Name: Mark Meyer, principal of designSTUDIO, and Justice the dog
Location: Austin, Texas
Size: 840 square feet
Years lived in: 6 years
Rented or Owned: Rent
We first came across architect Mark Meyer's work with Austin's La Boîte, a fabulous coffee and pastry shop in a shipping container. After viewing his other work, we knew he'd probably live in a gorgeous home. Bowled over by the awesome outdoor space, the Mid-Century Modern details and Mark's own simple yet stunning style, you'll find plenty of inspiration (and some Texas details) in this architect's apartment.
Set behind bustling downtown in the hilly neighborhood of Clarksville, Mark's apartment building, built in 1968, has an interesting layout: each of the 9 units has its own courtyard protected by tall brick walls and you immediately notice all the gorgeous floor to ceiling windows. The apartment itself is arranged in a horseshoe shape around the courtyard; to your right is the living room/dining room, straight ahead is the kitchen and bathroom, and to your left are two small yet airy bedrooms. Mark's personal tastes gel perfectly with the apartment's look, and he's filled the space with vintage Mid-Century Modern finds, a bright and bold color palette and much of his own art, accessories and furnishings.
The kitchen and bathroom show signs of a 1980's renovation, and sport bright red faucets by—we're not kidding — Ferrari. The shiny black tiled countertops were also a surprise, but work toward giving the small spaces interest. We love how Mark kept his bedroom simple and only included a bed, side table, chair and a couple of lights. We also get a kick out of all of the packing hanging lights by Mark made out of polystyrene. Our second favorite part has to be the actual tombstone in the courtyard (Shelton C. Dowell Jan 24, 1853 - Dec 2, 1885, if you were curious) — not even the landlord knows where it came from!
We enjoyed hearing from Mark about how the apartment has affected his architecture practice and vice versa:
"I think the biggest thing is how living here has impacted and informed my design sense. The compact spaces and the overall indoor/outdoor interaction really show up in a lot of my designs. Also the desire to maximize efficiency in tighter spaces has grown out of being intimately informed by living in the compact floor plan (that amazingly enough doesn't feel compact). While there are a lot of examples of this ethos in classic Mid-Century Modern design (Neutra, Eames, Koenig et al in California, and Fehr & Granger and Stenger in Austin), and while I've devoted considerable time and effort to internalizing their lessons, living in this particular example has been a much more visceral learning experience."
Apartment Therapy Survey:
My style: A mix of classics, anonymous vintage finds and my own designs and handiwork
Inspiration: Having long been a fan of Mid-Century Modernism and being blessed to live in such a great 60’s modern apartment, the thing that inspires me most is the light quality afforded by such direct connection to the outdoors that floor to ceiling glass provides.
Favorite Element: Laying in bed and being able to see up into the trees, the moon and the starry night sky.
Biggest Challenge: When entertaining trying to keep everyone out of the TINY kitchen so that the cook can actually work!
What Friends Say: All my friends love it, and I don’t think it is just because I ply them with good food and drinks when they are here.
Biggest Embarrassment: The glass walls leak almost everytime it rains. But it is a small price to pay for that glorious light!
Proudest DIY: All the art and most of the furniture, but I think everyone else is most impressed with the big beam bench.
Biggest Indulgence: Adopting forlorn vintage finds and fixing them up to provide them a loving new home. That and the chair fetish..
Best advice: Live with what you love. Surround yourself with pieces that give you joy. And as Charles Eames said, “Who ever said that pleasure wasn't functional?”
Resources:
Furniture: Eames LCM (Herman Miller, DWR), Bertoia Diamond Lounge (Knoll, Craigslist), anonymous 50’s couch (estate sale), Jacobsen #7 Chair in red cloth (Texas Office Supply), Eames DSX Side Chair (Herman Miller, thrift store), Eames DSS Side Chairs (Herman Miller, Craigslist), Eames DSR Side Chair (Herman Miller, garage sale), Eames LTR occasional table (Herman Miller, DWR), Morrison Cork table, (Moooi, DWR), Mason table in various woods and cement board (designSTUDIO), YakiSugi bench in cedar beam and painted steel base (designSTUDIO), Vintage Danish convertible dining table DUX (estate sale), Vintage Danish wall unit (Craigslist), Rolling medical cabinet (garage sale) and a metal bookcase (dumpster find).
Accessories: Winter cowhide (Tandy Leather), Eames Leg Splint, Evans Plywood Company (estate sale), Eames Hang-it-All from Herman Miller (DWR).
Lighting: Plywood hanging lamp of baltic birch (designSTUDIO), gymnasium torchier, vintage gym pendant and cast iron base (all by designSTUDIO) and packing lamps made of polystyrene (designSTUDIO).
Artwork: Painting, prints and sculptures (designSTUDIO)
Paint: Benjamin Moore Orange, Benjamin Moore Surf Blue (from Clement’s Paint) and Ralph Lauren Rust (from Home Depot)
Thanks, Mark!
Images: Adrienne Breaux
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Anyone have a source for the cover blanket on the bed with the orange pillows?
Aside from that, I am so envious of the contained outdoor space--especially in a rental! Really nice.
Man this place just feels like Austin, right down to the tombstone courtyard! I love it, and it make me miss living there.
If this place feels like Austin, then I wish I lived in Austin. I'm getting a really, really good vibe.
