Inspired by 1950s interiors and design, architect Francisco Arredondo of North Arrow Studio designed his modern Austin, Texas, house with beauty, viability and affordability in mind. Together with the space, part of a four-unit development, Arredondo desired to attain a “deceptively simple” aesthetic. From free-hanging lightbulbs into a row of stunning skylights, clean lines and well-curated decor show a space-efficient, thoughtfully constructed home.
at a Glance
Who lives here: Francisco Arredondo along with his puppy, Sandy
Location: Cherrywood, East Austin, Texas
Size: 1,300 square feet; two bedrooms, 2.5 baths
Kara Mosher
When you enter the house, the manicured backyard backyard space immediately draws one to the living room via high ceilings and a narrow hallway. Arredondo installed sliding glass doors along a double-height wall, allowing the backyard greenery to “seem as though it is nearly inside the house,” he states.
Kara Mosher
Arredondo’s sweet puppy, Sandy, shares the unique area. The stained concrete floors are perfect for his or her toenails.
Kara Mosher
Arredondo’s favourite place in the house is the living space, with the sliding doors open into the backyard. On top of the TV-stand seat, a DIY job, is a Crosley record player. Arredondo states, “I play the soundtrack to the film Charade on repeat.” A coffee-sack-covered ottoman provides a place for his feet to rest.
The corner has been coated with leftover Cumaru pieces from the wood flooring from the next floor.
White couch: Eames daybed
Kara Mosher
The living room coffee table is a good illustration of just one of Arredondo’s most visually repurposed pieces in the house. “The coffee table was originally a shipping crate for a very wonderful piece of furniture. My customer kept the furniture, and I retained the box. I painted it and added a few casters,” he explains. Trunk stumps are also repurposed as wooden tables.
Kara Mosher
White Panton chairs by Vitra make a stylish, idyllic outdoor seating space. Beyond the greenery is a small creek and the railroad trail for Austin’s metro rail. Arredondo states, “The rear lot was designed to benefit from the vegetation native to the website.”
Kara Mosher
One of the most creative pieces in the residence is this hanging lightbulb fixture, which was created from necessity. “We had a tight budget for both constructions and finishes, so I had the idea to produce a beautiful decorative gesture from common building solutions. It is made of electrician wire, bare and sockets bulbs,” Arredondo states. “A little design thought and a good electrician can go a long way.”
Kara Mosher
The longer spent in the house, the more beautiful details you discover. One example is the multiple geometric skylights in the main hallway ceiling. They are painted in a manner that appears sky blue only at certain angles.
Kara Mosher
Arredondo utilizes potted plants to attract some of his inspiring view of nature inside. Having both designed the house and created many pieces in his house, he offers this advice: “Take your time locating the ideal stuff, and don’t be afraid to make something yourself. In addition, he credits neighborhood interior designer Kasey McCarty for helping him pick his decor.
Kara Mosher
Since the house is a part of a multiple dwelling unit, among Arredondo’s biggest design dilemmas was creating a sense of privacy. “The solution was to arrange the spaces so the public places can be found along the common wall and the private, quieter spaces are placed across the nonshared walls,” he explains.
Recessed lighting above the kitchen island follows the linear design.
Kara Mosher
Under the stairs are chalkboard-paint-covered customized cabinets. “I start and end every day by creating lists,” Arredondo states. “They keep me organized and fair.”
Kara Mosher
“Junk, or things that I feel deserves another life and hasn’t met its possible for beauty or usefulness, pushes my decorating the most,” Arredondo states. Throughout the house he gave topo chico, tree stumps and wooden crates fresh functions. The kitchen island bar stools are another instance of old things given a second residence, but Arredondo shares that he’s eyeing the Tractor Stool designed by Craig Bassam.
Range: Jenn-Air; oven, refrigerator, dishwasher: KitchenAid; faucet: Dornbrach
Kara Mosher
Arredondo’s two favorite elements of the house are the large sliding doors and the skylights. “The house wouldn’t be the same without them,” he states. A collection of amazing, fun and vibrant cast concrete pigs made by Arredondo sits above a small ledge on the right.
Kara Mosher
The beautiful dark hardwood flooring throughout the next floor are a species called Cumaru, very similar to ipe. The leftover pieces were used in the kitchen counter tops.
Kara Mosher
The master bedroom includes soft lighting and huge windows that allow natural lighting to underline the relaxing feel of the space. Arredondo keeps his favourite things in the house in this room: his Poul Kjaerholm’s PK91 folding chairs. “If you stare at these things long enough you’ll learn everything you want to know about furniture design,” he states.
Lots of the things in the house, such as the corner chair in the master bedroom, are treasures found at local thrift shops. “I found this chair at a local thrift store for $10, stripped down it
and refinished it,” Arredondo states. “I was going to lose my head trying to determine how to weave a Danish weave pattern, then I was introduced into Molly Purnell, an unbelievable local furniture designer and a master bedroom weaver.” Some of the favourite local places to store include Collectors Corner and Antique Marketplace.
Duvet cover: Ikea
Kara Mosher
The master bath includes a brilliant palette of colors, such as blue tiling that extends from the shower into the floors. About picking the colour palette of the house, Arredondo states, “At this point it’s still a work in progress. The palette is pretty shade neutral, but I have plans to put in much more colour. I am starting with blue”
Green towels: Ikea
Kara Mosher
Shadows produced by the row of skylights make a stunning yet natural visual element.
Kara Mosher
Arredondo bought all the sinks, such as this circular one in the guest toilet, at Kraus.
Kara Mosher
The inviting front doorway is a normal solid-core metal door, the type you can usually find in commercial buildings. “I wasn’t satisfied with the way it looked, on the house and I wanted to do something interesting and with a little more charm,” Arredondo states. “My builder, Richard White, and I have the welder to cut a lot of holes in the doorway and include some standard steel pipe. It took me some time, but I learned how to throw resin and stuffed the pipes with that.”
Kara Mosher
External, a concrete ribbon driveway hints at the clean, modern lines found inside. The tranquil and bright “castle” faces a quiet, tree-lined road, and Arredondo says his proudest homeowner second is “when people from the area say something nice about the area without understanding that I designed it.”