Alan’s Colorful, Daring & Dramatic East Austin Home

Name: Alan Gonzalez Garcia, owner of new East Austin restaurant Papi Tino’s and Taco (the dog).
Location: East — Austin, Texas
Size: 2,500 square feet
Years lived in: Owned 3 years

Two things hit you first when you walk into Alan Gonzalez’s hip-looking East Austin home. One: Whoa! A black ceiling! And two: The realization that this is going to be one awesome house. The owner of a new, hip restaurant on the East Side called Papi Tino’s, this former architect and designer has renovated an old house with cool materials, stunning details and a youthful, bold flair.

Alan outfitted his East Side home with thoughtful material choices and bold elements; the most notable being the oriented strand board (OSB) walls and the painted black peg board ceilings. Both are made of recycled materials and make quite the statement. As does the gorgeous long leaf pine floor, which Alan laid at a dramatic diagonal. In fact, Alan used the flooring much the way some might use rugs: to differentiate areas of the open floor plan by laying the wood planks down in different directions, seen best in the dining area.

Though the ample living room, dining area and kitchen are open, the low, dark ceilings keep the place feeling cozy, and there are plenty of vintage furniture finds, family pieces, art and fun accessories to fill the space with warmth and interest. A cool, modern kitchen is perfect for entertaining lots of guests, and a long, tilted mirror above the kitchen cabinets catches your eye and bounces light into the space. Lots of his material and furniture choices were certainly budget-minded, but he wasn’t afraid to splurge where it matters — Italian gray and white marble covers the kitchen counters and a honey onyx stone makes the master bathroom drool-worthy.

Perhaps the most interesting elements are the ideas that Alan incorporated to help gain privacy in the space. He built a semi-transparent barrier wall (it appears to be the house’s exterior wall if you are standing from the street) to give him privacy from what he calls poorly placed living room windows but still allow light in. In the same vein, he wallpapered over his bedroom windows to attain more privacy but keep the great light. And if all of that wasn’t impressive enough, he even made many of the furniture pieces, like the bedside tables in the master bedroom, the barstools in the kitchen, the living room coffee table and more.

Apartment Therapy Survey:

My Style: Simple, functional and cozy. Recycled material and sustainability.

Inspiration: Japanese, Mexican and Italian architecture and culture.

Favorite Elements: The master bath and my open living/dining/kitchen space.

Biggest Challenge: Taking a new, unfinished house and making it truly my own.

What Friends Say: Most like it, I think, but for some it takes them a second to understand the materials and details.

Biggest Embarrassment: The fact that I don’t have a stocked bar or refrigerator despite the fact I own a restaurant/bar.

Biggest Indulgence: Bathrooom fixtures and tile.

Biggest Advice: Keep it simple with feng shui in mind.

Dream Source: Home Depot