I miss living in Austin... big city-ish but without the cramped feel of NY or SF. :(
Great building and love that area. I think I am in love with Justice, love his name.
What a great apartment. It looks like something you'd find in Marfa.
Not outstanding (in my humble opinion)
mediocre.... pwrrrt
Let me guess - Mark is straight?
Let's hope the headstone wasn't stolen from a cemetery.
Where else would it have been stolen from?
This place IS awesome. I love the almost monastic sense of Cowboy Minimalism, right down to the name of the dog.
(Speaking of which, is Mark has any sense at all he'll blow up photo 12 and put it on his wall - it's absolutely charming.)
There are some great ideas to steal, like the polaroid photo holders, the dynamic brown/orange/white colour scheme and the high-gloss black tiles.
The only problem for me is the hodge-podge courtyard. With a more unifed selection of plants and furniture it would improve the home 100%.
Yes, I think it's likely that many are, as he says, impressed by his big beam. Big beam bench, he said. Bench.
SO making me miss Austin! Have really been jonesing for a margarita at Z (next door to my old place), and some live music in a hot dive. Beautiful.
Needs cleaning.
the faucets are some crazy 80's Ferrari designed affair, complete with the horsey logo on each handle. I've tried to track them down online but couldn't come up with anything.
as for the courtyard, the plants went through an unusually cold and long "winter" and were worse for the wear, but are finally starting to recover.
the german army blanket was found at a thrift store, but are readily available on-line, though that takes all of the fun out of it.
two words: f--kn' badass.
(and i can say that because i've been there).
Well, it achieves comfort and fun for the occupant, so that's all that really counts from a personal comfort perspective.
As far as being fodder for design inspiration on a respected website, I'm pretty sure you could enter a dozen dorm rooms without warning and find three that would equal this effort.
The comments guidelines say you should add value with your postings. I'd like to think the same is true of the features - so consider this a plea to up the game a bit. Feel free to ignore or flame this comment. It's just one guy's opinion. If it works for you, it works.
I like it, except for that picture in the living room with the big white border. There was a separate post about it previously on AT, and I made a negative comment about it then. But I think it's so bad that I'm making another negative comment about it now.
The pieces in this apartment are all meticulously and artfully selected to create the mood of the space, or constructed by the inhabitant's own hands.
The very definition of inspiring, if you ask me.
Miss Austin. Great place.
Wow! Love this place, a little Eames, a little Donald Judd, couple of cattle. Perfect!
who did those prints/drawings/paintings in the bedroom of the rooster and the horse those are really great!
I'd love to live in a place like that, but would do things a little differently inside, yes, use MCM pieces, but more of them and 60's/70's mod pieces too.
Several things of note, I like the red faucet in the bathroom, but not it's execution as the faucet handles looks a bit too chunky for the spout, the black tiles work, but would not have been my choice however.
That said, all of the hanging lamps, while they look interesting are hung way too high and don't look great that high up. Many of the art pieces are much to small and look lost by their lonesome in the bedrooms, which, BTW look unfinished with little on the walls. I will agree that huge canvas with the tiny image at the top, um, no. I like my art to be seen and also bold so size, as in biggish to big is often preferable.
Otherwise, I like where you are trying to go with this.
love the candles... i'm gonna get me some
where did you get the german army blanket?
@opulenceisterrorism
the rooster and the horse prints are my own work:
http://designstudiomodern.typepad.com/blog/2009/06/intermission-art.html
@sunan
the german army blanket was a thrift store find, and an awesome score at that!
and for the record, that big canvas in the living room with the tiny pic was a work in progress. by no means is it a completed painting, nor will it live in that location when finished.
This house is not perfect, but that's why I really like it. In contrast to so many homes on AT, it feels like a work in progress. And the bones of the place are amazing. Also lots of great ideas, like the magnetized metal under the bottle opener for caps and the old bar cart as a plant stand. Totally stealing those. And I LOVE the light fixtures and simple blankets on the bed.
Yes, and Austin rocks, I've been here nearly 15 years and wouldn't live anywhere else:)
LOVE it. Such a creative, personal space.
The tall church candles are usually available at dollar stores and supermarkets with ethnic foodstuffs, at least here in Texas. Cheap and they actually burn all the way down. I would kill for this apartment...and it's in Austin!!
Love the idea of an apartment centered around a courtyard. And love the large windows/sliders. My fantasy about this space would be to knock out the wall dividing the kitchen from the living space and design a larger kitchen/eating area/living room space that would be perfect for parties.
Austin is all about outdoor living, so to me this place rocks. Any open units there?? ;-)
An amazing space. It feels real, personal, creative, lived-in. It doesn't feel staged, curated, or oozing with crazy amounts of money. Thank you for sharing this.
It's always refreshing when AT presents a house tour that isn't rife with the same old stale Dwell-y/MidCenMod/Room & Board/DWR crud.
Love that it's not the usual generic space. It oozes personality and creativity!
Wow I love this place. I love the idea of an apt surrounding a courtyard. Actually I live in a place like this but I don't have floor to ceiling windows looking on to the patio. I only have doors with windows in them.
I love the cowboy thing you got going on. I think the dining room area is too cluttered and could use some cleaning up. I love the black tiles. The kitchen would give me claustraphobia but it seems like it is a very efficient place to cook and has plenty of storage.
A cowboy hat on an Eames Hang-it-All. I love it!
Austin is THE BOMB.
Does anyone know what small apartment community in Clarksville this is?