Something old, something new… something blue. This became a thread through this Westlake Hills Estate family home.
A love story with a house began as this family lived life and memories lingered in its walls. So as the family outgrows the walls and it is time to refresh the interiors … to move or not to move became the question. After much consideration, the love for the house and it’s beautiful estate property won. The task of designing, remodeling and furnishing took shape.
The challenge at hand, was to create an open concept plan, add square footage, and keep a sense of traditional elegance while adding some modern touches. The word “PRETTY” became the wife’s guiding word for the project, while the husband wanted a bit more clean and modern. A marriage of styles and minds… Something old and something new.
Challenge accepted by Brooke Anderson and Bay Hill Design. Dreaming with the owners, designing spaces that would house family heirloom antiques, bringing in touches of modern, keeping it family friendly was the task. Neutrals, with a bit of blue throughout, as both husband and wife shared the love for blue, became the color guide - something old, something new… also things blue. These three elements in each room provided the continuity in an open space to flow seamlessly.
The warmth of timeless antique pieces give us the feeling that there have been stories told, life that has been lived, family memories to be passed down. The more modern touches remind us of forward movement of the this family’s story that many more gatherings and memories are to come. Making this house not just beautiful, but truly home.
As one enters through the steel modern doors, a formal greeting ensues with the dining room. This room is a showcase of fine furnishings and finishes, family silver and crystal, and is meant to serve as the hub of all family gatherings, in which we still dress a room for a celebratory meal. Antique Italian mirrors, French chairs, and crystal chandelier set the tone with the new Louis Chairs, Walnut Table and Silk drapes… a beautiful first impression.
Custom upholstery was designed and crafted through Bay Hill Design to fit both needs. Velvet used as a first layer on upholstery for the more formal affairs of the home, and cooler months. But also, each piece is dressed with Belgium linen slipcovers for the more casual mood of summer.
The kitchen and breakfast rooms open to the living room with an equally mixed appeal. An all white kitchen is forever timeless and fulfills the desire for a beautiful space that is functional for entertaining. The “marble” on the counters and backsplash is quartz or porcelain, giving the look of a more dressed space, but foolproof in its function . French antique lighting and an antique inlaid table are paired with more modern leather Klismos styled chairs for that mix that continues through the house.
Families often have amazing pieces handed down through generations, and the starting point for the powder room is a family heirloom chandelier with the perfect touch of blue. A twist to the space however is also serving as pool bath! We converged these two spaces into one. A formal powder room for guests, with an outside door to welcome pool guests.
Mosaic onyx tiles covering the walls, elicits a glimmering finish, yet water friendly for pool guests. The blue of the chandelier repeated in a modern custom vanity in gloss tiffany blue ( built to hold pool towels), topped with a gold, centuries old, Italian mirror. Beauty and function converge – old and new with that touch of blue.
To wake up and retreat in beauty leads to a day well lived. The master bedroom houses antique French bed side chests, upholstered linen bed, with a mix of bedding in linen, velvets and Fortuny fabrics…framed with blue silk satin drapery and grass shades, illuminated by a custom modern pendant.
Throughout the home there is a welcome union of something old, something new…something blue. The culmination of everything this house has to offer…beauty, comfort, and pieces that tell a centuries old story, all rolled into a modern day living space fit for a family . Within these walls where memories will be made, comfort and function do not sacrifice all things “pretty.”
Design lead and finish out:
Brooke Anderson / Bay Hill Design
3663 Bee Cave Road, Austin Texas
(512) 374-0231
Home Builder: CapTex
Architect: Geschke Group
Extra paragraphs for the other 2 rooms:
Master bath
The master bath accompanies the master bedroom, in its quest for serene beauty with which to start and end the day. Porcelain tiles that you can’t distinguish from marble, continue the thread of having beauty that doesn’t hinder living.
Caption:
The serene master bath gives a nod to the rest of the home in its elegance.
Kids’ Bathroom
As the upstairs Kids’ spaces took on a bit more of the modern than the antique, the antique French shutters do anchor the kids’bath. The warmth of the worn aged wood, paired with the steel hardware to create a custom sliding door, takes an ordinary kid’s bathroom into a “Wow” response the minute you enter.
