Name: Sean, Ami and Otis
Location: Austin, Texas
Size: 1250 square feet
Years lived in: Owned 9 years
Otis, a lovable lab, was the first to greet us when we visited Ami and Sean's cozy home in Central Austin, but it didn't take long (like, 2.5 seconds) to turn our attentions from an adorable dog to the bold and bright colors of a stunning piece of modern art. Thankfully for us, the gorgeous local art finds and stylish color choices didn't stop just at the entryway.
Ami and Sean's story of how they turned their house into the home of their dreams just might be my favorite I've heard yet. When Sean moved in, they knew the house didn't suit either of their tastes and briefly flirted with the idea of starting over and moving into a bigger house. Instead, they decided to take the project on together as a creative outlet in contrast to their jobs (him, medicine and her, law) — and it became an incredibly rewarding experience. They worked together to find a style that each one loved, and turned a charming older home from the 1930s into a modern, vintage, contemporary, fresh and fun home for two people who love design.
Walking around the house, you can really sense how much Ami and Sean love and are proud of the work they have put in. Pointing out amazing finds (they graciously provide a lot of their resources down below, too), each piece has a story and intense meaning for them, making the space incredibly interesting to be in as a guest. Something passionate for both Ami and Sean as well as this post writer is local Austin art, and the house is filled with amazing pieces that reflect both a cohesive home style but also a lot of individual taste in art. One of our favorite pieces and the one that certainly draws a lot of attention is the photograph of a mounted deer and the perfect location they found for it-- an example of how Ami and Sean take art and design seriously, but not too seriously.
Apartment Therapy Survey:
Our Style: Our style could be described as a playful mix of modern classic, contemporary, antique and art. We love the open and airy feel of floating furniture, clean contemporary lines, and white walls as a kind of blank canvas. Then we like to add pops of color from art, cushions and accessories to really wake things up and bring the rooms to life.
Inspiration: We love Scandinavian design and contemporary art. We also got some great ideas from our good friend, amazing architect David Webber. At the end of the day though, we each have our own sense of style and strong opinions. The trick is finding where they intersect!
Favorite Element: We enjoy the flow from one room to the next, the efficient use of space, and the great light. We use every room every day!
Biggest Challenge: Trying to make the small rooms comfortable, functional, unique and uncluttered.
What Friends Say: They seem to like it. But Otis always draws the most attention.
Biggest Embarrassment: The broken window pane in our kitchen from a hail storm three years ago. We'll fix it someday.
Proudest DIY: It's always satisfying to figure out how to do something and do it on our own. But a favorite project, and the one that took the most work, was the brick patio in back. It required starting from scratch, digging up the patchy lawn that was there, adding sand, wetting, leveling and tamping it over and over again before finally laying the bricks. There was a long hiatus in the work after just enough bricks had been laid to accommodate a grill and a chair. But perseverance paid off and we really enjoy that outdoor space now. The bricks came from old demolished buildings in Chicago, so they work well with the old house.
Biggest Indulgence: Our living room furniture and certain pieces of art were our biggest indulgences. But they will last forever and give the rooms a look and feel that we enjoy every day.
Biggest Advice:Be patient and allow your ideas to evolve over time. Don't settle for something that doesn't wow you even if your partner loves it, especially for big ticket items or focal pieces. Keep looking until you find the pieces that both of you are crazy about. Looking is at least half the fun; enjoy the whole process!
Dream Source: Danish Design Store, Suite NY, Champion Contemporary, Gagosian Gallery (or anywhere we could get a De Kooning, Soutine, Hockney, Sally Mann, Burtynsky -- this dream list could go on and on...)
