A Low-Slung Lake House in Texas Merges Indoor/Outdoor Living
With a rich material palette of glass, wood, and concrete, Cedar Creek Residence feels of a piece with its natural environment.
Completed in 2014, Cedar Creek Residence in Texas sits on a seven-acre lakeside property much beloved to the client, who wanted a modern home that connects inside and out. "The goal of the design was to provide an artful and low-maintenance retreat that would blend in with the site," said Wernerfield Architecture, who worked on the project along with Emily Summers Design Associates.
On the exterior of the low-lying, 4,690-square-foot home, the façade combines board-formed concrete, a teak front door, and weathered metal.
Photo by Robert Yu
The master plan includes a main home, a guest pavilion, and a storage barn. Outdoor elements like a sunken courtyard and bocce ball court are thoughtfully woven through by landscape architecture studio Hocker Design Group. Per their website, "The primary residence is carefully slipped into a tall grove of mature pine and oak trees, to assist in establishing a dynamic of minimizing tree loss and maximizing views to the lake beyond."
Glass walls surround a courtyard, sunken so as to provide respite from the wind. Landscape elements encourage interplay with the outdoors.
Photo by Robert Yu
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"Midcentury detailing and naturalistic qualities and textures are the guiding principles of the interior spaces," say the designers at Emily Summers Design Associates. The combination of board-formed concrete and teak is repeated throughout, joined by finished concrete on the floor.
Here, a Jean Prouve-inspired entry table sits in front of a large-scale photograph by Massimo Vitali.
Photo by Robert Yu
The live-edge dining table is topped with a Lindsey Adelman chandelier.
Photo by Robert Yu
The stainless-steel kitchen system is by Bulthaup, and the countertop was fashioned by Brooklyn–based Wüd Furniture Design.
Photo by Robert Yu
In a bedroom, the walnut live-edge bed is a custom design from Emily Summers Design Associates.
Photo by Robert Yu
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Louis Poulsen AJ Table Lamp
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ShopA wall of dimensional Heath Ceramics tile—the Bowtie and Diamond mixed—backs a teak and quartz floating vanity.
Photo by Robert Yu
Another bathroom sports the Dwell Little Diamond tile in the Tropics Blue Crackle glaze from Heath Ceramics. The shower floor is also teak.
Photo by Robert Yu
A screened porch is designed to immerse occupants in the natural setting. The leather chaises are by Mario Bellini and date from the 1970s.
Photo by Robert Yu
"This home is intended as both a place of refuge and of play," says Emily Summers Design Associates.
Photo by Robert Yu
Teak surrounds a minimalist outdoor shower.
Photo by Robert Yu
Distinctly Modern Interiors
Weaving mid-century Continental furniture and modern art by the likes of Frank Stella and Jasper Johns into important American homes, Summers has created a vast collection of cohesive, covetable interiors notable for their streamlined beauty. From a contemporary city penthouse to a 1940s ranch, from Summers' Round House, to her 60s Palm Springs getaway, the homes featured range in period and style, but all will serve as inspiration to readers looking to decorate in a Modernist tradition. Summers shares her building blocks of a great modernist house: how the interior should reflect its setting; how to combine fine art with design; why the interior and architecture must be linked; how to build collections; how to modernize traditional houses; and how to restore existing modernist houses. This is essential reading for fans of modernism and minimalism.
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This Lake House Is a Living Piece of Architecture History
Project Credits:
Architecture: Wernerfield Architects + Design
Landscape Design Company: Hocker Design Group / @hockerdesigngroup
Interior Design: Emily Summers Design Associates / @emilysummersdesign
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