photography | Kathy Tran

After multiple visits, the potential of the site off of East 5th Street in Austin and the beauty in the bones of an abandoned 5,000 square foot Quonset hut were realizes.  Design Hound took advantage of the multiple elements of the complicated program [micro-brewery, giant climate-controlled oak foeders for aging beer, an open-kitchen revolving around an 8' custom wood-fired grill, and an 'elevated' Brewer's Table for special events].  Though contradictory at first, these elements began playing off one another and gave shape to the restaurant within its extruded semi-circular housing.  As the functional aspects of the design were further resolved, opportunities to modify the building in accordance with its new identity arose.  Elements of wood and exposed steel became the visual breaks the space needed in conctrast to the texture associated with the existing building.  Large expanses of glass disappear at the threshold between the bar.  The covered outdoor dining area connects the dining room to massive wood foeders that age beer for blending into proprietary, limited-release beers. Simple decorative elements of festoon lights and aging barrels provide a nod to beer halls.  If lucky enough to be invited, patrons ascend a bent-steel plate staircase and look out over the action below while dining at the actual 'Brewer's Table.'      

photography | Reagen Taylor + Robert Lerma 

Most Architectural firms focus on the technical/infrastructural requirements of a quality post production office.  For this project however, Design Hound noted that in addition to the technical requirements, the process of editing involved long hours for both the editors and their clients in dark, quiet rooms.  As such, the resulting new office for TBD Post Production focuses on creating comfortable editing suites and individual offices that facilitate client interaction and solve the technical issues invisibly.  Additionally, the public break area and kitchen are combined into a hospitality driven gathering space equivalent to a private club.  One of the glass and steel screen walls of the adjacent conference room slides open to expand the space for larger gatherings and community events.  A large photographic panorama of the northern boundary waters [an homage to one of the Owner’s favorite places] combines with steel, glass, wood and leather to provide a connection to the materiality and spectacle of the natural world - which is a welcome respite from eight [plus] hours behind a computer screen in a dark room.

photography | Casey Dunn

Some historic neighborhoods in Austin have a stringent set of design guidelines - such is the case for Hyde Park where Design Hound was asked to design a first and second floor addition to a historic home.  Locating the first floor living and dining rooms and second floor bedrooms at the rear of the house, allowed the owners to maintain the original design of the front façade while growing the footprint to accommodate a more modern floorplan.  The north and east sides of the addition mimic the regular window spacing of the surrounding historic homes while the west side has minimal windows providing privacy from the close neighboring apartment house and balcony.  A simple but elongated gable continues the language of neighboring historic roof slopes and provides double height space within the living room that is accented with a skylight, dormer and carefully placed mirrors that capture sunlight within the space. A pop-out in the dining room cantilevers over the side yard, while a second pop-out porch from the living room provides additional privacy from the apartment building next door and shelter for the family’s dog.  The existing master bedroom with an entry from the kitchen was reconfigured with a more secluded entry and hallway off the living room and a privacy wall that extends upward highlighting a new skylight.

photography | Ryan Farnau

Jesse Griffiths, the Chef and Owner of this one-of-a-kind establishment located in East Austin, is the original ambassador of farm-to-table dining within Texas.  The restaurant is a physical representation of Jesse’s philosophy regarding food sourcing, prep and seasonal eating. The front of the space, with low ceilings and white-washed walls, is an homage to the small town country stores that are an essential part of historic American vernacular.  It houses the butcher case and a custom 4'x10' pecan butcher block table where bakers prep pies while nearby the butcher breaks down daily protein.  Eliminating the wall between front-of-house and prep/back-of-house created a truly transparent dining and butcher shop experience.  The transition to the rear of the space ramps up to the main dining area with vaulted wood ceilings and dark blue accents of wood trim and button-tufted upholstery.  Steel and brick create the perfect backdrop for the chef's line with a wood-burning grill and bar while the meat rail, installed by Design Hound, runs from the walk-in cooler along the cookline/under the hood and to the butcher area.  Seating along the chef's counter and intimate bar are dominated by views of the open fire and various stages of meal preparation.  Beyond the main dining room, the outdoor patio is enclosed by a trellis covered in native Texas mustang grapes providing shade from the Texas sun and a visual break from the adjacent parking lot. The patio’s outdoor kitchen can be utilized for daily service or booked for private events like wild hog roasts.  

photography | Ryan Farnau and Molly Culver Photography

Though originally developed as a spec home for one a developer client, a passerby saw renderings of the Laurelwood home and purchased it prior to construction.  Placed toward the front of the site to provide privacy for the backyard and its pool, the design is comprised of a main gabled structure containing the 'lived-in' spaces intersected by a low-slung stone mass containing the garage and utility spaces.  The intersection of the two masses at the entry results in a two-story courtyard with ivy-covered walls, views of the sky and dappled light transmitted through the gapped, honed stone and the adjacent, slatted, pivot-gate.  Though not similar in formology to its predecessors in Latin and African architecture, the entry courtyard is a design element that has long intrigued Design Hound.  Utilized properly, it softens the physical transition from exterior to interior and imbues an inherent sense of privacy upon the occupants.  Once inside, the prevailing white interior, with its shiplap textural elements and white oak millwork, are the perfect backdrop for accents of tile and furnishings.  A floating wooden staircase offers a vertical transition steeped in the adjacent greenery via a two-story window wall.  The open L-shaped floor plan wraps around an exterior patio and pool while providing views to the mature live oaks lining the property.  An outdoor kitchen, fire-pit and expansive tree-covered lawn, allow the Owners to continually enjoy the entire property, not just the home, on a daily basis.

interiors | Christen Ales

photography | Merrick Ales

photos | Eric Ian

The design of this home located in the Tarrytown area of Austin, Texas was tasked with being modern and sophisticated but also timeless.  The Owners, concerned with the appearance of the house from the street and its relationship to their neighbors, did not wish to live in a glass and steel box, nor did they wish to live in a modern interpretation of a previous architectural style.  Design Hound reduced their analysis of this house down to its base elements: the facade with its associated entry, the roof, and the interior experience of the Clients.  By focusing on these as elements to be stripped down, examined and then re-formulated, an interesting roof form [containing the second floor bedrooms, bathrooms, and living area without it appearing as such from the street] and front facade began to develop.  This formology and the associated materials of white stucco and charred wood Shou-Sugi-Ban siding were carried throughout the house.  Though the front facade is an elegant composition, it restricts views to the interior of the house providing more privacy for the couple.  The front yard views are limited by a large heritage tree outside the kitchen window box[which becomes a framed piece of living art from the interior}] and a white-lacquered wall behind the entry door.  Once inside, the window placement consisting of large expanses of glass, hidden clerestories and windows along the lower portions of the rooms invites massive amounts of indirect light.  Exterior views are directed to specimen plants around the perimeter of the house and mature oaks in the distance while shielding the neighbors.  A large 10'x12', 3-panel sliding glass door opens up to a covered deck off of the living room into a secluded courtyard.  Walnut, marble and white oak appear throughout the house and play off the accents of artwork personally curated by the Owners. The master wing with a study and private media lounge can be completely separated from the rest of the house during large family gatherings with a hidden pocket door in order to further the idea of home as sanctuary.     

landscape | Linda Balagia Landscape Designs

general contractor | The Muskin Company

photography | Merrick Ales and Molly Culver Photography

The original restaurant design by Clayton & Little Architects, Mark Word Design and Joel Mozersky was highly lauded for its beautiful aesthetic, however the restaurant Owners desired a revision to the original interiors concept that would create a more casual experience for their patrons.  With a limited timeframe of three weeks to create the new vision and a subsequent two and a half weeks to implement it, Design Hound, immediately took an inventory of the existing spaces to determine which changes they could make to create the greatest impact with the least effort.  After deciding to revise the layout of one of the private dining rooms to better accommodate group functions with audio/visual capabilities and altering the lounge area to a smaller private dining room and waiting area, the team inventoried furnishings, light fixtures, artwork and existing finishes.  Based on the revised layouts and that inventory, as well as subsequent discussions with suppliers, fabricators and installers, a plan materialized.   Each area within the restaurant would have a unique feel with common undertones of cohesion.  The entry/bar area with its beautiful walnut and brass bar was reinvigorated with new large pendants and sculptural lightbulbs, colorfully re-upholstered barstools within a new table layout, and a multitude of hanging plants to visually connect it with Mark Word’s beautifully designed patio area just outside the front door.  The former lounge was converted to a private dining area with a lush dark blue wall color and a blue-and-white striped privacy curtain similar to the existing awnings.  The adjacent walkway also utilized the dark blue wall color but introduced splashes of orange-red, brass barstools and intimate lighting.  The extremely public visible front sunroom received some blue accents and a custom Judy Paul mural covering the previous antique mirrored wall.  The adjacent Private Dining Room’s acoustical issues were resolved with padded/upholstered wall coverings with exposed brass tacks.  A dramatic green wallpaper was placed within the side dining room where the walnut trim was painted.  Last, navy-blue bentwood chairs, red napkins and new quirky ‘Italian’-themed artwork were placed in each area to further unify the casual theme. 

photography | Mark Menjivar

Tasked with converting a new aluminum and glass enclosed storefront space into a Chef/Owner driven restaurant on a limited budget, Design Hound utilized a strategy of insertion.  The space itself was broken into areas that would work together to accomplish a warm and inviting space that directs the patrons attention to the food from the time its creation begins in the open kitchen to the moment it arrives on their table.  A wood-clad soffit levitates over large white tiles lining the walls of the kitchen and bar areas. The tile runs above the pass at the kitchen and terminates just as the private dining area begins, creating a visually clean transition from open kitchen to dining.  A custom 12 foot steel and wood shelving unit separates the bar and large communal tables from the dining room.  It's multi-purpose functionality provides an area for display of the Chef's personal cookbooks and inspirational items, provides storage for smallwares and subsequently offers glimpses between the adjacent spaces.  Within the dining area, booths are clustered around towers of masonry with long-armed sconces hovering overhead.  A turn-of-the-century tent manufacturer was tasked with creating the operable curtains that can enclose the private dining room, where the subsequent folds of shadow and light soften the space.  Specifically curated for the space, massive natural-edge slabs of Cottownwood at the bar, communal tables and communal lavatory, bring a contrasting light-colored wood tone to the darker tones of the restaurant.  A bi-level wooden deck with built-in seating abutting planters filled with herbs is accessible just off the entry.  It's open-air feel under 100-year old oaks and adjacency to the small garden utilized by the Chef reminds patrons of the farm-to-table ethos that pervades the restaurants mission.  

kitchen equipment | Tine Design

photography | Ryan Farnau

L'Oca D'Oro is a restaurant that evolved from a pop-up dinner series developed by front of house expert Adam Orman and self-taught chef Fiore Tedesco.  Their focus on family, each being fathers, and their heritage, both from upstate New York, is apparent in their interactions and relaxed demeanor.  They tasked Design Hound with developing a space that would create memories of great family meals and welcome gatherings that focused on food and interactions among guests.  Taking on the challenge of creating a nostalgic restaurant in a corner retail space with existing 20' tall glass and aluminum storefront windows, the design team developed a sense of intimacy in a tall space by developing a “wallpaper billboard” at the bar perimeter drawing attention from the outside while maintaining visual warmth for the customers.  Upon entry a long wooden bar creates a peninsula wrapping around the kitchen and focusing the guest’s attention on the wood-fired hearth centerpiece.  The interior then transitions to the barrel-vaulted dining room backed by a hand-plastered Tuscan blue wall [installed by Fiore's mother] with different plantings lining a high shelf and hanging in front of the storefront windows.  The park and trees across the street, which the vault directs patron's eyes to, combine with the interior plantings to eliminate the visual appearance of the existing storefront windows.  Views to the kitchen and prep areas abound at the bar area and through windows from the dining room.  A pasta making room, visible throughout the day from the dining room, transitions to a private dining space during evening hours.   

landscape | Urban Patchwork

photography | Molly Culver Photography

One of our developer clients came to us with the hope of turning a slightly dilapidated mid-century house in the Northwest hills of Austin into a home for him and his wife.  Entering the 'empty-nester' stage of their lives, the Owners wanted to focus on a home for their needs: a large kitchen, open living room, home office, well-suited master suite and a large dining room to accommodate their growing family dinners.  The existing home is nestled into a grove of mature live oaks, and the Owners loved the idea of the house 'spilling' out into the shade of their generous backyard.  To accommodate their program, Design Hound demolished the existing fireplace and pushed the rear of the house further back.  By doing so, the kitchen and living room could be extended and a master bath could be added to the existing rear bedroom.  The roofline was offset and raised five feet to peak above the 20 seat dining room, maximizing views of the tree canopies through large framed windows from the living room and kitchen.  Salvaged planks of roof sheathing were reused to clad the vaulted ceiling that runs continuously from inside to the large cantilevered back patio supported by back-to-back steel angle columns.  The natural grain and knots of the ceiling offer a contrast to the sleek colored lines of the mid-century modern inspired, painted millwork pieces set against reclaimed brick.  An outdoor living area with a cast-in-place concrete lounge and adjacent outdoor kitchen settle in just below the trees while grass works its way through the gapped paver pattern.  The koi pond, a life-long dream of the Owners, extends from the back of the living room and provides dappled reflections and subtle sounds that never fail to relax.

interiors | Christen Ales

landscape | Greig-Percy Collaborative

photography | Merrick Ales

A repeat client, the chef and owner of The Peached Tortilla, approached Design Hound about reimagining a home he and his wife were considering purchasing in the Rosedale Neighborhood of Austin.  Aside from a pleasant living area just off the entry, there was an overall lack of flow within the home that chopped up the living experience, cut off natural light, and made the home feel smaller than it was.  The design team focused on opening up the house while maintaining the existing footprint.  By connecting the living, dining, and kitchen areas, the livable area of the home increased dramatically. Additionally, the reconfigured layout provided a wonderful amount of natural light via a skylight in the kitchen and a large glass door to the backyard.  A clean palette of white paint and tile along with wood floors throughout the home are balanced with navy painted millwork paired with accents of black and brass.  The master suite was expanded to accommodate a larger bathroom and closet.  The patterned black/white cement tile and black fixtures within the master bath add a touch of sophistication without overpowering the space.

photography | Molly Culver Photography

After working with the Owners of the Contigo and Chicon brands in Austin, Design Hound was introduced to Frede Edgerton and his wife, the originators of the Contigo brand.  They had recently relocated to a ranch north of Fredericksburg, Texas that had a replica Old West town including a row of old west buildings previously used as shooting ranges, a dining hall containing a commercial kitchen with hotel rooms above and a replica Alamo building tucked up against the caprock at the north end of their property.  Believing the existing 'town' could be utilized as a boutique wedding event center with on-site lodging, a rarity in the picturesque limestone hills around Fredericksburg, the group brainstormed on how best to utilize the existing buildings to accommodate the needs of a wedding venue. The westernmost unit of the Old West buildings was transformed into overnight accommodations for the bride's parents with the remaining buildings becoming overnight suites for guests, each clad in white clapboard siding with accents of the same material inside, large patio windows overlook the hill behind them.  The existing front deck and its multiple shed roofs that ran along the front of the Old West town was simplified into a single sloped roof providing shelter and areas of shady communal gathering in front of each suite.  The private sheriff's office was converted into a groom's suite.  The ‘Alamo’ building was converted into multi-purpose space that could accommodate covered outdoor brunches, cooking classes, or bridal space.  The saloon building was cleaned up and expanded to combine the existing indoor space with a newly added covered outdoor area to ensure that any event would be exceptional, rain or shine.

interiors | Ann Edgerton

photography | Mark Menjivar

This collection of single-family homes on a steeply sloping site in the Travis Heights neighborhood of Austin, Texas combines dense urban infill housing with a level of privacy normally associated with single-family homes.  Each unit, completely detached from the others, contains a two-car garage [plus an adjacent covered parking space for guests], living area, kitchen, dining room, powder room, a bedroom with its own bath, a master suite, a mezzanine opening out to a private roof deck and an elevator connecting all floors.  The City of Austin’s compatibility setback along the north end of the site ensures that each owner will have visual and physical access to green-space as it spills into the living room via large floor-to-ceiling windows.  A stair of patterned tile risers and a vertical slat wood screen/guardrail connects to the second floor before rising further to the mezzanine and roof deck.  The second floor, which cantilevers out to shelter the front door and adjacent guest parking space, contains strategically placed rooms and windows that balance views out while minimizing views in.  The materials associated with the exterior façade, warm wood tones, bright stucco and yellow steel window-boxes, take on the task of being artistic compositions for the occupants to enjoy as they come-and-go from the development.  Design Hound arranged the spaces for efficiency yet certain opportunities inherent in the design, like reimagining the staircase as a lightwell cascading daylight onto the lower levels from the roof-mounted skylight, create an understated elegance. 

*construction scheduled for 2018

photography | Mark Adams

Located in the rapidly expanding community of Cedar Park, Texas, Design Hound was tasked with infusing a bit more of the understated sophistication of Austin into the newest location for the wine-focused restaurant and associated coffee shop known jointly as The Grove and Lola Savannah Coffee Lounge.  Set in a newly-constructed retail center amongst stands of Live Oaks, large windows are utilized to retain the indoor/outdoor appeal of the Grove’s other establishments.  The front door, originally planned for the corner of the space by the landlord, has been relocated with a more prominent stucco volume entry.  Inside, the space is continually surrounded with wine as finely-crafted bottle storage lines most of the walls.  The expansive bar area, where the entry was to be located, opens out to its own covered deck.  An inviting scheme of marble, wood and elliptical textured tiles around the bar encourage an intimate conversation over a bottle of wine, while the adjacent high-top area beneath a custom white-lacquered steel light fixture serves as a node for larger and more casual gatherings.  Just on the other side of a bottle-lined millwork piece separating the bar area from the main dining area and the semi-private dining room, large glowing pendants dramatically sweep from the back wall and descend from a gapped, white-washed acoustical wood ceiling. Custom pendant lights with over-sized elliptical shades hang over the high-back button-tufted booths that line the window walls.  Uninterrupted views to and from the second large covered wood deck, where festoon lights hang overhead, instill the entire project with a feeling of relaxed Hill Country sophistication. Lola Savannah, the coffee bar, at the opposite end of the restaurant from the bar, offers take-away items throughout the day and then converts to an overflow dining area [or private dining room] with the pull of a curtain to hide coffee equipment. 

photography | Merrick Ales

Design Hound’s first project with Eric Silverstein and his team behind The Peached Tortilla, this 2,500 square foot brick-and-mortar restaurant along Austin’s Burnet Road Corridor began as an abandoned plumbing showroom.  The program for this sized space included creation of a patio within the 2,500sf footprint with dining for 15, a dining area and full-service bar with seating for 50, a larger than normal kitchen that would serve the restaurant and the Client’s food trucks, offices for catering staff and restrooms.  Considering the history behind Eric and his food [a fusion of growing up in Japan and Atlanta] and an existing graphic identity of orange and peach with a little green on a background of white-space, the team at Design Hound saw a unique design opportunity.  Patrons enter directly into a corner of the dining room to find a small host stand greeting them.  The dining room itself mainly consists of white painted vertical wood siding and walls.  However, a theatrical play of plywood triangles, some in their natural color and others stained multiple tones of the aforementioned orange and peach, create an homage to Japanese origami paper in the background.  The Georgian side of Eric was introduced as a contrasting but complimentary element via custom white-washed wood slat bench and booth seating that line the walls and simple white spindle back chairs. The soffit, continuous across the dining area, provides a shelf for plantings that add a touch of green keeping the interior palette in line with The Peached Tortilla’s branding.  The bar, just off the dining area by the kitchen, has a green tiled accent wall with a marble top and white wood display shelving with beveled glass mirrors behind.  This being the only area where the existing clay-tile walls could be left exposed, they were cleaned and utilized as the perfect location for a portrait of Lady Bird Johnson.  At the outdoor patio, a white-picket fence provides enclosure while more plants hang from the ceiling, a nod to the classic southern porch. 

kitchen equipment | Best Restaurant Equipment & Design

photography | Inked Fingers

photography | Kevin Stewart

The industry veterans behind J. Black’s and the Golden Goose bar, Ashley and Sean Fric, realized that the options for them to have a night [or day] out with solid cocktails and even better food was becoming more and more difficult since starting a family.  So they relocated away from the nightlife destination of downtown Austin to East Austin where the dearth of nearby options for family dining became too important to ignore, so they decided to use their expertise to create a solution.  After many late-night discussions regarding the ‘feel’ of their new establishment, they kept arriving at memories of the wonderful times Ashley had spending time with her quirkily and amazing Aunt Colleen while growing up in Houston.  Ashley, and subsequently Sean after meeting her, knew that she would not be the strong, fun, independent wife/mother/friend she had become without those hours spent amongst Colleen’s company and her collections of knick-knacks and ad-hoc in-home art installations.  Therefore, this casual, family-friendly restaurant and bar was to be an homage to Aunt Colleen. After all, what is a great restaurant without fantastical inspiration?  Ashley and Sean showed up at Design Hound with pages upon pages of photos of Colleen’s unique house, and we talked for hours about Colleen and their hopes for the restaurant that would soon be located in their neighborhood.  Our office poured over the images with fascination, hoping to glean some design cues that would honor Colleen while giving Ashley and Sean a restaurant they would love.  The resulting project, located on the corner site below the new Alamo Drafthouse in the Mueller Development of Austin, will utilize accents of green and brass and create a playful but elegant space for everyone to enjoy elevated comfort food and a drink or two.  To achieve just enough privacy for a truly enjoyable meal or date-night, the open-concept dining area is broken into smaller spaces with millwork elements that display a curated assemblage of Colleen’s collections.  A dramatic Cy Twombly inspired custom wallpaper adds depth to the space, and the glass enclosed private dining room and its wedding photo wall (another inspiration from Aunt Colleen) provide a place to enjoy a large group meal without pretension.  Clerestory windows and a glass backbar, where shelves act as shutters, allow controlled sunlight to enter the space and minimize glare. Small design touches like a screen made of Colleen’s collection of teacups, slightly embellished ceiling medallions around flush-mounted lights, and inspirational quotes taken from Colleen’s pin-up board transcribed on the green steel columns further the personal touches that are so dear to Ashley and Sean.  A large outdoor bar area just off the entry and visible to anyone heading into Mueller via the main entry, is anchored by painted planters and a picket-style fence.  Lastly, a ‘To-Go’ window just off the outdoor bar will cater to pedestrians looking to grab a coffee or picnic lunch to enjoy in the park just to the south.

photography | Reagen Taylor

Having met Kevin when she was Chef de Cuisine at the first restaurant he designed back in 2003, the Owner of this Tarrytown home hoped that he could aid in remedying some spatial issues in her family's home while updating the master suite.  After analyzing the existing layout, Design Hound determined the floorplan could be maximized by shifting one wall associated with the master bedroom’s underutilized sitting area and allowing the master bath to absorb an adjacent hallway bathroom used by their young son while creating a dedicated bathroom off of his bedroom.  The sitting area was repurposed as a new bathroom off of their son’s bedroom and as an individual closet for the husband.  This solution took advantage of unused space, solved storage issues for the husband and gave their son a more convenient bathroom location. With some minor shifting in the master suite and the wife's closet, the master bath became more spacious with room for a 2-sink lavatory, make-up counter adjacent to natural light and large walk-in shower.  Carrara marble countertops cap the walnut built-in cabinets and the shower bench.  Grey and white patterned concrete tiles run from under the lavatory and into the shower providing a touch of visual interest.  Meanwhile, their son’s bathroom contains a light-colored palette of textured white tile walls, playful penny round tile floors and light-gray millwork.

photography | Molly Culver Photography

This approachable boutique hotel will be located off of East Cesar on a site that currently houses a disparate collection of three buildings consisting of a derelict hair salon, retail space and apartments [the 2nd floor corner unit was the on-screen residence of East Dillon quarterback Vince Howard, played by Michael B. Jordan on Friday Night Lights].  The main challenge for Design Hound lay in incorporating the program [12 hotel rooms, restaurant, bar/lounge, pool, and back-of-house spaces] within the existing buildings with a unifying aesthetic.  By taking advantage of the site's existing 'courtyard' style layout, the pool and bar/lounge take center stage with remaining elements shielding this inner sanctum from pedestrian and vehicular passersby.  The material choices favor natural elements: wood, raw stucco, steel and glass create a neutral palette that fades into the background as attention is focused on the central courtyard as gathering space.  Landscape elements bring nature to the forefront, reinforcing the idea of pool as oasis.  Smaller, more intimate, gathering spaces are scattered throughout the courtyard and within the restaurant.  Large operable windows behind a painted steel screen wall, allow glimpses within but maintain a level of privacy expected by the clientele. 

status | under construction

Bringing Coopers BBQ into a historical building in downtown Austin with a large heritage oak located in the existing rear courtyard consisted of a complete gut and remodel of the existing 2-story building on Congress Avenue, two separate additions, insertion of an elevator within the turn-of-the century existing building, weaving an outdoor deck and its accompanying supports around the oak tree, completely new utilities, and installation of a high-end VRF air-conditioning system with smoke scrubbers to clean the BBQ smell from the smoker ventilation system.  In addition to approvals by the usual site planning and building department officials required to bring a project through the approval process and to completion, this project required multiple meetings and negotiations with the Austin Historic Landmark Commission, the City of Austin Arborist,  Austin Energy, Austin Water Utility and pollution control system engineers.  The Coopers BBQ in Austin is a far-cry in both size and scope from the beloved and quaint original restaurant up the highway in Llano, Texas.  At times, the complexity of the project began to outweigh the aesthetic and operational constraints.  Luckily, the existing historic building and the neighboring structure had so much character that Design Hound did not need to re-create a shabby-chic aesthetic – it was already present.  The design team focused on working through the complexities and the functionality with an eye to design opportunities such as the juxtaposition of the modern steel frame that supports the second-story addition and braces the original structure against raw brick with painted advertisements from 100-years ago.  Additionally, the Client had huge stores of old barnwood, beadboard and rusted metal that he offered up to clad almost every surface. He also found and restored and old bar and backbar that was placed upstairs in the newly minted ‘Llano Lounge.’  In the end, the space looks and functions as all had hoped and is fast becoming a go-to staple for BBQ enthusiasts.

Located in the heart of Central East Austin, Design Hound was hired to aid a developer and his interiors firm in designing a two-unit rental that would appeal to high-end clientele.  The simple double-gabled form serves as a powerful identity and allowed for a focus on design-elements and details that are usually missing from similar projects.  A gabled roof form cantilevers over the first floor brick mass creating a covered front entry and back porch.  The second floor contains sleeping quarters with large windows and elegant baths. The skylight lit staircase leads to an attic loft that extends from the front of the building to the back and includes a subway tile lined bathroom tucked into an adjacent side-gable.  An extensive knowledge of the City of Austin's stringent McMansion Ordinance and its associated exemptions was required in order to maximize the square footage of the project and subsequently, the Client's return on investment.  Each three bedroom, 4 1/2 bath unit sleeps up to ten guests and is often rented for weeks at a time by corporations wishing to have a home base during many of Austin's conferences and festivals such as SXSW, Austin City Limits, and Formula 1.  While this was designed with high-end in mind, it was specified and constructed in a cost effective manner allowing the Client to begin generating a profit within a year of use.

interiors | Urbanspace Interiors 

This project is the first phase of a Master Plan that was created for the Clients in 2015.  After purchasing the first portion of their property which contained a modern one-story home, pool and two simple guest cabins approximately 200 yards away, the Owners were able to acquire the adjacent parcel which was separated by a creek prone to flooding.  As they used the property more and more, the family realized they wanted a compound where their entire extended family would be able to come together for weekends, holidays and celebrations.  However they needed more room for sleeping and, more specifically, a place for the younger crowd to stay up a bit later and enjoy the rural setting.  A large 2-bedroom guest home with a kitchen and living area was proposed adjacent to the existing guest cabins.  This guest home, with all of its modern conveniences, is the anchor serving both the resulting courtyard created from the 'L-shaped' assemblage of buildings and the existing guest cabins.  It will no longer be necessary to trek over to the main house to refresh a drink or grab a snack.  Additionally, the reverse trek back to the cabins with campfire-light dancing off of the white stucco in the distance will now be seen as the beginning of the evening in lieu of good night.

At the Main House, Design Hound had to contend with the Texas sun.  An existing rear porch and pool just off the southwest face of the main house proved to be entirely too hot for most of the year.  By extending the wooden deck to encapsulate the existing pool and installing a wood and steel trellis with varying spacing between its shading members overhead, the design team was able to accommodate multiple users throughout the day.  Solar analysis was utilized to provide shade/comfort both in the pool and on the deck for those more prone to sun-sensitivity while simultaneously catering to the sun worshippers.

*construction scheduled for 2018

Design Hound’s first project under its former iteration as Kevin Stewart | Architect, A-OK Chinese was a budget conscious conversion of a 1,500 square foot space into a fast-casual concept within an unassuming retail center.  The program suggested that the minimal but impactful design elements inserted would freshen the space and broaden its appeal to the surrounding neighborhood’s youthful demographic.  The material palette of white subway tile, plate steel and chalkboard paint were combined with splashes of red and wistful accents lending themselves to memories of the Chinese-American take-out establishments of our youth.  Subway tile lines the entry wall and frames a photo of Richard Nixon, the first president to visit the People’s Republic of China, eating with chopsticks before turning into a standing counter for quick dining and a shelf for wine and beer display.  Plate steel was bent into the shape of a bar-height banquette in front of the Point-of-Sale and also utilized for booth seating opposite the entry wall.  Traditional ‘Chinese Red’ accents the areas around the kitchen pass-through, the wall along the booths and the existing steel trusses.  Aside from simple recessed cans within the white-lacquered ductwork-hiding soffit over the dining area, the space is lit by inexpensive chrome clamp lights attached to a large salvaged sprinkler pipe that runs, rather sculpturally, over the queue before bending and terminating above a corner table.  The white cloth-bound wire powering the lights wraps the pipe showing that sometimes exposing the matter-of-fact elements associated with buildings, in this case wiring, have their own beauty.  Industrial drafting stools and chairs, old felt menu boards with plastic letters, bathroom walls lined with wheat-pasted Chinese paper placemats, and graphic instructions on how to use chopsticks provide the finishing touches. 

photography | Ryan Farnau

Our firm grew slowly but steadily during its first two years, and we found ourselves working on top of one another.  The search for a new office space began and ended on the Eastside of Austin at the corner of 6th Street and Pedernales.  Honestly, we lucked into the space via Craigslist and could not believe what we had found.  Though raw and lacking character, it had restrooms, a kitchenette, a storage area and a large open space lined with views to the always active 6th street.  With a shoestring budget and carpentry + steel skills within the office [mainly Ramiro], an idea began to take shape.  Upon entering, we placed some casual seating and furniture as a place for Clients to relax and wait for a meeting or for members of our team to take a break and catch up on the latest issue of a design magazine.  The adjacent front valance, partially blocking views of the workstations beyond, is clad in wood flooring with steel boxes for displaying items of interest.  The continuous snaking plywood desk behind the valance starts by the kitchenette and turns back on itself to create two 'U-shaped' work pods before wrapping around a column in the center of the space and ending just beyond.   Views to the restroom entry and kitchenette are blocked by a large steel panel with a Texas Flag hanging in front and coats hanging behind hidden from view.  Utilizing two large curtains custom made by a turn-of-the-century tent manufacturer in Idaho, we hid the existing [poorly framed/finished] materials lab.  The curtain softens the space both visually and acoustically and provides a literal backdrop for the conference room containing a large live-edge wood slab communal table and a wall-mounted TV.  Fluorescent lamps in the existing globe pendant lights were swapped for LED bulbs by Ketra that allow for modulation of light temperature and brightness depending upon the incoming daylight or the office's mood and a large brass pendant is hung above the conference table.  Knowing that we spend almost as much time at the office as we do at home, we curated a selection of specimen plants and artwork that have been placed throughout the space to provide a comfortable and inspirational workspace. 

photography | Ryan Farnau and Molly Culver Photography

Design Hound was tasked with converting a portion of an old sign manufacturing warehouse into a modern and stylish event space to accommodate The Peached Tortilla's growing catering and event revenue stream.  In addition to the event space, the project required office space for staff, a full-service kitchen to support the Client's catering trucks and on-site events, and a large storage area to house furniture and all of the accessories required for events (both on-site and off-site).  The main room derives its aesthetic from creating a neutral but visually interesting palette that can be utilized as-is or styled to accommodate any event.  A portion of the white-washed wood walls is painted glossy black which visually relates them to the pressed tin ceiling at the entry and a wood box that houses the roll-down projection screen and speaker system.  Three shipping containers, also painted gloss black, were purchased and modified within the space.  Placed side-by-side at the rear of the space, the front halves open onto each other creating an elevated platform that can be utilized in a multitude of ways.  The back halves of the three containers create individual offices for the staff.  Additionally, the tops of the containers are united for an open working environment with a skylight that creates a daylit loft-like environment for additional staff. 

kitchen equipment | Best Restaurant Equipment & Design

photography | Inked Fingers

Freebirds began as a single entity, free-spirited, burrito joint across the street from the Northgate area of Texas A&M University before growing into the regional, fast-casual chain restaurant it is known as today.  That original small shop, a staple for Kevin during his time at architecture school there, is omni-present in many of his best college memories.  Design Hound was asked to lead the design efforts associated with re-imagining the brand’s built identity as they began their expansion into new markets.  Though successful from a business perspective, Freebirds had pursued multiple incongruous designs lacking consistency beyond a somewhat shabby and ‘hippie-ish’ vibe of mismatched furniture, cloud-painted ceilings and adornments of aluminum foil sculptures.  In fact, the appearance of their restaurants ran contrary to the farm-fresh, ingredient-focused, open-kitchen concept the company had been pushing for years.  With this concept in mind and knowing that no two restaurants would be the same [they are generally built within strip-center developments], the team developed a re-branding guidebook with specific ‘honest’ materials that tied in with the new concept.  Additionally, a prototypical layout and renderings showcasing the guidebook’s ideas were produced to inform the company’s architects as they developed new restaurants and remodeled existing ones.  The small screen wall element, encountered upon entry, provides a sense of privacy for the diners while reinforcing the longevity of the Freebird’s brand with perforations of the backwards ‘F’ logo.  Clean wood walls with orange-lacquered stripes incorporating over-sized graphics clad the entry wall.  Built-in banquette seating of white-washed wood and waxed steel pipe armatures guide the patrons to the open kitchen.  Surrounded by dark steel plate, the open-kitchen and it’s smattering of textured, burrito-shaped tiles, glows white and clean.  Orange accents at the kitchen area, windows and cords woven into the tectum ceiling panels are offset by wooden chairs and tables with blue accents.  Lastly, a wood-framed soffit, with exposed bridging and white barn light pendants, floats over the community table built of steel pipe and wood with the backwards ‘F’ logo emblazoned on the seats.  Above it all, aluminum-foil backed sheathing [usually utilized as a radiant barrier in residential construction] has been CNC routed with a pixelated version of Lady Liberty.

A long-time developer/general contractor client brought Design Hound two side-by-side lots in the Crestview neighborhood of Austin that he had recently subdivided from a single larger lot.  Instead of going vertically to maximize square footage on the narrow-but-deep properties, he hoped to develop single story, 3 bedroom, 3 ½ bathroom homes with single-car garages.  The north-facing lots are interspersed with heritage trees so the design team began by threading the program through and around the lot with more trees while always considering the front elevation of both units as a merged composition.  Traditional gabled and hipped roof forms were modified for visual interest while blending with the neighboring properties.  The resulting front elevation of each house has its own recognizable identity while sharing common themes of material and form, thus avoiding the ‘cookie-cutter’ approach of similar developments.  For the more limiting lot of the two with multiple heritage trees restricting the length of the front façade available for entry, a side entry courtyard beneath a trellis was created to provide the main access point for the house.  Rather than entering at a pinch-point in the front with the rest of the house continuing down a long corridor running alongside the garage, one enters under the shade of a beautiful oak and into the heart of the house.  Beneath a vaulted ceiling, the open kitchen, dining and living areas lead either to the right for the garage and office [with its own entrance accessible from the front of the house] or to the sleeping quarters to the left.  In the second home, the layout is similar, but the house could expand more along the front so visitors enter just off of the dining room with kitchen and living areas visible beyond.  The mainly white stucco homes have been ‘carved out’ to reveal cedar siding at the front around the garages and off of the living room where an additional cantilevered steel trellis provides shade in hot summer months. 

interiors | Christen Ales

photography | Merrick Ales

The clients for this modern farm home just outside downtown Athens, Texas requested privacy from the street and neighboring church, an internal connectivity between the occupants and public spaces of the house, and a modern courtyard.  Rather than developing a conventional front façade with private back yard and side yards, Design Hound took advantage of the elevated hilltop and grouping of trees towards the street and rotated a typical house plan 180 degrees, locating the courtyard and pool at the front entrance.  Flanked by a simple gable shaped garage and carport to the right and the children's' bedrooms to the left, the courtyard with central pool and outdoor kitchen flows into the interior common spaces of the kitchen and dining room.  Thus the space between the two masses becomes the control center of the home where the watchful eyes of the adults maintain a visual connection to every element of their home as their kids move about freely.  Carefully located windows throughout the house provide view corridors between the control center and elements beyond.  The master suite [where the entire family ultimately converges at night to read books together] is reached via passing by ceiling-height bookcases and intimate reading nooks.  A private courtyard for the parents is accessed through the master hallway where strategically placed walls block the hot Texas summer sun and offer views to the trees beyond.

*construction scheduled for 2018

The owners of this East Austin home approached Design Hound to modify an existing single-story, two bedroom to accommodate their growing family needs.  The gently sloping urban lot had undergone a few minor additions and remodels over the years that resulted in a segmented and dark residence.  The homeowners wished to unify the distraught floorplan, create connections to their adjacent landscape, and add a second story with additional bedrooms.  In order to maintain the historic scale of the neighborhood within its urban context, the project team placed the second story addition to the rear and created an ‘L’-shaped courtyard.  The interior of the home’s kitchen, living, dining and master suite open up to the patio and courtyard and expand the perceived size of the home dramatically.  Within the home, existing walls are selectively demolished and the kitchen and living areas are relocated to the rear achieving direct connection with outside.  More utilitarian spaces associated with cars, bikes, and clothes washing are relegated to the driveway side of the house to coordinate with the comings-and-goings of a family with small children.  Along with the second story addition and existing trees, the partially covered courtyard offers a serene and private connection to the natural environment.  The exterior of the home will become a subtle pattern of light-colored siding with angled wood accents while the interior will embrace the family’s artistic side with colored accents and interesting patterns.

This approachable boutique hotel will be located off of East Cesar on a site that currently houses a disparate collection of three buildings consisting of a derelict hair salon, retail space and apartments [the 2nd floor corner unit was the on-screen residence of East Dillon quarterback Vince Howard, played by Michael B. Jordan on Friday Night Lights].  The main challenge for Design Hound lay in incorporating the program [12 hotel rooms, restaurant, bar/lounge, pool, and back-of-house spaces] within the existing buildings with a unifying aesthetic.  By taking advantage of the site's existing 'courtyard' style layout, the pool and bar/lounge take center stage with remaining elements shielding this inner sanctum from pedestrian and vehicular passersby.  The material choices favor natural elements: wood, raw stucco, steel and glass create a neutral palette that fades into the background as attention is focused on the central courtyard as gathering space.  Landscape elements bring nature to the forefront, reinforcing the idea of pool as oasis.  Smaller, more intimate, gathering spaces are scattered throughout the courtyard and within the restaurant.  Large operable windows behind a painted steel screen wall, allow glimpses within but maintain a level of privacy expected by the clientele. 

*construction scheduled for 2018

This approachable boutique hotel will be located off of East Cesar on a site that currently houses a disparate collection of three buildings consisting of a derelict hair salon, retail space and apartments [the 2nd floor corner unit was the on-screen residence of East Dillon quarterback Vince Howard, played by Michael B. Jordan on Friday Night Lights].  The main challenge for Design Hound lay in incorporating the program [12 hotel rooms, restaurant, bar/lounge, pool, and back-of-house spaces] within the existing buildings with a unifying aesthetic.  By taking advantage of the site's existing 'courtyard' style layout, the pool and bar/lounge take center stage with remaining elements shielding this inner sanctum from pedestrian and vehicular passersby.  The material choices favor natural elements: wood, raw stucco, steel and glass create a neutral palette that fades into the background as attention is focused on the central courtyard as gathering space.  Landscape elements bring nature to the forefront, reinforcing the idea of pool as oasis.  Smaller, more intimate, gathering spaces are scattered throughout the courtyard and within the restaurant.  Large operable windows behind a painted steel screen wall, allow glimpses within but maintain a level of privacy expected by the clientele. 

*construction scheduled for 2018