Laura & Ray’s Art-Filled Austin Home

published Feb 23, 2014
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(Image credit: Adrienne Breaux)

Name: Ray and Laura Uhlir plus pups Milly and Ernie
Location: Cherrywood neighborhood; Austin, Texas
Size: 1350 square feet
Years lived in: 4 years; owned

You know those couples who are insanely talented individually and together are so perfect for each other you believe in the power of love? Laura and Ray are that couple. Throw in a pair of rambunctious Boston terriers, an envious mix of art, a house full of collected and thrifted items and a lot of light, and you’ve got a recipe for the kind of home you never want to leave.

(Image credit: Adrienne Breaux)

Ray, an artist, has plenty of paintings sprinkled around the home (a favorite of mine is the large hexagon-shaped canvas in the dining room). Photographer and stylist Laura is the hip owner of Olive, a clothing boutique in East Austin (and she blogs at Rad Lady). They admit clutter — vintage store finds, art from talented friends and more — is their toughest thing to keep in check. But when two homeowners both possess a keen eye for aesthetics, though each room is full of things to look at, the arrangements and compositions are expertly applied in a way that doesn’t make you feel overwhelmed (and actually you come away feeling inspired). Also: This place screams fun!

Apartment Therapy Survey:

My Style: My mom once described our first apartment as “seventies chic” and something about that has stuck with me. I like a space that has minimal underpinnings but is loaded with color, texture and personal touches.

Inspiration: My friends and family. Austin’s wealth of female go-getters really inspires me too. I love seeing folks out there making their dreams come true. Flea markets, Memphis Group design, the late 70s, California, small-town Texas, the desert, David Byrne and Bowie, my grandmothers, Frida Kahlo, good food.

Favorite Element: I really love our living room. It’s just the tiiiniest bit sunken and the windows are cut a bit low so it sort of feels like you’re in a tree house when you’re lounging around.

Biggest Challenge: Keeping clutter at bay. I am a sucker for a tchotchke, what can I say?

What Friends Say: Happily our friends seem to like it here. We love having people over to hang out and grill in the backyard or watch a movie.

Biggest Embarrassment: Popcorn ceilings, yuck.

Proudest DIY: The pendant lamp in our dining room is a pretty proud moment. After lots of wiring failures, an armload of light bulbs and an afternoon of cursing — voila, a new lamp!

Best Advice: If you’re on the fence, get it.

Dream Sources: Endless DWR budget and a day at the Rosebowl Flea.

(Image credit: Adrienne Breaux)

Resources of Note:

ENTRY

  • Vintage mid-century teak bench
  • Vintage sheepskin rug
  • Toss pillows from Anthropologie and Missoni for Target
  • Vintage Turkish rug,
  • Art by Ryan Lauderdale

LIVING ROOM

  • Vintage Mid-Century arm chair
  • Ikea Karlstad sofa
  • Ikea Stockholm sofa table
  • Kantha quilt
  • Toss pillows by Alyson Fox x West Elm and Ikea
  • Lunares Home Mohair blanket
  • Cowhide rug
  • Vintage George Nelson pendant lamp
  • DIY side table (I made that guy from a piece of a 200+ year old fallen tree on my grandparents land!)
  • CB2 Peekaboo Clear coffee table
  • Oui candles
  • Vintage side table
  • Vintage plycraft lounge chair (Ray’s graduate school graduation present)
  • Target pouf ottoman
  • Ikea 365 + Brasa floor lamp
  • Vintage Mid-Century arm chair
  • Art: Cecelia Philips, Ryan Lauderdale, Ana Krachey, Ruth Van Beek, Carlos Rosales-Silva, Christa Palazzolo (the first painting I ever bought!), Shane Tolbert, Christine Grey and Stephanie Washburn

DINING ROOM

  • Ikea Billy bookcase
  • Vintage mid-century sideboard
  • Vintage lamp (I bought this lamp at a garage sale the day we found the house) Vintage teak dining table
  • Herman Miller La Fonda del Sol chairs
  • Ikea Vilmar-ish chairs
  • Art: Raymond Uhlir, Dylan Reece

KITCHEN

MASTER BEDROOM

  • Vintage side tables
  • Vintage Oriental rug (I grew up playing on this rug)
  • Restoration Hardware faux fur throw
  • Flokati rug headboard
  • Alyson Fox x West Elm toss pillow
  • Ikea toss pillow
  • vintage toss pillow
  • Ikea wall lamps
  • Ikea Malm dresser
  • Vintage jewelry box (from my step-grandmother)
  • Embroidered Otomi textile
  • Shaker sewing box
  • Herman Miller La Fonda del Sol fiberglass shell chair
  • West Elm throw
  • Vintage Mid-Century dresser (his grandparents!)
  • Art: Ryan Lauderdale, Shane Tolbert, Raymond Uhlir

GUEST BEDROOM

  • Vintage dresser with Anthropologie knobs
  • Target lamp with vintage shade
  • Vintage lucite shell chair
  • Missoni x Target blanket
  • Crate and Barrel quilt
  • Target toss pillow
  • Pillars of Creation toss pillow
  • Target tulip table
  • Target lamp
  • Vintage 50s wire shelf (this was my grandparents!)
  • Vintage flat woven rug
  • Handmade toss pillow
  • Vintage sheepskin
  • Art by Raymond Uhlir, Shane Tolbert, Raymond Uhlir & Ryan Davis
(Image credit: Adrienne Breaux)

Thanks, Ray and Laura!

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