Vibes & Virtues {Christen Ales Interior Design}

Urban Tulum Meets East Austin

Words Christopher Ferguson, AIA | Photos Merrick Ales

Tulum-inspired interiors blend bold patterns, natural light, and rich, earthy tones, achieving a colorful and luxurious aesthetic fit for vacationers and stay-cationers, alike.

“It’s all about the photos,” says Christen Ales, discussing the approach to designing high-end, short-term rental spaces, “and there can be a nice freedom and opportunity in that.” Tasked with curating increasingly eye-catching, dynamic, and experiential interiors, her recently completed “Urban Tulum” project on Parker Lane feels playful and refined with thoughtful furniture and finishes, taking full advantage of ample natural light.

A main home and generous accessory dwelling unit (ADU) bookend a modest swimming pool on the divided lot, each building spanning two levels. Organized simply, each features an arrangement of bedrooms and baths above an open-plan kitchen and living area.

The getaway’s varied interiors take center stage, at once edgy and serene, daring yet replenishing, a little exotic but balanced by moments of calm. It’s elevated, tasteful fun and, in that way, resonates with a part of Austin’s ethos.

Maple vinyl flooring throughout the spaces complements crisp whites and deeper painted hues, broken up by large, punchy graphic wallpaper and tile that are often reflected in the colors and geometry of the furniture selections.

An unconventionally vivid burst of cobalt blue cabinetry in the ADU’s taut kitchen is picked up in an adjacent framed print, affordably sourced from Society6. The unexpected burst of composed color is just one of many moments of joy in the project’s collection of comfortable rooms.

Of particular note is the airy primary bath, whose white pedestal tub rests over large, eccentrically laid hexagonal matte ceramic tiles. The tiles’ faces are split diagonally into white and blue sections, creating a subtle sense of movement underfoot when randomly aggregated. At the room’s edge, floor-to-ceiling white glazed ceramic tiles are stacked neatly in tighter, four-inch squares, taming the space, and lending a sense of order and tranquility.

The project’s poise is an impressive balancing act, successful for its clever foiling of rigor and disorder, light and dark, object and field, and so on. Instead of dysfunction, Christen and her team have crafted spaces that feel at home in their own harmonies and are worth checking into.

Contact
christenales.com
christen@christenales.com
@christenalesinteriors

Dream Team
Local creatives Pavonetti Architects firm created the architectural design of the project, and it was built by Cambridge Custom Homes.

Fast Track
The project took about a year overall, completed in the fall of 2022.