modern idiom. This Texas-centric style is focused on the relationship of the house to the site, the materials it is made of--most often local stone and wood--and the way the building functions in the harsh Texas climate. Dallas architect David R. Williams was the first to combine modernism with Texas regionalism in the 1930s, and his legacy was sustained by his protégé O'Neil Ford, who practiced in San Antonio from the late 1930s until his death in the mid 1970s. Their approach is seen today in the work of Lake/Flato Architects and a new generation of designers who have emerged from that distinguished firm and continue to elegantly merge modernism with the vocabulary of the Texas ranching heritage. Twenty houses are included from across the state, with examples in major urban centers like Dallas and Austin and in suburban and rural areas, including a number in the evocative Hill Country. Publisher: The Monacelli Press Photo Courtesy of The Monacelli Press

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The cast-in-place concrete site wall that pierces the volume frames the entry and serves as the kitchen backsplash. The kitchen appliances are by Fisher & Paykel.

Casey Dunn

The floors in the open-plan living area, kitchen, and dining area are reclaimed longleaf pine. The ceiling beams are also salvaged pine.

Casey Dunn

The restrained design approach was also inspired by the minimalist architecture of Marfa, a small West Texas town where—at the same time Arthur and Annie-Laurie were designing the house—Casey had been shooting interiors for his first photography book, Marfa Modern.

The living room features a Yucca Stuff coffee table, as well as a sofa that was designed by Austin interior designer Ann Edgerton and built by Tyson Pendergrass.

Casey Dunn

Bathed in natural light and dressed in natural materials, the house radiates warmth and character with carefully selected furnishings that mix designer and salvaged pieces.

The master bedroom with reclaimed longleaf pine floors overlooks views of the living space. The chair was a gift from Sarah’s mother and the art was gifted by Casey’s parents.

Casey Dunn

"As architects, we’re always getting in our own way by trying to show off and over complicate things for no reason," Arthur admits. "This project required us to step aside and surrender to the simplicity of it. We actually redesigned the house a million times, and in the end we came back to the very first sketch idea we started with."

A sliding barn door built of salvaged pine separates the master bedroom from the bath.

Casey Dunn

The clawfoot tub was a salvaged find, while reclaimed wood was used for the shelving.

Casey Dunn

Like the kitchen, the closet vanity features stained white-oak cabinetry.

Casey Dunn

The pine-and-steel outdoor dining table is from Hatch Workshop, while the benches were built by Clifton Craftwork and Design.

Casey Dunn

Casa Casey floor plans.

Casa Casey sections and elevations.

Project Credits:

Architect of Record: Side Angle Side / @sideangleside.co