Hidden Oaks: An Austin Home with Unique Transitional Architecture

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Hiding amongst majestic live oak and elm trees, Hidden Oaks is a residential project of a multicultural Austin home designed by Cornerstone Architects in collaboration with Ashby Collective. The blending of tradition and innovation in this project creates unique transitional architecture.

A family of four purchased this home when they moved to Austin from Silicon Valley, CA. The goal of this project is to create an environment that is truly in line with the family’s preferences and lifestyles.

The couple are avid travelers and they have different multicultural backgrounds. The combination of their cultural heritage and diverse life experiences can be seen in the interior design and artwork selections. This project is also about creating formal and casual spaces for entertaining, as well as a teen-friendly home to provide a comfortable feeling for their children and their friends.

In the living room, there is James Nares’s painting hanging above a Belgian Blue limestone mantel (Architectural Tile & Stone) and Erik Madigan Heck’s print which is illuminated by an Anna Charlesworth chandelier. At the entry, one will be welcomed by Kazumi Nakamura’s acrylic-on-cotton canvas.

It is an awesome Austion home designed with some traditional elements such as dominant gables and pitched roof forms suffused with modern parapet walls and low flat sheds. The architecture of the interior is made with the same cues as the exterior: smooth clean lines with subtle gestures of curves and arches.

The chosen material creates a similar balance with a smooth plaster finish, complementing warmer wood textures. The surrounding trees give fragmented views of the facade when they veil the home’s architecture gently. As one approaches the entrance, clean geometric forms appear.

Both interior and exterior architecture follow the same pattern to create a simple and lovely transitional balance. In order to elevate the architectural highlights, the interior design team tried to balance the large light-filled rooms with bold colors, custom lighting, furnishings, and large impactful art pieces.

The intended large gallery-style walls are used to highlight the diverse modern art collection of the client. The client’s art collection and love of bright, bold colors are the inspiration used by the design team to incorporate refined hues and modern silhouettes, complementing the vibrant works of art in the light-filled rooms.

The dining room is beautified by Jason Seife’s art hanging on Phillip Jeffries’ coffered wood veneer wallcovering. John Chamberlain’s art can be found in the primary suit while Ann Sacks tile and Moooi’s chandelier in the bath.

Cori Pfaff from Ashby Collective said that the client is a busy and active family so the interiors were designed to accommodate multiple purposes, business dinners at night, and neighborhood kids in the day. Having fun while keeping it sophisticated was the intention of the design. The design theme is beautified with luxury finishes while being casual and functional. It is sophisticated but approachable.

Cori also said that the clients preferred Italian design and classic modern pieces to create an almost European, cosmopolitan atmosphere. They wanted this house to be chic instead of looking like every other Austin-styled house. They worked with the team of interiors and collaborated with an art consultant to curate their collection so it blended well with the interiors.

Limestone with long cuts stacked horizontally was chosen by the architect and builder to create an unexpected look. The lush landscape is contoured and terraced up to the front entry, softening the natural drop in the topography.

Cornerstone Architects said that the architectural design in this project was very transitional, creating an awesome balance between traditional elements and modern features.