Daylight Done Right
From the street, this home doesn’t boast or insist on itself. Stepped, rectangular volumes sit back from the sidewalk, measured and calm, guiding visitors toward an intimate crushed-gravel courtyard behind a gated slat wall that glows at dusk.
Bird in Hand
The home, affectionately nicknamed “Birdhouse,” exists confidently, content with its scale and material clarity, with every detail in its place and nothing more than is necessary.
Quiet Revival
A few steps into the garden and the hum of Austin fades, as if in respect to the history of Commodore Perry Estate.
Blissed Out
Just off Springdale Road, two newly-built homes bring an easy, modern charm to their shared, gated lot. Clean lines and a thoughtful mix of materials establish the property’s warm, almost tropical, tone.
How to Deal With Strangers
There is a terrific nostalgia in recalling the humid, chlorinated air of an indoor swimming pool from a childhood family vacation.
Midcentury Zen
Originally built in 1953, Michael and Melissa Blair’s cozy bungalow was full of midcentury charm but lacked space their growing family needed.
Efficient Elegance
In a quiet pocket of East Austin marked by modest houses and heritage trees, a new neighbor has quietly settled into a tight, corner lot.
Art & Soul: Meet Your Makers
Get to know four Austin artists, emergent and established alike, who are playing a pivotal role shaping Eastside’s evolving art scene.
Inn Kind: A Boutique Hotel Reimagines Coming Home
The Frances Modern Inn offers cozy and curated stays, thoughtfully attentive staff, and an intimate Italian dining experience via their stylish new restaurant: Poeta.
Grand Plans
While designing a dream home with her late husband, Lorenza Avila discovered her passion for creating functional, elevated spaces that foster connection and introspection. Her timeless aesthetic defines elegant interiors that remain adaptable to life’s cycles of change.
Collective Spirit
Established by atxGALS in 2019, this Latina-owned boutique art gallery, event venue, and coworking space uplifts its community of women and nonbinary artists with spacious, light-filled interiors, and round-the-year events—all from within a thoughtfully repurposed, 1930s Baptist church.
Creation Space: Pollen Architecture
Pollen Architecture delivers much-needed creative space to central East Austin, leveraging artful interiors and considerate outdoor courtyards as gifts to tenants and neighbors alike
Vibes & Virtues: Christen Ales Interior Design
Tulum-inspired interiors blend bold patterns, natural light, and rich, earthy tones, achieving a colorful and luxurious aesthetic fit for vacationers and stay-cationers, alike.
High Plane
Quietly set back behind a sprawling heritage oak lies the Walnut Residence, a taut three-bedroom home designed and built by Minguell-McQuary in Austin.
Evolution in Motion: Curb Appeal & Bold Ideals
Architects Jose Minguell and Laura McQuary consider their home on Canterbury Street a lifelong project, its thoughtful design merely the latest chapter in an unfolding story, responsive to the shifting needs of a family of four.
Deep In The Heart: Dude Ranch Meets Hollywood Backlot
The production lights are big and bright, or will be soon, according to Alton, founder of production company Line 204.
Mulling Mueller: Tarmacs and Town Homes
Decades after going all-in on new urbanism, East Austin’s largest planned neighborhood has finally landed.
These Walls Talk: The Evolution of Austin Street Art
East Austin’s emergence as a catalyst for evocative, identity-based public art is no accident. It’s the latest chapter in a story that has unfolded over the last 70+ years.
Light Touch
A modest mid-century home in Windsor Park receives a gentle renovation and expansion, breathing light and outdoor views into its smart, art-filled interiors.
An East 6th Oasis: Top-Down Approach
Bold and airy interiors bookend a lush, outdoor enclave for a growing family of four.
Soul Purpose: The Revival of Uptown Sports Club
Gumbo and po’ boys lead a rich menu with casual, all-day service in an historic and thoughtfully revitalized building on the corner of East 6th and Waller streets.
Surreal Deal
Under the oppressive heat of the Texas summer, artist T.R. Rodriquez is an early riser. At 5:00 am, she starts her day with a cup of coffee and crosses her lush backyard enclave into her painting studio, lovingly built by her husband, Jonny.
Palette Perfect
Since opening the doors of his architecture practice nearly ten years ago, Davey McEathron has designed an impressive collection of thoughtful and striking homes throughout Austin.
House Zero: Ready, Set, Print
A timeless and thought-provoking home in Holly artfully boasts a breakthrough in sustainable construction.
Rising Action: Architect Nicole Blair
A lofty addition takes flight over an existing bungalow for a Rosewood couple seeking studio space without sacrificing their yard and luscious gardens.
Living Legacy: An All New Veracruz
A renowned family of restaurateurs with a reputation for delighting taste buds has opened a new brick-and-mortar location, offering an expanded food and drink menu imbued with three generations of traditional craft.
The Pharaohs’ Pitmaster: KG BBQ
Kareem El-Ghayesh of KG BBQ has delivered one of East Austin’s most popular new menus, offering classic Texas barbecue fused with an Egyptian twist.
Original Spin
An unpretentious East 6th record shop offers more than meets the ears.
Something’s Brewing at Brew & Brew
An Eastside institution eyes a new era after building community in an ever-changing neighborhood.
Makers & Shakers
Meet the Broad Squad: a collective of female artists providing an invaluable platform for emerging local artists, educators, and their communities.
When Less is More: An Elegant ADU
A young family’s timeless ADU is thoughtfully designed with their neighbors in mind.
A Renovated Austin Home Serves as an Urban Respite
Eight years in the making, a sensitively renovated property lies hidden in plain sight on Bolm Road. Its creatively curated spaces for living and working are modest and serene, reflecting the character of its creator.
Innovative Home Design: CoXist Studio’s Zig Zag Home
A creative home maximizes privacy, light, outdoor space, and a strong connection to the neighborhood community.
Wide Open Spaces: East Austin’s Patterson Park
Over 80 years since its founding, Patterson Park continues to endear itself to generations of East Austinites.
Character Building: The ‘Guesthouse East’ Remodel
Brimming with personality, this sensitive and bright remodel of a 1920s boarding home brings a modern touch to an old-Austin gem.
Brew Crew: The Front Page
In Govalle’s bustling Springdale General complex, this casual neighborhood hangout offers a full bar and New York-style sandwiches to a growing community of regulars.
Austin Activism Amplified: Allies Against Slavery
This local nonprofit supports communities statewide by leveraging the power of technology, data, and a coalition of partnerships to eradicate human trafficking.
Wendy Wan’s Wanderlust: Asian Fusion Eats
Not all food trailers are created equal, and at the northwest corner of Cesar Chavez and Pleasant Valley stands a delicious and underrated testament to that fact.
Midcentury Magnified: Shannon Eddings Interiors
Shannon Eddings sensitively expands her family’s modest midcentury home, creating breathable space imbued with the bold personalty and expert craft of her practice.
Nouveau Industrial
Strolling South Congress to peruse its quirky boutiques and shady brunch spots has become an Austin experience as typical as counting cranes on the skyline or languishing in traffic on the upper deck of I-35.
Go Big or Go Tiny Home: Community First! Village
“Welcome to my man cave!” Jesse says with a grin from his recliner as he flips between channels on his TV.
Outside In: Pavonetti Architecture
A thoughtful and bright expansion to a 1950’s ranch home in Cherrywood takes its cues from a tree-filled lot and a veteran design and build team.
Sleep Well, Do Good.
A cherished boutique hotel looks toward a careful, limited reopening after paying staff for months of local volunteering during the COVID-19 shutdown.
Keeping it Simple
When homeowner Royce Flournoy approached Elizabeth Baird to design a home on his family’s land in Rosewood, he came prepared with a list of parameters.
Seeing the Light
A narrow lot featuring a protected pecan tree became an ideal canvas for architect, Jen Brannon, and client-contractor, Nathan Button, to realize a humble, spacious, and daylight-filled single-family home.
State of the ARTS
In a year with little precedent, four artists embody the enduring spirit of Austin’s art community.
Birds of a Feather: Bird Bird Biscuit
As head chef, general manager, and co-owner of Bird Bird Biscuit, Brian Batch is accustomed to wearing many hats, but his passion lies behind the griddle serving up and fine-tuning some of East Austin’s most adored breakfast and lunch sandwiches.
Over the Odds: Brewing Community with Craft
It’s an odd time to visit Oddwood Ales, yet a quick glance around the eclectic and cozy taproom reveals a scene that has played out in bars and restaurants across the country since the COVID-19 crisis forced establishments to shutter indefinitely.
Community Spirit: La Holly
La Holly isn’t just another trendy Eastside watering hole. With an affordable and highly curated cocktail menu, owner Simon Madera has carefully crafted an intimate venue inspired by their Tejano neighborhood.
