Hemlock Avenue House

Austin is home to some of America’s coolest looking residential properties in our opinion and you can certainly add Hemlock Avenue House to that list. Conceived by Chioco Design, this excellent piece of residential architecture in Texas was completed in 2019 is located in the East Austin neighbourhood of Cherrywood and boasts a highly contemporary aesthetic that is balanced with an understated interior.

The architect has owned the property for sixteen years and had lived in a 1950’s house typical to the neighbourhood and in 2017 decided to start from scratch. The couple made the decision to relocate the 750 square foot home to a new location about two miles away. Because, after all, it was a perfectly good house that didn’t need to go to the landfill and the end result is utterly stunning.

Striking Design

Hemlock Avenue House boasts four custom fabricated fourteen-foot-tall corner windows the bathe the interiors in natural light. These windows also make the most the views out into the landscape and throughout the house. Adding to that and natural light levels are four sets of wood sliding doors made by Quantum. The plan is essentially two overlapping rectangles that meet and connect in the corners and, at this connection, is the main entry through two sets of the sliding doors. Instead of an entrance at the front façade, Chioco decided to approach the entrance through a private courtyard.

The “front” door of Hemlock Avenue House is actually located in the centre of the home. Upon approach, the transparency of the sliding door systems showcases a layered effect through the house an into the backyard and swimming pool area. The materials are kept simple to provide a pleasing understated aesthetic throughout the home.

The exterior facades of this beautiful home consist entirely of a warm beige modular bricks with the exception of the Ipe screen walls that enclose the entry courtyard and the western red cedar on the storage room at the rear most part of the home. Ground concrete floors can be found throughout to help to blur the lines from inside to out and provide a perfect flow to proceedings.

Elegant Wooden Materials

All the millwork and wall panels of Hemlock Avenue House are vertical grain White Oak that delivers a soothing atmosphere in the home. White marble was used for countertops, backsplashes and as a major element in the Master bathroom and walk-in shower. There are also some tile accents in the mix at the kitchen and bathrooms to add some colour to the home.

At just under 2000 square feet the home feels and lives much bigger than it actually is courtesy of some careful and thoughtful planning. The entry courtyard and the covered patio and pool are perceived as extensions of the interior spaces, and create outdoor rooms of sorts. When the Austin weather permits, the entire home can open up making for a true unencumbered indoor-outdoor experience.