Chris & Roger’s DIY + Modern Farmhouse

Name: Roger and Chris Stout-Hazard of Design Hazards, Buck the dog and an evil housecat
Location: Agave Neighborhood — Austin, Texas
Size: 1500 square feet
Years lived in: 4 years — owned

Roger Stout-Hazard might be best known for introducing home staging to television ten years ago with the Emmy-nominated show “Sell This House.” Together with his husband Chris, their modern house in Austin, Texas was personalized to create a beautiful home that is filled with carefully curated pieces, is comfortable to live in and showcases a ton of amazing, inspiring DIY transformations.

Chris and Roger run a residential and commercial design, renovation and staging firm called Design Hazards that is based in Austin, Texas and operates nationally. So yeah, you could say this stylish couple knows what they’re doing. But while the changes to every room and nearly every surface in this modern architecture house are imaginative and creative, they’re totally doable by the average person. They might have a little extra practice in doing home transformations quickly, but the fact that they finished their home in twelve months is proof that with a little inspiration and hard work, anyone can invest in creating a home that is authentic to their personalities, too. And if you want a little help in creating your perfect vision, in early 2012, together with their partners Adam and Daniela Johnston, they will be launching their furniture line Decades, featuring custom-built pieces made entirely in the U.S.A.

A note about all the taxidermy from Chris: “Roger grew up in Texas, around huntin’ and fishin’ and all that. When he told me that he wanted to put a deer head in our dining room, I was…concerned. Objectively, it was beautiful and perfect for the space, but I was a little bit unnerved by the prospect of hanging a dead animal on the wall. But this was an antique – decades old – that we had found in a vintage shop. This deer would have died of natural causes by now, I reasoned. Then we found more taxidermy. An antelope. Some horns. A five-foot long tarpon. My parents drove down from Nebraska, bringing along an old pheasant they found in the attic, a pheasant that originated on my family’s ranch in South Dakota. All of them antique. All of them second or third or fourth-hand. These animals, in a strange way, are part of our little family. We weren’t responsible for their deaths in the past – Roger, an excellent marksman at one time, now refuses to hunt; I’ve never so much as touched a gun. But we can at least play a role in their present and future, treating them with respect, taking care of them, and giving them a home.”

For more photos and information about their house (if the gorgeous photos Chris sent us aren’t enough for you) they have dozens of posts about the process of redesigning their house, including photo galleries, how-to articles, and source lists on their site. Roger’s latest show, “Sell This House: Extreme,” airs Saturdays on A&E.

Apartment Therapy Survey:

Our Style: Relaxed modern. We call our home “the modern farmhouse.” We enjoy the light, flexible, and clean aesthetics of modern architecture, and we pair that with rustic furniture, industrial accessories, and classic, casual patterns.

Inspiration: We wanted a home that accommodated us, allowed us to relax, and made our guests feel welcome. Some houses make you feel as if you’re always about to get yelled at for putting your feet up. Our house is the opposite. (Although Roger does occasionally get upset with Chris for messing up the pillows on the couch.)

Favorite Element: The 24 huge, commercial-grade windows that bring in astonishing amounts of light. Particularly in sunny Austin, getting this much light into every single room is intoxicating. The cat definitely enjoys her afternoon naps in the many pools of sunlight.

Biggest Challenge: Our home is our retreat, our office, our workshop – we need it to be functional, comfortable, unpretentious, and durable. It was imperative that we make use of every bit of space, so the arrangement of furniture was quite deliberate. With a big, furry dog, a cranky housecat, and two big, somewhat clumsy guys, we wanted to pick furniture and surfaces that didn’t need to be treated delicately. Note the selection of cowhides that match Buck’s fur, the already-scratched vintage furniture, and the staircase wrapped in jute that neither Buck nor humans have trouble running up and down.

What Friends Say: We asked a few neighbors and friends, all of whom used the word “cozy.” They’ve also mentioned that it’s a great fit for our personalities – a little bit modern, a little bit rustic, a little bit weird.

Biggest Embarrassment: As owners of a professional design firm, we’re legally restricted from answering that question, but we ask that you please refrain from looking in our storage closet.

Proudest DIY: Completely redecorating every room of the house, landscaping the front and back yards, simultaneously starting four businesses, traveling the country to film a TV show, renovating a dozen other houses, and getting married – all inside of twelve months. And ZERO trips to the emergency room!

Best Advice: From Roger: “Remember, it’s your house. It should reflect your personality. Have fun and take some risks.”

From Chris: “Buy a really good drill. You won’t believe the difference it makes. And an impact driver – you’ll want to run outside and build a deck with it. Oh, and make sure your circular saw has a laser guide on it. In fact, let’s just run to the hardware store now.”

Dream Sources: Wyeth, NYC and the Rose Bowl Flea Market in Pasadena

Resources of Note:

LIVING ROOM Appliances

Hardware

Surfaces & Colors

Colors

Furniture

Lighting

Textiles & Window Treatments

Artwork & Accessories

KITCHEN/DINING ROOM Appliances

Hardware

Surfaces

Colors

Furniture

Lighting

Textiles & Window Treatments

Artwork & Accessories

OFFICE Hardware

Colors

Furniture

Lighting

Textiles & Window Treatments

Artwork & Accessories

MASTER BEDROOM Hardware

Surfaces

Colors

Furniture

Lighting

Textiles & Window Treatments

Artwork & Accessories

MASTER BATHROOM Hardware

Surfaces

Colors

Furniture

Lighting

Textiles & Window Treatments

Artwork & Accessories

GUEST BEDROOM Hardware

Surfaces

Colors

Furniture

Lighting

Textiles & Window Treatments

Artwork & Accessories

GUEST BATHROOM Hardware

Surfaces

Colors

Furniture

Lighting

Textiles & Window Treatments

Artwork & Accessories

HALLWAY/STAIRS

Thanks, Chris and Roger!

Images: Chris Stout-Hazard