J. Fisher Interiors: Modern Eclecticism
Jennifer Fisher’s self-styled Eastside bungalow is an ever-evolving canvas resonant with the eclectic charm that defines her professional work.
Where the Heart Is
After growing up in Louisiana before later bouncing between New York and Boston, Lindsay Olinde was looking for a bit of nostalgic, southern charm when she and her husband, Joseph, found their way to Austin in 2008.
Faye and Walker Architecture’s Color Trail
On a sunny weekend in October, under the dappled light of several sprawling oaks, Sean Guess, AIA, of Faye and Walker Architecture watched as his latest completed project, “Color Trail,” was overrun by a small army of children and their parents.
Waterloo Greenway Stages Sixth Annual Creek Show
Waterloo Greenway (formerly Waller Creek Conservancy) welcomed a record-setting 60,000 guests to its 6th Annual Creek Show.
Sixthriver Designs Community-Oriented Facility for Austin Classical Radio Station
Many Austinites could be forgiven for failing to recognize their own public, classical radio station. Despite being an institution whose legacy dates back to 1967, Austin’s KMFA 89.5 has largely flown under the radar.
T.V. Eye
The Fox News Deck made its television debut on October 7, 2013, when host — and respected journalist — Shepard “Shep” Smith stood before a camera and declared his show to be the beginning of a “live broadcast revolution.”
Waller Creek Conservancy Stages Fifth Annual Creek Show
For the fifth time in as many years, artists, architects, and Austinites alike descended the banks of Waller Creek to experience “Creek Show,” an annual display of temporary light installations commissioned by the Waller Creek Conservancy.
Austin Gets Its First Composite Cross-Laminated Timber Structure
The site on East 6th Street just one block east of Interstate 35 is one of many patches of dirt undergoing rapid development in Austin today.
Design Awards 2018: West Lynn Studio
As Baldridge Architects sought to relocate its office in Austin, the firm settled on a location within the charming residential neighborhood of Clarksville.
Waller Creek Conservancy Stages Fourth Annual Creek Show
For nine nights in November, Austin was once again illuminated by the temporary light-based and site-specific art installations of “Creek Show.”
How the Broadcast Industry is Influencing the Workplace
In today’s digital landscape, every business is a producer of media, whether it’s content for social media channels or internal video for corporate communications.
Robot Learning
Visitors to the School of Architecture at The University of Texas at Austin may have been at first puzzled, albeit dazzled, by the sight of the exhibition that greeted them in the Mebane Gallery for three weeks in April.
Design Awards 2018: Lamar Union
As urban centers throughout Texas continue to be affected by the ever-evolving role of the automobile, jurors gravitated toward Lamar Union as an example of responsible redevelopment.
Creature Prep
In the 1960s, America embraced the tenets of modernism, giving rise to suburban schools with open floor plans, natural lighting, increased ventilation, and technology in classrooms.
The Hills
Nestled into the side of a hill and buried deep within an upscale, sprawling, and generally uninteresting suburban Austin neighborhood lies Casa de las Lomas, a showstopper of a home, at once exotic and profoundly Texan.
Waller Folly
On most nights, an evening spent strolling the banks of Austin’s Waller Creek offers the chance to appreciate one of the many pockets of the city that is undergoing a rapid transition.
UT Austin Professor Clay Odom’s ‘Flowering Phantasm’ Featured in Paris
The gallery is intimate and dimly lit, its periphery a little unclear as one’s eyes adjust to the space. A low rumbling fills the room, the sound overlapping onto itself in a vaguely familiar, mechanical cadence. Or is it biological?
Lessons from the Coast
It’s an overcast, April morning and Coleman Coker is crouched low, peering over the edge of a small platform that floats in the saltwater marshlands of Sea Rim State Park.
Go Down, Pump Jack
“I just don’t know, man. A lot of us are real worried. Just look out there and tell me how many jacks you see stopped.” Andy pauses to wipe the grease from his hands before continuing.
Big Ideas
About seven miles southeast of San Antonio, near the intersection of Interstate 37 and SE Military Drive – at the entrance to Brooks City Base – is an emblem of the history of flight.
Ten Eyck’s Vertical Gardens
It’s about 20 paces from the sidewalk to the glassy entrance of the Livestrong Foundation’s corporate headquarters in East Austin, but even in that short distance, people are often over-come by a great temptation to simply sit and stay awhile.