Resources of Note:
FURNITURE
Living Room
- • De La Espada sectional from Threshhold (Austin)
• Fabricius/Kastholm FK82X chair
• FK90 coffee table from DK Vogue
• Antique bench
Dining Room
- • Cherner table and chairs from Craigslist
• Verner Panton ball lamp from DK Vogue
• Rolly Table from Velocity Art and Design
Sunroom
- • Knoll Womb chair with ottoman and Saarinen tulip tables from DWR
• Neo two-seat sofa by Bensen from Hive
Bedroom
- • Restoration Hardware dresser and nightstands
Office
- • West Elm desk
• Vintage Steelcase desk chair
• Antique dresser and dry sink
• CB2 File Cabinets
•Tollix side chair
• Ikea rug
• Ikea wardrobe
• CB2 bookshelves
Back Patio
- • Vintage table and chairs from Uptown Modern (Austin)
• Ikea chaises
• Pottery Barn nesting tables
Accessories
- • Living room and bedroom cushions by Charlene Mullen for De La Espada
• Sunroom cushions from Trina Turk Residential and West Elm
• Throw from West Elm
• Office cushions from Trina Turk Residential
• Entry mirror by Harry Allen
• Various bowls from local artists, mostly from Austin's Empty Bowl Project
RUGS & CARPETS
- • Dining room and bedroom rugs antique Persian
• Sunroom rug by Angela Adams
• Living room rug cowhidesinternational.com
• Office rug from Ikea
FLOORING
- • Original oak hardwoods
• VCT tiles in kitchen and bathroom
PAINT
- • Pittsburgh Paint (zero VOC) in Gypsum
WINDOW TREATMENTS
- • Office: Window films by Emma Jeffs from 2Jane.com
• Bedroom: Pottery Barn panels
• Living room and sunroom antique stained glass
ARTWORK
Living Room:
Dining Room:
Sunroom:
Bedroom:
Kitchen
Thanks, Ami, Sean and Otis!
Images: Adrienne Breaux
• HOUSE TOUR ARCHIVE Check out past house tours here
• Interested in sharing your home with Apartment Therapy? Contact the editors through our House Tour Submission Form.
• Are you a designer/architect/decorator interested in sharing a residential project with Apartment Therapy readers? Contact the editors through our Professional Submission Form.
Before & After: Emily Henderson Transforms a Senior's Studio Space
Monica & Austin's Charming Bungalow
Good Food to Share 
The Big Book of Small, Cool Spaces 
Apartment Therapy Presents 
The Eight-Step Home Cure 
White Enamel Four-P...
How To Cook Fluffy, Tasty Quinoa
True Greek Recipe: Paximadi Bread Salad with Tomatoes, Feta and Capers
Thanks for sharing your pretty home. How old is Otis? He has such a sweet smile, and seems so content.
Can i live with you? I love it!
I love 1930's bungalow-style houses anyway, but Sean and Ami have made this one especially lovely.
Great call keeping the walls white. The woodwork and windows make it interesting enough without tons of wall color. This home is nicely decorated without being cluttered. The living room cabinet is perfect there.
I absolutely adore the ripple afghan in the bedroom. A house isn't really a home without a ripple afghan in it (it's the law, or should be).
Otis is so cute I just want to smoosh his face. We can tell that he loves his home, too.
What a lovely home and pooch! Very warm and inviting.
You have some great pieces and the entire house is really nice.
When can I move in? I especially love the orange lamp/chandelier in the dining room (a Panton piece, I think you mentioned.)
The orange chandelier is stunning, and the rest of the place has an exquisite balance between design and a lived-in feeling. Well-done !
Just wonderful!
I like the light and welcoming feeling of your home very much. Great job.
Can you tell me about the rocked area that runs along your fence? I'm guessing you did it to help cut down on Otis wearing away the grass along the fence or digging under the fence. Most important, how is it working out for you guys and Otis? And did you put anything under the rock? Thanks for any tips as I have recently adopted to big dogs who have a few bad habits.
Wonderful art! Adorable dog!
Question: the book shelves appear to have a portrait (deer head w/ antlers) hanging OVER them... how do you rig something like that?
Personally, I'd get rid of the cow hide rug and deer head. Other than that, this is probably my favorite house tour ever. LOVE IT!
Austin tours are the best... Or Adrienne is the best. Or both.
y'all have a lovely home.
i feel fancy for recognizing the lance letscher artwork right away! my parents have a couple of his pieces in their home.
What a great home, this is one of the best house tours ever on AT!
Way to represent Austin! It's funny... the whole city feels like cookie cutter apartment after cookie cutter apartment. But you guys found a jewel of a place and fixed it up nicely. I think my heart would pitter-patter even more if I knew this place was located right off of Lamar or on a sleepy street off of South Congress.
I"ve never seen an oranger Verner Panton ball lamp like that before and it is a very awesome piece! The knitted throw is nice because it reminds me of one my great grandmother knitted for me when I was a young child. My favorite piece is that gorgeous large painting over the couch -- breathtaking! Good job on it all, it's a fun journey!
Wow! Thanks so much for all the kind feedback. It makes us feel great!
Let's see...
Miami's Elaine - Otis is 8 now. And he is such a sweet and happy boy. Always. We adore him.
