Tour a Simply Stunning House That’s Perched Right on Lake Austin

Paola Singer
·6 min read

When an architect and a designer are given carte blanche, it can be exhilarating yet daunting. What eras to draw inspiration from? Just how much texture and color should interior spaces have? Those are only some of the questions that frequent collaborators Ryan Street of Ryan Street Architects and Emily Seiders of Studio Seiders asked themselves after a young family hired them to reimagine their recently purchased Austin home. Built in the 1970s on the shores of Lake Austin, the 8,000-square-foot property possessed a coveted location but an outdated look.

The clients, a couple with two small children and two high-profile jobs, wanted an “inviting” abode in which they could relax and entertain. “Design in general is not one of our strengths, so it was key to work with a team that we trusted and [that we] could empower to manage every detail from start to finish,” says one of the clients, a tech executive. “We just knew that we wanted the space to feel connect[ed to] the lake and [to] the outdoors in general.”

Architect Ryan Street and interior designer Emily Seiders teamed up to build and design this layered, highly detailed home on Lake Austin. In the dining area, which is connected to a bar and a parlor, a bleached white-oak dining table (designed by Seiders) was paired with leather-wrapped burgundy chairs from Ochre. The delicate chandelier, by Lindsey Adelman, has rosy glass globes that match the colors of the nearby parlor.

Since the house didn’t have a practical layout or a distinctive architectural style, it made sense to take it down to the studs. The residence did, however, have attractive tan bricks that covered its exterior walls. Everyone agreed to reuse them on the renovated façade. Now, those bricks are juxtaposed with massive steel-framed windows, limestone sills, and a pitched copper roof to make for a contemporary style reminiscent of European chalets and New York City townhouses. “The overarching idea was to create something timeless that fit in with the neighborhood and the site,” says Street, who adds that many of the area’s properties date back to the early 1900s. “There’s a reference to classical architecture, but [one that is] reduced to its essential forms.”

For the interiors, Seiders took cues from the clients’ personalities and stories about their travels (“they loved Soho Farmhouse in Oxfordshire and enjoy spending time in Manhattan”) in order to come up with a design that’s easy yet refined with just a touch of whimsy. “We were not chasing trends, and that’s something hard to do in this digital age,” says Seiders. “I wanted to create a home that’s livable but very special, with a whole lot of attention to detail.”

Tour a Simply Stunning House That’s Perched Right on Lake Austin

“The living room is the first thing you see. It has gorgeous views of Lake Austin, [so] I wanted it to feel very fresh,” says Seiders. “The coral chair is an homage to [the wife] and her bright personality.” A Craft Associates wingback chair in rosy velvet was paired with two shapely Pierre Agustin Rose coffee tables with oak legs and lacquered tops. The artwork over the fireplace is by Woody Patterson; the one over the piano is by Donald Martiny.
In the dining area, which is connected to a bar and a parlor, a bleached white-oak dining table (designed by Seiders) was paired with leather-wrapped burgundy chairs from Ochre. The delicate chandelier, by Lindsey Adelman, has rosy glass globes that match the colors of the nearby parlor.
Seiders painted the bar in Farrow and Ball’s De Nimes and Railings shades of blue. The barstools, which have charcoal cowhide seats, are from Thomas Hayes Studio. The hand-blown glass pendants are from Roman and Williams Guild.
Patterned parquet floors, designed by Studio Seiders and fabricated by Kristynik Hardwood Flooring, add a visual punch to the clean-lined and light-hued open kitchen. The burnished brass pendants are from Roman and Williams Guild.
The breakfast nook by the open kitchen has a circular white-oak banquette with leather cushions and a round marble table from the 1920s, purchased at M.Naeve antiques in Houston. The multifaceted bronze-and-glass fixture is from Rose Uniacke.
The family room, just off the kitchen, is furnished with two Stahl and Band swivel chairs upholstered in mint-colored mohair, a vintage Audoux Minet rope-and-cane chair, and a linen Borgo sofa from Dmitriy & Co.
In the family room, vintage chrome-and-leather Les Arcs chairs, designed in the 1960s by Charlotte Perriand for the Les Arcs Ski Resort, were paired with a contemporary oak table from Sun at Six.
A dark flowered Kelly Ventura wallpaper lines this powder room, which features a custom Calacatta marble sink and a custom iron-framed mirror from Mirror-tique.
The muted green plaster on the primary suite’s walls complements the vivid colors of the garden, seen through ample steel-framed windows. White oak covers the coffered ceiling. Most of the furniture is custom. The vintage carpets are from Carol Piper Rugs.
Black and white marble mosaics by Kelly Wearstler for Ann Sacks and a sculptural chandelier by Lindsey Adelman make the primary bath stand out.
In this boy’s room, papier-mâché animal mounts from Nickey Kehoe keep the vibe childlike. The custom linen-upholstered bed, on the other hand, could last well into his teenage years.
In this second-floor office, an artwork by Greg Miller dominates. A steel coffee table with travertine insert from Fair Design matches the ebonized oak paneling on the wall. The zebra-hide chair is a vintage piece by Alvar Aalto.
In this second-floor office, an artwork by Greg Miller dominates. A steel coffee table with travertine insert from Fair Design matches the ebonized oak paneling on the wall. The zebra-hide chair is a vintage piece by Alvar Aalto.
“The ceilings were seven feet tall and oppressive,” says Seiders of the basement. “We painted everything nice and bright, and decided the whole downstairs was going to be just for the kids.” The sectional sofa, from Croft House, was paired with an ottoman upholstered in Jennifer Shorto’s Leo fabric.
This breezy second-floor terrace overlooking the lake has a teak dining table and chairs from Harbour Outdoor. In the back we see a Wolf grill and floor-to-ceiling steel-framed glass doors. The Chelsea lantern is from The Urban Electric Company.
A massive oak tree adds beauty and shade to the garden, which is perched on Lake Austin. The loungers are from RH, and the teak sofa and armchairs are from Harbour Outdoor. Architect Ryan Street added a pool during the reconstruction of the home.
See the video.

In the main living area, which has a row of connected rooms, Seiders played with the concepts of masculinity and femininity, going from a bright and fresh palette in the parlor to a dark and moody look for the adjacent bar, and then tying it all together in the dining area. That space has a delicate brass chandelier with rose-hued globes that mimic the colors of the parlor, while the dark burgundy dining chairs complement the look of the wine bottles on display at the bar. Rich architectural details abound throughout the five-bedroom house, including ribbed wooden paneling, uniquely patterned parquet floors, and plaster walls, which reflect natural light over coffered ceilings.

And then there are the views of Lake Austin, complete with a resplendent live oak tree on the water’s edge that makes the garden look like a postcard. “For us it was sort of a dream project,” says Street. “We presented our clients with things that we love and they happened to love them too.”

Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest