Agave House

The house in May 09

2009-06-01T13:25:00.002-06:00

Photo Credit: Don Lacy

A few more pictures

2009-03-26T21:40:00.005-06:00

Wanted to share a picture of the front of the house, with our cactus planter growing in nicely.

And yes, another welcome sight in our succulent planter by the front door. Spring is here!

Front Planter Success

2009-02-25T20:05:00.003-07:00

There is a lot happening right outside our front door, which you can't see from the road. All of the succulents that we ordered online and planted last fall are thriving! It's amazing to look at them everyday as we are coming and going. We are looking forward to adding some more this spring.

Super Door

2008-11-28T08:33:00.004-07:00

How cool is that door!

Our new door from Austin Outdoor Studio is up and we couldn't be happier. I cant say enough about what a great job they did. Thanks Jonathan for going the extra mile and creating something we are very happy with.

Next Project - Gate

2008-07-14T09:00:00.004-06:00

We are excited to get started designing a outside gate/door to complete the wall project at the end of the carport. Here's what it looks like today:

View from the front (edge of wall we added on the left)

View from the back (with rain chain)

wall of wood

2008-06-28T13:34:00.001-06:00

The plywood wall is completed! Thanks Steve - Great job!

planter

2008-06-01T15:22:00.003-06:00

Yucca rostrata going into the truck for the trip home.

Planter phase 5.7

Hardiplank is down - next stop plywood!

hallway

2008-05-22T11:14:00.002-06:00

The hallway is going to get a makeover. Stay tuned.

planter and cactus

2008-05-10T08:11:00.003-06:00

orange cushions

Sempervivum tectorum or "Hens and chicks" for the new cactus garden.

Graptoveria or 'Fred Ives' in a planter on the back patio.

The new planter with a bottom layer of stone and then the rest filled with crushed granite and sand.

Our winnner for most bad-ass Sempervivum tectorum - Purple Haze.

April

2008-04-05T13:14:00.004-06:00

We like this chair better with just the bottom cushion.

We finally upholstered the HW chairs. We are very happy with the way they turned out.

Spring and that huge dagger plant in the front yard is going off.

backyard full of wild flowers.

I never thought these would grow so fast.

What I thought were blooms are just new growth on the "SOB" cactus as we like to call it. That thing is mean - don't mess with it.

sun, wall and the pine.

March

2008-03-05T10:40:00.002-07:00

Sexy pool chair waiting on the pool

Sexy desk waiting on a chair

Sexy light waits for no one

Living room not so sexy. Doubling as an art studio right now. We will figure it out someday.

One of Wendy's new sexy side tables. from Uptown Modern

replaced crossbar

2008-01-27T08:44:00.000-07:00

Replaced the crossbars on the three store front doors with regular handles. Much cleaner look.

door handle

2007-12-19T09:21:00.000-07:00

update!

2007-12-10T18:36:00.000-07:00

Planter with red lava rock and cactus.

We put neon yellow poster board above the false ceiling for a cool reflective light effect in the day time.

also pictured is the new vent covers.

bye!

cactus

2007-09-08T10:37:00.001-06:00

Cactus come home from "The Great Outdoors" nursery.

This cactus had to wait until our neighbor could help me get it out of the truck. Thanks Kelly and Stacy.

08_22_07

2007-08-22T21:51:00.001-06:00

Our criss cross light at night.

refinished chairs

2007-08-18T08:45:00.000-06:00

We have two of these. I need to find a before photo - brown chair, brown cushion - ugly. Now they are black with blue velvet cushions - nice.

We found this chair next to a dumpster. We haven't really done much to it except clean it off and throw some cushions on it from Urban Outfitters.

Newbie

2007-07-12T20:32:00.000-06:00

Welcome to Agave! We crossed paths earlier this week and she told us all about her great Kevin Stewart 3 story purchase.