Zazzu - Otis would totally love it if you smooshed his face!
Meggs - we didn't really put the rocks in because of Otis, we just wanted to reduce the size of the lawn and like how they look. We used pea gravel and did not put anything under it. It does get weedy in the spring, but not too bad the rest of the time and the weeds are easy to pull out. A dose of Roundup would also take care of the weeds, but I hate to use that stuff if I can help it. We've been happy with the gravel beds. Good luck with yours!
Jules H - you are correct - the portrait (of Cletus) is hanging over the shelves. It's easy to hang like that - we just put a picture hook on the edge of the shelf itself and rigged the wire on the back of the picture to hang where we wanted it to fall.
Leo9 - you ARE fancy! Good eye! We just love his collages.
Thanks again for all the kind words. We have had so much fun with this whole process and we really enjoy living here. We are tickled pink to know that others like what we have done, too!
Thanks, I thought Otis is a senior, my good old girl dog is mellow and lovable, too.
Ami & Sean,
You have a beautiful house! Your house has all the characteristics of my dream home: A lot of natural light, clean lines, good flow, uncluttered,and cozy.
Thank you for sharing!
Great mix of styles: modern furniture in a typical Austin House. It is tasteful, and attractive.
Cute couple, handsome dog.
love your dining room chairs. I mean, LOVE.
great house. great tour. whoever shot the photos did an amazing job.
Excellent!
is cowhide this year's hot item? i'm seeing it quite alot, even in magazines. lovely home.
Probably the only home I've seen where those kitchen cabinets look (a) intentional and (b) integrated. The rest of the house and the kitchen details pulls them in and makes it all look good!
What do you feed otis? He looks so happy!
I want make this type of home but i have no money .
Reduslim Acai
Very nice place, a lovely balance of white and bright colours.
But do tell me, how do you live with a white/yellow rug and a dog? (I mean, how do you maintain the rug?)
I love the deer among the books - it's a perfect spot for it.
Great job on the patio, guys - thumbs up! The rest of the yard is also beautiful.
One thing that really bugs me though - and sorry, I have to get it off my chest - are the low-hung curtains in the bedroom. I don't understand why you hung them below the window frame, even more so when you have tabbed curtains? There is plenty of space above the window frame (between the window frame and the moulding). Just a little blemish on an otherwise lovely home. :-)
I agree with CanadianMango about the bedroom curtains...
Otherwise gorgeous!
So nice to hear all the great feedback! Thank you!
CanadianMango, the rug is fairly easy to keep clean. It's actually more of an ivory color so it doesn't show dirt like white would. And we wipe off Otis's paws and belly if they're muddy as soon as we come in. That helps a lot.
I know what you mean about the bedroom curtains. They look odd when the curtains are open as they are in the photos here. But normally we keep them closed for privacy. And we hung them that way just to let some natural light into the room even when they're closed. We'll probably change the window treatments in there at some point. Maybe white plantation shutters?
Love the yellow and ivory rug. I had it on my lust list. And the pendant lamp - that's gorgeous.
Nice!
What a lovely bright home! I loved every single room, the art is to die for as is that back yard! Otis is pretty handsome too!
Gotta love plantation shutters...good call.
LOVE every square inch of it!!
I like everything in this place!
You have a lovely well put together home! I have a question about your backyard fencing. Is it aluminum and how is it installed?
Thanks!
More evidence of Austin's coolness. I love how you've integrated iconic pieces and everything still feels REAL and WARM.
What's your source for this magazine rack?
From one Central Texan to another: Boyhowdy, that is awesome!!!
It is not often that we see such interesting, such good art work on the walls Therapy's featured spaces. Congratulations.
You mentioned art as one of your splurges. I applaud this priority.
lots to like here
lose the deer head
This picture just makes me happy.
Ami and Sean, How exciting to see your avid art collection. I am both an artist and a collector and I cannot tell you how inspiring both your home and art collection are to me. My husband (a photographer) and I (a painter) looked at EVERY link on your posting--WOW!!
Thank you for sharing and setting such a high bar for all of us to follow in our interior/exterior design, our art collecting, and our submissions to the ever-wonderful Apartment Therapy.
Spot-on in every way. This house makes me long for the simpler times, pre-kids, when everything was white with pops of color. Just looking at this place calms and soothes and makes me want a Negroni in the beautifully landscaped back yard. There are so many nice small houses in Austin--you scored a great one and have been realizing its potential in a smart, sensitive way. Brilliant work , guys!
