Escape
Concept: a shady side-yard hideaway for a 1994 Round Rock two-story
Imagine the narrow strip beside the garage reborn as a hammock retreat under a live oak.
- 1994 brick two-story
- · Side yard
- · Hill Country
- · $
- · Round Rock · Greater Austin
Austin · San Antonio · Dallas–Fort Worth · Houston
Haven
Bring the best parts of vacation home.
Design concepts for the Texas homes we actually live in — imagining what a 1970s–2000s house could become.
Featured stories
From the journal
connect
Concept: a cul-de-sac patio built for Friday night brisket
Plano · Dallas–Fort Worth · $$
relax
Concept: a builder-grade bath reimagined as a weekday spa
Katy · Greater Houston · $$
escape
Concept: a stock-tank pool for a 1978 Hill Country ranch
Helotes · San Antonio · $$
connect
Concept: a casita for the grandparents, room for everyone
Arlington · Dallas–Fort Worth · $$$
One home · Three possibilities
Same house. Three futures.
A typical 1990s single-story in Greater Austin, imagined three different ways. These are design concepts — illustrations of what could be, not completed projects.
The starting point
The original home
Quiet siding, beige brick accents, a garage-forward façade and one generous shade tree — the house found on countless streets from Round Rock to Katy.
Greater Austin · Single-story suburban home
Concept 01
$Small Changes. Big Difference.
A new landscape. The house, untouched.
Imagine the lawn reborn as a twilight xeriscape — native grasses, agave and limestone boulders along a lit stone path — with the house itself untouched.
- Native planting
- Limestone boulders
- Path lighting
Concept 02
$$A Whole New Look.
A fresh identity on the same frame.
Picture warm wood-look garage doors, a wood front door, limestone-wrapped pillars and black-framed windows glowing at golden hour — a fresh identity on the same frame.
- Wood-look doors
- Limestone pillars
- Black window frames
Concept 03
$$$The Complete Transformation.
A craftsman spirit. The same familiar home.
Envision a warm craftsman revival — a full wood garage door with windows, limestone-wrapped pillars, glowing steel windows and layered native plantings along a floating stone walk.
- Craftsman details
- Wood garage door
- Floating stone walk
Conceptual renderings for inspiration only. Not depictions of completed construction.
Three ways to live better
Escape. Connect. Relax.
Privacy · Adventure · Discovery · Gardens · Retreats
Escape
Escape
Concept: a shady side-yard hideaway for a 1994 Round Rock two-story
Imagine the narrow strip beside the garage reborn as a hammock retreat under a live oak.
- 1994 brick two-story
- · Side yard
- · Hill Country
- · $
- · Round Rock · Greater Austin
Escape
Concept: a stock-tank pool for a 1978 Hill Country ranch
A design idea for turning a flat, sun-baked yard into an evening resort with native plants and shade.
- 1978 single-story ranch
- · Backyard
- · Hill Country
- · $$
- · Helotes · San Antonio
Escape
Concept: a native garden path that rewards wandering
A drought-smart planting idea to make a small Pflugerville lot feel like discovery.
- 2008 single-story
- · Garden
- · Naturalistic
- · $
- · Pflugerville · Greater Austin
Family · Friends · Entertaining · Hospitality · Multigenerational
Connect
Connect
Concept: a cul-de-sac patio built for Friday night brisket
What a bare slab behind a 1980s Plano ranch could become with string lights and a long table.
- 1986 brick ranch
- · Patio
- · Texas farmhouse
- · $$
- · Plano · Dallas–Fort Worth
Connect
Concept: a casita for the grandparents, room for everyone
How a detached suite could fit behind a 1990s Arlington home without giving up the backyard.
- 1997 brick two-story
- · Guest casita
- · Transitional
- · $$$
- · Arlington · Dallas–Fort Worth
Connect
Concept: opening a 1980s kitchen to the family room
What removing one wall in a Sugar Land two-story could do for every holiday gathering.
- 1989 brick two-story
- · Kitchen
- · Transitional
- · $$
- · Sugar Land · Greater Houston
Wellness · Comfort · Independence · Restoration
Relax
Relax
Concept: a builder-grade bath reimagined as a weekday spa
Picture the original garden tub swapped for a soaking tub, warm oak and a window worth lingering at.
- 2004 two-story
- · Primary bath
- · Japandi
- · $$
- · Katy · Greater Houston
Relax
Concept: aging in place, beautifully
Curbless showers, grab bars and lighting that read as design choices in a 1970s ranch.
- 1974 single-story ranch
- · Bathroom
- · Modern
- · $$
- · Alamo Heights · San Antonio
Relax
Concept: a bedroom that feels like checking in
Hotel-calm ideas for a 2000s Frisco primary suite: textiles, light and quiet.
- 2006 two-story
- · Bedroom
- · Coastal
- · $
- · Frisco · Dallas–Fort Worth