Llano Modern Ranch

Design made easy…..Find a park like setting with natural Springs, gigantic trees, fishing ponds, rolling hills, and all around natural beauty. Find a client with a clear sense of vision, and the necessary resources to accomplish that vision, but also a humility and humanity that reveals an innate desire to make the home look as if it is a part of the land and belongs to the people.

In Roy Willberns book “The Old Man of the Glen, Ferdinand Columbus Willbern 1827 -1903”, an entire chapter is dedicated to the beauty of this property and how Willbern’s Glenn was site of numerous family picnics and outings and “the ever-thrilling haunt of every little boy and girl who grew up in the area” as stated by Mr. Willbern.

The significance of this property’s history, and the owners desire to maintain the tradition of community it was born from, resulted in a casual but well-appointed home capable of entertaining and hosting large family gatherings for generations to come.

The aesthetic of the home combines the husband’s love of mountain lodges and the old west with the wife’s desire for a more sophisticated interpretation of the rustic. Reclaimed lumber, raked joint stone, and pre-rusted steel gives a sense of history to the project, while modern appliances and thoughtfully designed spaces afford all the comforts of a modern-day home.

To speak to the vernacular of a traditional Texas Ranch, the massing of the home was broken up into a series of simple interconnected barn-like structures which nest gracefully into the many tree groves and gently sloping grassland. Large informal spaces have plenty of room to accommodate large groups but feel comfortable and quaint due to warm materials and well-scaled furniture groupings that bring a sense of intimacy and rustic charm.