July

2007-07-11T09:10:00.000-06:00

We finally painted some walls in our house. We started with the first vestibule and painted it a dark teal gray color and put up a Syroco tree sculpture that I painted white.

couple of chairs resting comfortably

Some new photos from around Agave...

test

2007-07-10T08:51:00.001-06:00

test

Register

2007-06-27T21:45:00.000-06:00

comes in unfinished wood

My version painted white in PS

Air conditioning vents suck and they are the one thing I think can ruin a perfectly clean interior. I found these and they may be an off the shelf remedy.
From Venting Direct - Various prices under $100

Solar Security Floodlight

2007-06-20T14:58:00.000-06:00

For the record I hate when people put these things over their garage blasting the neighborhood with a blinding light. To me they make a street look more like a prison yard than somewhere I want to come home to. That said this looks like a pretty good solution for a side yard type of area that you don’t have to wire and it has a motion sensor. I think I might put this on the side of our house that we currently have no light on. I promise not to strap it to the front of our car port with some duct tape and loose wire.
Price: $68.00

moving in

2007-06-11T15:50:00.001-06:00

Closing night our friends the Avilas brought us dinner and champagne!

Mexican food and a new house - two thumbs way up!

Our next door neighbors joined the party!

Moving trucks came Monday and unloaded a bunch of stuff we don’t want anymore. Why did we keep so much stuff?

Heywood Wakefield Triple Crown China buffet

HW table

I am so very happy that this we are finally in!!!

Finally our new refrigerator

Happy happy home owner.

2007-06-03T21:15:00.000-06:00

closed! closed Friday!! moving truck comes tomorrow! I spent the last two days sealing the concrete floors. Wendy has been sick but is recovering in time for the move. More on all this soon with photos.

get r done

2007-05-22T16:19:00.000-06:00

Final inspection on the house was completed yesterday. A few minor fixes and we should be ready to complete this deal by next week. Lets all keep our fingers crossed.

Starting to think about pools again...

Barry Beer Design

and rain chains and grass and landscaping and...

Andrea Cochran Landscape Architecture

Just some things to think about.

2007-04-04T13:13:00.000-06:00

New roof.

That’s the roofer doing a great job (that’s wishful thinking)

go roofer go

our front patio area with stucco! That turned out exactly the way we wanted.

The landscapers are notorious for leaving in the middle of doing something and not returning for days or weeks. This pile of sod has been here for at least a week. That looks like about 15 more minutes to finish the job to me but not to the landscaper. It’s as if a giant bell tolls out at Agave at random times and everyone drops what they are doing and runs away. I have seen half eaten lunches left in the carport and power tools still plugged in with no one around for days.

Agave - live the mystery.

Recent work by Fernando Guerra

2007-03-30T11:58:00.000-06:00

Architectural photography

3_25_07

2007-03-29T08:53:00.000-06:00

April 1st will be our one year anniversary for watching this house be built (scroll to the bottom of this page to see first entry one year ago - so happy and naive then). Lets hope that on our second anniversary we are actually living in the house! Still waiting on new roof. Front patio area looks great.

night photos

2007-02-26T12:49:00.000-07:00

Thank you Robin for the great photos!

nelson bubble lamp - criss cross

2007-02-23T13:10:00.000-07:00

After much looking we finally purchased a good old fashion Nelson bubble lamp for the Kitchen to hang down through the hole in the false ceiling. I just could never find any other light that wasn’t trying too hard to be modern or if it wasn’t trying too hard it was because it didn’t have to – it was a million dollars. I imagine the very first thing we will do to the new house is hang this fixture.

Austin the concrete has landed

2007-02-23T12:06:00.000-07:00

Master bath

View from master bedroom

He is fixing the outlets

New Cabinets in the Laundry room

View from the back porch

End of retaining wall

Corner of retaining wall

view from the front driveway

Details

Kitchen

Retaining wall down the right side of house

Retaining wall

View from top corner of front yard

Getting close

2007-02-21T10:17:00.000-07:00

Our camera decided to take a dive so no pictures but things are…dare I say it, drawing to a close. I will meet with the builder today and go over what is left to be done but it’s not much. A couple of major things like replacing all of the glass front and back on the doors and windows because someone scratched it all while apparently trying to clean it. The retaining wall has all of the supports in place and is ready to pour. That’s pretty much it for the big things and after that its just a few trim issues and they are done.

water is on!