I can't enter this house when the first picture welcoming me in is a deer head. What year is this we are living in?? Really, people still do this to animals and actually hang them on their walls to look at every day....seriously, the amount of people on this website who post pictures of their homes that have horns, animal skin rugs etc. is huge...what is up with that?
According to the text, the deer head is a photo. I'd guess it's intended ironically or humorously. Heads and hides as decor remain customary in parts of the US.
AT has posted many threads exploring cultural conflict as exemplified in heads and hides as decor. I'd feel hypocritical criticizing the tradition. I eat meat, wear leather, and own (tanned) leather furniture.
we can tell ourselves whatever we want to make us feel better about our choices but it's still barbaric. Stop feeling loyal to traditions and make up your own mind.
It's provincial, counterproductively inflammatory, and ungracious to insult a couple so generous as to share their lovely home here by falsely describing it as "barbaric." Please review AT's comments policy.
As an Austin resident and local artist, I'm thrilled to see this older home renewed in such a lively, personal, and stylish way. Love the juxtaposition of high and low. Art is fabulous! Very inspirational to see you keeping it real with your gorgeous dog and casual backyard area.
Still more great comments! Thanks again!
Leftofcentergirl - the fence is corrugated roofing metal and it's screwed onto a wooden fence with metal fence posts that's on the other side of the panels. There are probably other ways to do this, but we had a wooden fence already there so this worked well for us. I think the main thing is to make sure the panels are securely screwed to something very sturdy so they can't blow off in strong winds.
ericakn - the magazine rack is from blu dot. i think you can order it online if you don't have a retailer nearby. it comes completely flat and you fold it into the rack yourself (with instructions provided). blu dot makes some cool stuff.
artygal - so glad you checked out and enjoyed the links to the artists we've discovered and like so much ourselves. There is an amazing amount of talent out there!
Miami's Elaine - thanks for sticking up for us. We appreciate your kind reply. No worries though - we aren't easily offended. And you're right, the deer is indeed a photo. And it is intended to be a cheeky/ironic nod to the real thing. We deliberately purchased the rug from a retailer that sells only rugs that are by-products of the food industry and carries no products coming from animals that have been killed strictly for the fur, wool or leather.
We definitely recognize and appreciate the controversy surrounding such things. We are also sensitive to the fact that there is something inherently sad and revolting on some level about the transformation of animals into objects and decoration. In fact, the exploration of this conflict is one of the reasons Kenny Trice's "Living with Taxidermy" series of photos work for us as art.
We think a respectful dialogue about these issues is healthy. And ultimately august stone is correct in that we each must make up our own minds.
Thanks again for all the tremendous feedback!
I should also add that, aside from its intended humor/irony, we find the deer photo to be really aesthetically beautiful, with a warmth and depth of detail that is not apparent from the reproductions here.
The artwork really makes the place! The deerhead should be in AT's sense of humor article as I thought it was real at first.
How do you keep a white couch clean? I once had a vinyl couch that supposedly you could keep clean with Fantastic but I managed to get something pink on it (what the hell could have been pink?) and stained it. No more white couches for me.
Oh and were you thinking "shit the couch is too big, it sticks into the passageway"?
Womb chair, sigh! They are so cozy to sit in and it is by the window so you could just sit and read a book.
Dining room is awesome with the chairs and then the orange lamp.
I like how you mixed mid century modern with stained glass.
I also love the two huge cacti that you guys have.
Haha, you know you shouldn't have animals in your tour if want people to pay attention to the house!
Otis is just beautiful, but once you get past wanting to muzz and smoosh the lovely labby, there is a great tour to enjoy - jealous of your lovely art pieces and I think the whole effect is unpretentious and welcoming with some great stuff to enjoy. Nice one guys, enjoy!
My favorite tour to date! It's great to see how the artwork one chooses - makes a house a home! Really brilliant design! Thank you for sharing...
love it!!!
I love the rugs!
love ur place- its so bright & cheery! i love the light neutral paint color in the office- personally i would like to c more in the rest of the house to make all that gorgeous molding really pop- a lot of work, tho, i know... also, i have to say it: those dated kitchen cabinets r horrible & really ruin the kitchen for me. a very easy & cheap solution would b to paint out those awful "wood" strips to white & install some cool hardware. it would b simple to do & would take DECADES off the age of the kitchen! :)
OK, I LOVE the sunroom at the back. I would spend all my time there, with a book and a cup of tea.