Name: Alyson Fox, Illustrator and Clothing Designer
Location: Austin, Texas
Size: 1000 square feet
Years lived in: 3 years
Being a huge fan of airy loft spaces, when Alyson Fox first glimpsed this house built in 1946, she knew it was love at first sight. Although the décor was a bit outdated, the tall ceilings with exposed beams, uniquely shaped windows and great floor plan appealed to her design senses. Soon after purchasing the house (which was relocated to its current property in 1996), Alyson and her fiancé made quick work of creating a new color palette of warm grays, light blues, whites and pops of red...
The few structural changes they made were opening up the wall between the kitchen and the living room and adding on 100 extra square feet to the kitchen and dining area. Although the house is a cozy 1000 square feet, it feels airy thanks to the tall ceilings with exposed beams, which lends an almost cabin-like feel to the space. Simple changes, clever details (check out the geometric wooden features in the living room and kitchen) and honest materials define this gorgeous space.
AT Survey:
Favorite Room: The kitchen. We just remodeled it and love all the open space and pop of color as soon as you walk in the front door and see it. I feel the kitchen is where a lot of hanging out happens and with it being open to the living room it becomes a nice conversation between the two rooms and people.
Inspiration: A nice blend of Masculine and Feminine.
Favorite Element: Little moments on the wall that are always changing.
Biggest Challenge: Making final design decisions that are permanent. A lot of little design elements around the house are always changing ( chairs, pillows, art) so picking the right floor, sink, cabinet..etc can be an event sometimes.
Biggest Embarrassment: I can't think of anything that stands out. We don't get embarrassed to easily.
Proudest DIY: The Kitchen. It was a family DIY. All efforts much appreciated and loved.
Biggest Indulgence: ** Chairs. I have a obsession with them. Shoes and dark chocolate.
Best advice: Have fun with your space. And as you change your house should too.
Most Talked about Element: The open beam ceiling and geometric shaped windows on the front of the house...and the big porch.
Dream Piece of Furniture: I would like to find a danish modern wall unit.
Fun Fact: I can do some pretty fun tricks jump roping- in the house.
Oldest Item you Own: Original Thonet chairs for the house. A 1890 slip for my body.
Cleaning or Organizing Tip: If you have not used something in a year donate it.
Favorite Store: My favorite local store is Home girls. A great place to find affordable treasures. Most of our chairs in the house came from there.
Place You Buy Things for the Home: Everywhere. I just bought a vintage pendant from a bead store that I used as a mini frame for a piece of art.
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Comments (37)
i love it all, but those horsey window cranks are pure perfection!
Weird. I was just trying to look at her clothes collection (my work computer thinks it might be a gambling site though, so it'll have to wait until I'm home)!
The house looks great I really like the kitchen and bedroom. Where did those shelves in the kitchen come from?
Haha I love those horses! Reminds me of that Charlie YouTube clip almost immediately...
candy mountain! shun the non-believer! shunnnnuh!
love all that wood and no need for rugs & carpets! Very cool!
ideal. i'd love to work here & never have to leave.
Love this. Where did you get the kitchen table?
Where are the chairs for the outdoor table from? They look so familiar and I am basically in love with them! ;)
OMG, it just hit me viewing the third picture of them.
They're from my childhood! We have green ones.
Thank you so much for the fun comments. Here are a few answers.
The kitchen table is from Ikea. The outdoor chairs and table I found at Savers ( a thrift store). Each chair was 99 cents. CRAZY!
For a little bit my site did show up as a gambling company, but now it's all good to go. We are redoing my site as we speak though. It will be new in 2 weeks.
Have a great weekend!!
am very curious about the material for the kitchen shelving too. very nicely done. this is definitely one of those places i envy because it also seems easily livable too.
Such a great pad. I love all the materials, texture and color. Great kitchen basic and homey. You have a nice way with the art in your place.
The TV would make me nuts, a bit too anchored to the wall and the furniture grouping seems forced to the TV.
The TV is tough when you only have one room that is comfortable which is the main living space, I battle this myself although I only use it for movies. What happen to dens, like the ones my friends and I had growing up? I am not a fan of the tv attached to the wall it reminds me of a hospital room.
