Mother Nature Gave These New Homes Good Bones

Photo: Art GrayIrwin Weiner ASID - The homes you decorate always start from what we like to call "the bones." These are the architectural features of the house, from the walls and ceilings to the floors, doors, windows, and room shape. One of the first jobs in interior design is to "get the bones right," or to make sure that any weaknesses in the architectural decisions are addressed. It helps when a home is newly made, but even new construction can be a nightmare for decorators, e.g. open-plan spaces need to be better defined by their function and still maintain good flow with the rest of the house. We admired theseAndersson-Wise "natural houses," new-construction spaces that celebrate nature through the use of beautiful building materials and clean lines. The natural homes in this video are what we mean by good bones!

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Modern Style Homes Deep in the Heart of Texas

Sago International

Irwin Weiner ASID - There's a lot to be said for recycling old urban core properties and turning them into livable spaces. Inner city homesteading has been chic for years, and the trend isn't going away. The allure of provenance about old spaces attracts both do-it-yourself homeowners and speculators/builders who want to make something new and imaginative from the old and discarded. This video shows you some of the recycled and brand-new contemporary homes in this year's Austin (Texas) Modern Home Tour. You'll come away with an appreciation for the clever design going into residential architecture. I particularly love the Sago International home on a one-acre lot, creek facing, on Vireo Cove (featured near the end of the video, and exterior view in top photo); the thrust concrete deck is a thing of beauty, and the interior spaces are clean and open.  

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