Name: Jeffrey Lamb
Location: Travis Heights, Austin, Texas
Size: 1650 square feet
Years lived in: 0 years; still looking to live here someday
Jeffrey, who currently lives in New York with his wife and two children, is accustomed to living small and smart. A self-identified DIY'er, he's also not afraid to get his hands dirty and involved in projects of all sizes. As he started getting things in order for a relocation back to his home state of Texas, he knew he had to put trust in a professional. See how they brought this mid-century style home up-to-date in a format suitable for his growing family.
Jeffrey's feeling the call to 'come back to Texas' so his children can grow up near the rest of his immediate family. He purchased a place in Austin with hopes of transforming it into a home they all can enjoy. Jeffrey had a vision for the space but needed help realizing it while still working in New York. A longtime friend recommended his brother, Erik Gonzalez, of design-build firm Sago International. In five short months they transformed a well-worn space, with old tile floors and awkward bathroom spaces, into the large and open floorplan you see here today.
Jeffrey felt really lucky to work with Erik and appreciated the relationship he developed with him. "He asked my opinion on several ideas he had, and I would tell him what I thought...but I also told him to be honest with me if he disagreed. I'm not a designer, so I wanted his professional opinion and guidance so I didn't mess this up." Erik used his resourcefullness to stay on budget, repurposing an old kitchen cabinet for use in the laundry room, as well as sourcing several items from eBay, such as the Starck toilet and Grohe shower hardware in the bathrooms. Jeffrey did a little smart shopping himself, gathering two large aluminum mirrors, featured in the hallway and bathroom, from a Gap store closing sale for only $20 a piece.
To maximize living space the floorplan was re-thought and configured. Bedroom closet space was traded in for a wider kitchen walkway, and an unusually large utility room was shrunk to accomodate a full-size bath and larger bedrooms. The main living area and kitchen showcase clean all-white walls and counters. Jeffrey mentions he was initially skeptical of that design decision, but now that he's furnishing the space he sees how well the motif lends itself to posters, art and other decor. On the walls are photos from New Zealand and China, and sculpted masks from the Caribbean. Jeffrey is still thinking of ways to infuse the space with more decorative elements and midcentury colors like avocado green, saffron orange, and powder blue. It's a work and dream in progress but the fit and finish of the space is something Jeffrey is proud of and realizes he couldn't have done himself.
Apartment Therapy Survey:
My Style: Modern, clean, simple, tropical.
Inspiration: The inspiration for this house comes from its midcentury modern heritage.
Favorite Element: Open layout and large rooms.
Biggest Challenge: Changing the floor plan to make the kitchen bigger and move the second bathroom across the house.
What Friends Say: Why don't you live here yet?
Biggest Embarrassment: The backyard grass
Proudest DIY: The built-in wooden bench around the deck.
Biggest Indulgence: The large Caesarstone countertop and cherry wood floors.
Best Advice: Alan Gonzlez, owner of Papi Tinos on E. Sixth, said "call my brother (Erik Gonzalez of Sago International), he can help you!"
Dream Sources: Any modern design store.
Resources of Note:
ENTRY
LIVING ROOM
- • Cirrus Fan by Modern Fan Company
• Chesterfield-style Couch
• Propaganda posters from China
• TV cart from CB2
DINING ROOM
- • Chandelier from David Trubridge
• Side chairs from West Elm
• Bench and Table from Organic Modernism
KITCHEN
- • Flight of the Concords Poster
BEDROOM
- • Eames-style Shell Chair
• Desk from Organic Modernism
• Original photos of the Māori - native New Zealander's
BATHROOM
- • Mask sculptures from the Caribbean
• Drawings from Bali
• Starck Toilet
• Grohe Hardware
Thanks, Jeffrey and family!
(Images: Chris Perez)
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If you don't live there yet, can I live there until you arrive? :)
Adorable children. OMG, I love that desk. Where is the bed from?
Lovely!
Wonderful! Where is the front door from? I LOVE it. The kitchen cabinets are also lovely. You've done a great job - maybe it's time to move in? :)
It's so similar to our house in feel and heritage, just further along than ours. Where are those sliding closet doors from? We're currently still using fabric on ours.
I'm very envious. From start to finish your mid century restoration is simply beautiful. I hope you & your family enjoy many years of happiness in your home. Congrats :)
PS: Interesting fans. Where did you purchase them?
