Transformative Renovations in Austin

Webber + Studio went with a bold, orange hue for these kitchen countertops. Past the front door and a short hallway lies an expansive living, dining, and kitchen space.

In the new powder room, Jill Malek wallpaper adds graphic punch to custom cabinetry.

The firm also leveled the floors in the dining room and lounge, and added new oak flooring. "We took advantage of a strange offset in the wall framing to create a continuous wood picture ledge on one wall," says Schmeil.

The delicately redesigned living room maximizes natural light, using bright furnishings to maintain the room's newfound brightness. The Stuc Pierre plaster ceiling and walls and the Venetian Plaster at the fireplace put in place by the homeowner, Sloan Houser, refresh and integrate the spaces of the Houser home.

When designing the kitchen, dining, and living areas, the couple knew they wanted to achieve a continuous flow between the different rooms.

In the kids' bathroom upstairs, you can again see how J.C. Schmiel wrapped large windows around each corner of the house in a space created by the intersection of a gabled roof and the shed dormers. Photo by Whit Preston.

The family room is situated at the apex of the house, with picturesque views that extend up the meticulously landscaped north slope. The concrete floor sits just low enough that the main elements of the scene—the succulent garden and large limestone ledges—are at eye level. A bank of NanaWall folding windows breaks up the fourth wall.

Particularly fond of careful detail, Alter designed the treads of the entryway staircase to merge seamlessly into the adjacent bookshelves. “I enjoy doing things that make you wonder about the context and look a little further,” he says.