2007-01-15T14:22:00.000-07:00

waiting on retaining wall...

planter - counter tops - sinks - doorways

2006-12-21T13:20:00.000-07:00

They constructed the planter by the front door
Counter tops came in and are being installed.
All the sinks are in.
The metal trim on the doorways has been welded in.
It also looked as if the gas line had been installed yesterday so they will now be able to go in and pour the retaining wall for the front courtyard area.
What a great week this has been!

house numbers! tile! closets!

2006-12-15T12:46:00.000-07:00

house numbers

Master bath tile

front bath tile

closet doors

new house color

2006-12-08T15:03:00.000-07:00

Hardi-plank (interior and exterior) - Quixotic Plum (SW6265)

Exterior/interior ceiling - simple white (SW7021)

Accent color (interior ceiling plane with elliptical cut-out) - Vast sky (SW6506)

Sides of roof plane - paint to match charcoal grey roof

two front views

2006-12-04T16:18:00.000-07:00

Cabinets and other stuff!!!

2006-11-21T15:13:00.000-07:00

screen going in

2006-11-16T10:32:00.000-07:00

used photo merge in CS2 - works well!

polls for front screen

Flashing over front door

lights on over back patio

more lights

2006-11-06T13:10:00.000-07:00

more lights of the vintage kind. school house electric

lights lights lights

2006-10-20T16:44:00.000-06:00

Really like these lights from kozai designs

drywall texture and doors...

2006-10-17T10:37:00.000-06:00

Pools

2006-10-04T12:53:00.000-06:00

This is the type of pool we want. Clean minimalist rectangle surrounded by white smooth limestone or concrete.

Random photos

2006-09-26T19:28:00.000-06:00

Drywall is up! Roof material on the side of the car port is up! Framing for back door is in!

dry walk

2006-08-31T12:23:00.000-06:00

I wanted to put up my own drywall and see what the false ceiling would look like. That’s one crazy light fixture. Electrical walkthrough scheduled for next Tuesday - Come on drywall.

August 26th

2006-08-28T15:29:00.000-06:00

Temporary doors have been installed for inspection and then will be replaced with storefront glass doors. Electrical is in and they have begun constructing the false ceiling.

Progress...

2006-08-20T20:42:00.000-06:00

Driveway is ready to pour, drywall has been deliverd and the windows have been replaced with new better windows! Things are moving along again...

Nothing but Wheat

2006-08-02T19:38:00.000-06:00

Well its been over a month since I posted because there really hasn't been any progress on the house. The interior doors are there and they have swept up the floors but that's it. I hope they get started soon because the clock is ticking.
In the mean time I surprised Wendy and bought her a Haywood Wakefield Desk for her birthday. She has been wanting a Desk to paint at and I stumbled on a great buy. After seeing her new desk we decided to go to Room Service to see what they had and they just happened to have a Haywood Wakefield butterfly table and 5 chairs. We bought it - major dream come true as I have been drooling over this table for 10 years. At first we denied the matching hutch and buffet but after some discussion we realized how stupid it would be to not bring it home as well. The kicker was the bubble glass in the hutch that is in perfect shape. So now we are on the downhill slide of a house full of Haywood Wakefield and that's not a bad thing.

The roof..the roof

2006-06-26T17:14:00.000-06:00

They stopped halfway through putting on the metal roof and haven’t been back. As soon as they finish up I will post some photos. We are also waiting on the electrical...well we are waiting on everything that hasn’t been done yet but those are the two biggies that are on the immediate horizon. For now I am going to think about how when we move in I am going to sit on this Hans Wegner's ch07 lounge, drink Presidente and cokes and watch the sun set over Agave.(I will never splurge on that chair but I guy can dream cant he?) you can find this and other out of this world great furniture on betterlivingthroughdesign.com

Visit on 6/12

2006-06-12T16:04:00.000-06:00

They have installed the steel pole suports on each corner of the roof and the the back patio. Completed stone walls and Hardiplank. Outside entryway skylight is in!

A little down time

2006-06-06T13:56:00.000-06:00

I guess I never posted photos of the completed walls. Take my word for it they look great and the next time I get a chance I will post some photos of them. The next big change will come in the form of a roof that I hope will be up by the end of the week. In the mean time check out this blog of Mid Century architecture photography. There are some great ideas for fences, landscaping and they are just great photos. I only wish they were a little bigger. Also socalmodern.com for more great photos and ideas.

Fence

2006-05-31T16:38:00.000-06:00

Photos I took a few months ago of the Threadgills fence to show Agave what I thought would look good in an MCM type of neighborhood. I never showed them the photos but I did tell them to check out the fence. I guess they liked the idea ( ;

stone stone

2006-05-28T13:46:00.000-06:00

They started the stone and are working very fast! We went out yesterday morning and they had already finished most of the bottom half inside and out. We went back out in the evening to take a few pics after they were done for the day.

Sunset Visit

2006-05-21T10:13:00.000-06:00

We went out Friday after work and checked out some of the progress. More siding up on the car port and the eaves of the house. They have started constructing the false ceiling in the kitchen.

color examples

2006-05-17T10:25:00.000-06:00

Google SketchUp

2006-05-14T20:45:00.000-06:00

So if you're like me and you cant stop thinking about how your house will look the next best thing is to just build it with google SketchUp - another killer free ap from google that you should download and spend hours trying to push and pull walls (you will see what I mean) until you have something resembling your house. Its a great program that is a quick learn.

Google sketchup - windows only

Siding up and windows in!

2006-05-13T20:56:00.000-06:00

They began putting up the siding this morning as we rolled up to have a look around 10:00am. Real good breeze blowing so we hung around for awhile to chat with the inevitable visitors that come by and say "is this your house?!" (we came home, power washed our house we are putting up for sale, patched and painted some of the walls and ate some Thai food. Then its 7:00pm and as usual we have to drive out to the new house again - our story continues...) The mosquitoes were thick this evening as we decided to walk around the whole loop of Agave. Noticeable police presence every time we have been up there lately which is good - keeping an eye on things I guess.

Photo credit JS

tick tock

2006-05-10T07:19:00.000-06:00

We have been out a couple of times in the past week to inspect for storm damage but everything seemed to be fine. They had wrapped the house in a white plastic sheeting and some of that had blown off but other than that it was just wet. I drove out yesterday at lunch just to see what activity was like these days during a regular workday and Agave was buzzing with construction workers on just about every house that is being built. I got word last night from a new fellow
Agave resident that our windows had been delivered and were in the carport. I hope they have some of them in by the time we go out there tomorrow to pick our house colors and tile for the master bath.
Since I have no photos because I keep forgetting to download the latest here are some links to various modern furnishing web sites. If I stumble on a big pile of cash I might be able to afford something from one of these stylish links.

Cool Hunting

Haute Green

plywood office

Sunday visit

2006-04-30T21:00:00.000-06:00

More of the walls are up!

Mom and Wendy in the entryway

Hallway from the front door

Master bedroom window

Wendy and Adam in the carport view from the backyard

House Colors

2006-04-30T16:32:00.000-06:00

04_29_06 visit

2006-04-30T14:00:00.000-06:00

Party Photos and the framing has begun!

2006-04-28T06:45:00.000-06:00

We couldn't believe our eyes when we came around the corner for the Agave party and there was our house taking shape! Wendy and I could hardly get out of the car fast enough and sprint across the road to the construction site. The architect Kevin Stewart was there in our house giving a tour to his parents and wife. It was like an instant party when we told him that we had bought the house! He showed us all around and everyone couldn't have been happier!

This is the new updated description on our house;

"Kevin Stewart one story 1860sq ft. Updated classic modern design one story contemporary with simple form and tactile use of materials.
Exterior: Lime stone volume that wraps around public and private spaces; dramatic entry corridor with wood privacy screening and skylight over planter; wrap around walk way and deck; Storage room; two car carport; torch down flat and metal roof Interior: High pitched ceilings with 50’ of clear story windows that allows light to wash over ceiling into private spaces. Dropped ceiling over kitchen with elliptical cut out to allow light in. Entry hallway; powder room, laundry room, vestibules leading to 2 bedrooms and secondary bath, study/office, master suite with walk-in closet and bath with large shower, living and dining areas, side entry."