Very well done! This is exactly what we are going for at my house. Modern, clean, open, and very approachable and livable. I'm sure you will spend many happy years here with your beautiful family! :)
I love the bed too--where is it from?
Love it! And I love to know about Crestview Door now too, since I hope to (someday) spiff up my own future residence somewhere around town!
Seriously, the green door is awesome, as is the light fixture and the adorable kiddo and the amazing overall remodel job.
Nice house, the girl sure is adorable!
Big bedrooms as well, I would use some curtains with some color to soften it up.
nice job !
The before and after pictures are amazing. What a great transformation! I love all of the warm wood mixed with your sleek modern style. Thanks for sharing!
What is the origin of the headboard in the master?
Good space, great furniture. Only the white walls seems to do nothing for this space. A different tone of white would probably make the place look even better.
Your house has clean lines and looks fantastic. Your daughter is absolutely adorable!
I'd like to revisit this house after you've lived in it for couple of years. You've laid a good foundation, for sure. It's a big, big improvement over what you started with, and a quite nice place now, but to my eye its just too spare and stark. I mean, it LOOKS like nobody actually lives there.
That dining room table makes me want to buy a black ski mask and a pry bar.
I I agree with everyone else who has said "I love the headboard in the master!" You have made a beautiful space for your family. And The Flight of the Conchords poster made me smile:)
@tetegrondona - perhaps the confusion is in the fact that those are not ceiling light fixtures at all - they're ceiling fans. I can see how, with the blades in motion, it's hard to tell so they just look like bullets jutting out from the ceiling but they're actually ceiling fans. Look closely and you see the blades in motion.
As far as aesthetics go, I actually really like them. Obviously, it's all a matter of opinion and I'm wondering why it's so difficult for you to imagine anyone picking them because they like them.
great, Love the entire space. Where did you purchase the closet doors?
I am loving the light fixture in the dining room - gorgeous.
Hi all and thanks for your thoughts and comments. I am the homeowner.
We initially bought the house for ourselves as we were planning a move to Austin in late 2010. The move ultimately did not materialize (I'll spare you all the details) but there is a good chance that one day we will make the move to Austin and live in the house. While I did list the house for sale late last year bc I was not sure what to do with the property, however we now plan to keep it for the foreseeable future and rent it out as a vacation / short term furnished rental see http://www.vrbo.com/401522
We now plan to spend the odd week or two in the house every few months. Again, while we do not live there, it feels great owning the house and keeping connected to Austin.
The light fixture was a last minute addition via my good friend John Cook who is the Austin based North American distributor of David Trubridge http://www.davidtrubridge.com/ lights via his company http://www.wakanine.com/. Both are kiwis and his products are very natural and yet luxurious.
We lived in NZ for a bit and I used to work for the NZ Government so we have a strong connection to NZ.
The dining room table (bench, plus rug and desk‚ come from a Brooklyn store called Organic Modernism http://www.organicmodernism.com/ I love their products and I really love the table.
We shipped it all down from NY which was not cheap, but I am glad I did. The products at organic modernism are affordable while still being very nice and unique designs that I think work well with the house. I would have like to fit out the whole house with their products.
closet doors are from Ikea, and while I like them, I dont think I would use them again. Believe it or not, they were not cheap and were a bit of a struggle to install. I think that next time I would save the money and install lightly stained wood sliding doors which are more in line with the MCM origins of the house..
Crestview doors are actually light kits that you add to any solid core door. You can do it yourself or, as in my case, a local independent guy in Austin who can put it all together for you. Crestview is mostly for mid century modern style ascetics.
http://www.crestviewdoors.com/
I used a fiberglass door, but if I'd recommend using a metal solid core door. I did not ask the crestview guy to paint the inside of the door the same as the outside, we actually never discussed, I just assumed the inside would be white. But after seeing it green on the inside I came to love it.
So many comments on the bed frame. It makes me laugh because it was actually a rental from Cort Furniture as I did not have bedroom for this room originally. I think they call it the Danish collection (site is not working properly at the moment. Not sure if they sell this frame, but now I am tempted to buy it. I replaced it with a balinese style platform bed I was waiting to arrive.
With very beautiful windows, you can skip the drapes. But these windows are ordinary, not beautiful, and they needs draperies or cutains to improve their proportions. Please give this a try. it can be done very inexpensively.
where is the coffee table from?
The house is nice, but the little girl is GORGEOUS! The epitome of adorable.