apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time


House Tour: Alyson’s Illustrated Home
Austin

081508alyson-fox-18.jpgName: Alyson Fox, Illustrator and Clothing Designer
Location: Austin, Texas
Size: 1000 square feet
Years lived in: 3 years

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2-23-housetourlogo.jpg 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 Although the décor was a bit outdated, the tall ceilings with exposed beams, uniquely shaped windows and great floor plan appealed to her design senses.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...

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081508alysonfox-02.jpg 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.

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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.


081508alysonfox-05.jpg 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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Photos by Adrienne Breaux

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Tags

AT Austin, House Tours, house tour, austin, Homegirls, Alyson Fox

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Comments (37)

i love it all, but those horsey window cranks are pure perfection!

posted by kdkaboom on August 15th 2008 at 10:41am
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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?

posted by jennifer in sf on August 15th 2008 at 10:46am
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Haha I love those horses! Reminds me of that Charlie YouTube clip almost immediately...

posted by ekoshyun on August 15th 2008 at 10:58am
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candy mountain! shun the non-believer! shunnnnuh!

posted by closertotheocean on August 15th 2008 at 11:03am
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love all that wood and no need for rugs & carpets! Very cool!

posted by timmy jr. on August 15th 2008 at 11:04am
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ideal. i'd love to work here & never have to leave.

posted by jenny! on August 15th 2008 at 11:04am
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Love this. Where did you get the kitchen table?

posted by drgirlfriend on August 15th 2008 at 3:47pm
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Where are the chairs for the outdoor table from? They look so familiar and I am basically in love with them! ;)

posted by Kimber on August 15th 2008 at 6:20pm
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OMG, it just hit me viewing the third picture of them.

They're from my childhood! We have green ones.

posted by Kimber on August 15th 2008 at 6:23pm
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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!!

posted by alysonfox on August 15th 2008 at 6:48pm
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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.

posted by pinstripeprincess on August 15th 2008 at 7:31pm
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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.

posted by LoriSF on August 15th 2008 at 8:33pm
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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!

posted by Shark on August 15th 2008 at 10:04pm
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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!

posted by nicolezh on August 15th 2008 at 10:58pm
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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!

posted by phase2phase on August 16th 2008 at 12:40am
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Wow, what a lovely home!

posted by visualingual on August 16th 2008 at 2:54am
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just lovely! paint color in the bedroom?

posted by Tara Emelye on August 16th 2008 at 3:37am
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I think there are some nice pieces in there, but it's kind of a jumble. It's not cohesive to me.

posted by charlenemcbride on August 16th 2008 at 4:56am
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Love the kitchen, what is the black material you used for the backsplash and where did you get it?

posted by cherrybomb on August 16th 2008 at 6:34am
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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.

posted by dsigninslc on August 16th 2008 at 6:47am
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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...

posted by thebigJC on August 16th 2008 at 6:51am
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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!

posted by wig3000 on August 16th 2008 at 8:28am
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That would be...'It continues to crash Safari', etc.

posted by wig3000 on August 16th 2008 at 8:31am
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Flawless.

posted by john m on August 16th 2008 at 8:45am
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Such a fun, happy space. Love it!

posted by gryt on August 16th 2008 at 10:29am
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shuuuuuunnn! I love Charlie the Unicorn!

I also love the bird sketch on one of the walls of this house. Nice, simple and effective.

posted by hessilou on August 16th 2008 at 11:13am
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Does anyone remember this house being featured in Blueprint a couple years back?

posted by indigoblue on August 16th 2008 at 12:24pm
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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!

posted by alysonfox on August 16th 2008 at 5:03pm
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Fun, cool and love this!

posted by wild-er on August 16th 2008 at 5:17pm
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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.

posted by TiffanyH on August 17th 2008 at 3:22pm
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I like the retro industrial solution to the modern problem of disguising cables from a wall-mounted plasma TV. They've become a design feature rather than an embarassment.

posted by Blandwagon on August 17th 2008 at 7:22pm
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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.

posted by Molunat on August 17th 2008 at 7:55pm
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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!

posted by BlueAholic on August 18th 2008 at 1:13am
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is that an ashtray on the side table in lr? eww gross. smoker non smoker.. ash tray as decor is just .. eww

posted by Faynilla on August 23rd 2008 at 11:30am
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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!

posted by tracyh on August 27th 2008 at 10:59am
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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.

posted by furrina on August 29th 2008 at 11:00pm
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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.

posted by Jordan Jennings on September 8th 2008 at 6:16am
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