Questions for Julie:
Master bedroom window solid pane of glass instead of window.
Shower alcove.
electrical outlets in the garage and lights.

party!

2006-04-21T18:35:00.000-06:00

Easter visit

2006-04-16T21:38:00.000-06:00

We decided to drive out Saturday to the new house but the batteries in the camera didn't work so this gave us a good excuse to drive out again on Sunday. Everything is coming along swimmingly. The floors have been polished and we are pretty happy with the results. The green aggregate that they added to the concrete mix turned out to be a great idea. This week we picked out our cabinets and counter top for the kitchen and bathrooms. Everything is basically light and the lower cabinets in the kitchen will look like finished plywood or "birch" colored and the upper cabinets all have glass fronts. We have a couple of weeks to pick out Tile for the master bath and exterior paint color. We are both still in shock.

Appliances

2006-04-07T13:12:00.000-06:00

Today I recieved some PDF's of appliances from Julie. We were upgraded to the "deluxe" package which means more burners and a dishwasher with no buttons. lol

first phase foundation

2006-04-04T15:13:00.000-06:00

Two Images taken 04/04/06

Purchased in Agave

2006-04-03T15:03:00.000-06:00

We have dreamed of owning a modern designed home for years and have tried every which way to make it happen. We have talked with architects and real estate agents but it just never seem to come together.

Friday March 24th I saw an article in Tribeza advertising some modern homes going up in a neighborhood on the east side. I went on the web to check it out and knew I had stumbled across something special. Saturday we went to lunch and then headed out to see what this was all about. No real estate agents were at the air stream trailer they have for an office but we were able to walk through one of the homes that was open and check it out. Polished concrete floors, custom stairs, butterfly roofs and a view. It seemed a little to good to be true. We went home and the conversation began and soon it was all we could talk about. The more we looked at the web site the more we knew we had to get the lowdown. We met with Stuart Moulton, an agent for Green Mango Real Estate on Wednesday and he told us just about everything we needed to know. As we sat there talking people kept rolling up and asking for info on the homes. By the time I got home I knew we had to get on this fast so I called and e-mailed Stuart to tell him we would like to meet again and hammer out a deal, write a check, whatever it takes. We called our real estate agent Pam and she agreed to go out with us on Saturday the first at 10:00am to meet with Carrie Bills the owner of Green Mango real estate. When we rolled up Saturday Carrie was meeting with some folks so Pam, myself and Wendy went for a drive around the property to show Pam what we thought we wanted to get into. She seemed to be good with the property and we drove back up to talk with the Agent. It turns out they know each other and have both been in real estate in the Austin area for some thirty years. They got down to brass tacks pretty fast and Pam seemed to be happy with the answers. As we looked at the homes the choices seemed to narrow down to one lot and design – The one story Kevin Stewart at 5318 Sendero Hills Drive. I exclaimed in the middle of the chit chat because I was sort of getting hungry and couldn’t really talk about it any more “its this one or nothing” and I pointed at that lot. Carrie told us to walk down and take a look at the lot and talk it over some more. When we got outside Pam gave us the big yes and we jumped on it. We signed the papers, wrote the check and she said “congratulations!” and gave us each a shirt. Carrie then had the main construction foreman come up and talk to us and he gave us a lot more details about the construction of the house. He told us that he had also bought a house at Agave and it was also a Kevin Stewart design – that made us feel even better about our purchase. After about an hour of signing and talking we walked out, got in our car and from that point on we have both been in a daze. We now have to not only sale our house but figure out where we are going to live until our house is built. We have put down our earnest money and we should be signing the loan papers in the next couple of weeks. The foundation is already poured and now we have to make all of the choices on the interior of the house like cabinets, countertops, tile, etc. I will try and keep this updated with all of the latest progress as they build our new dream home.

top view - click to see larger view