I assume most might say something along the lines of, "she must look at a lot of Marcel Dzama drawings" and I generally wouldn't disagree. However I would argue for her work over Dzama's. Just as I would argue for her home as one of the most inspirational and impressive homes on AT in a very long while. It looks lived in, creative (might I note the nice balance of mid century modern influence alongside the subtle popular contemporary undertones), personal, upstaged for the sake of documentation, and seems overall realistic. Great job all around!
Such a beautyfull home, full of inspiration for me and my flat. I love your kitchen, esp. the wooden shelfes for the plates (where do they come from?) and your sense of colour. This is again an example what AT stands for me: Great design solutions for real people with real lifes!
Warning: Okay, I am going to be very straight forward, perhaps a lil' blunt but honest, very honest.
Your home is okay, more on the neutral side, nice space, cute kitchen, looks comfy but nothing too special.
-BUT-
I'm really impressed with your illustration and your fashion collection.
To me, your illustration style has a sense of melancholy with a quirky humor to it. It keeps me interested and guessing what are you trying to convey. Very interesting subject matter.
Love your clothing designs and video clips as well.
All clips are like IFC shorts, tastefully done and right choice of models too. I would have guessed it's European or London designer and who knew it's an American designer lives in Austin,Texas.
Real talented designer with substance doesn't need to be on Project Runway. So NO, I won't be another person who will tell you to go try out for that show.
Keep up the good work and hope your clothes sell out!
Wow, what a lovely home!
just lovely! paint color in the bedroom?
I think there are some nice pieces in there, but it's kind of a jumble. It's not cohesive to me.
Love the kitchen, what is the black material you used for the backsplash and where did you get it?
This tour totally drew me in, I love it! Great style, cozy, and mod, super, super cute. I love the paint colors as well. I love the deck and entry, very welcoming.
Looking at your home puts me at peace! I would love to live in it. Love the ceilings, I feel like I'm at a summer retreat...
Is anyone else having difficulty with AT's new-ish slideshow format? They continute to crash Safari and Firefox. Meanwhile, the New York Times slideshows are zippy on the same system.
Love your place, Alyson...what I've managed to see!
That would be...'It continues to crash Safari', etc.
Flawless.
Such a fun, happy space. Love it!
shuuuuuunnn! I love Charlie the Unicorn!
I also love the bird sketch on one of the walls of this house. Nice, simple and effective.
Does anyone remember this house being featured in Blueprint a couple years back?
Thanks again for the fun comments everyone.
To answer a few questions:
The shelves in the kitchen are microlam. The back splash is 1/8 inch carbon steel.
The paint color in the bedroom is "Balsalm". Unfortunately I cannot remember the brand. I will try and find it on the shed and will get back to you if I can.
Our house has not been in Blueprint, but there were a few photos in Ready Made with some of my other work.
Thanks again!
Fun, cool and love this!
Are those Melabo ceramics from etsy? I just love her quirkiness and I am working on my own little collection...
Very nice space. You have done lovely things with it.
I could move into your house and not change one thing. It's absolutely perfect - warm and welcoming. You have impeccable taste; great eye for color and detail. I'm am in love with your house. Period.
Pleasantly unforced! Gorgeous art, shown without fuss or pompousness!
My favorite element: The "Keep Calm and Carry On" poster above the dining table. Have just made a rough replicate on my computer, to place somewhere VERY visible in my pad. Just the thing for starting the new "season" off in the right spirit!
Gonna check out your clothes a.s.a.p.! Brava!
is that an ashtray on the side table in lr? eww gross. smoker non smoker.. ash tray as decor is just .. eww
my apologies for a late post - what a wonderful home. love all the great light and the kitchen is awesome!
question: alyson, where did you get the spice holders that are attached to the backsplash? such a great idea to save space! i'm all about good use of space in my tiny place...thanks in advance!
i absolutely love it. is that the urban outfitters "edie" sofa by chance? i'm thinking of buying that one, it's so inexpensive and looks quite nice and well made. almost as nice as the Design Within Reach or Crate and Barrel versions for twice as much. nice chairs, too. love the colors.
I first saw this place in Readymade and thought it was phenomenal. Was definitely an inspiration for my own apartment.
Terrific that I get to see some extra photos. Looks like you've made some changes?
Bravo, bravo, bravo.
Whoa, not sure if anyone else is going to stumble back in here, but... what sort of brackets are you doing on those floating kitchen shelves that support so much weight? Been looking to do something like that.
Really like the space.