A Little Modern Farmhouse
A Little Village
Words by Jess Hagemann Photos by Leonid Furmansky
Homeowner and new mother Amanda Trevino is a realtor by trade, so when she’s not on maternity leave, she spends all day every day touring Austin homes. That’s why about a year and a half ago, when it came time for her and husband Ivan to gain more space, she knew exactly which house she wanted in exactly which neighborhood.
It just so happens that Alan Muskin of the Muskin Company (one of five homebuilders authorized to develop Mueller’s section 7) is Amanda’s father. As soon as architecture firm Clayton & Little drew up the designs for a series of garden court homes, Amanda and Ivan selected the layout they wanted and started working with the Muskin Company to customize every aspect of the home’s interior, from the polished concrete floors and hickory stair steps, to the mint green cabinets framing out their kitchen. “My grandma’s cabinets were mint green,” says Amanda, by way of explaining the eye-catching choice, “and we wanted an homage to that.”
The rest of the house Ivan describes as “white on white on white. We’re pretty minimalist,” he says, but that just makes the rest of the unique design elements stand out. Amanda worked with a local cabinet hardware designer who “had an encyclopedic knowledge of design” and “showed up with trunks full of thousands of pieces of hardware.” The Trevinos picked a different set for every room in the house, matching them to industrial light fixtures from Lights Fantastic (Burnet Rd.) or the “retro” black hexagonal floor tile in their upstairs bathroom. Large windows and vaulted ceilings keep every room bright enough to admire the details that according to Amanda, add “a little modern farmhouse, a little vintage” flair to this multifaceted space.
Ultimately, the Trevinos were sold on three elements: the home’s open floor plan, modern design, and the communal courtyard on which it sits. “What made this floor plan work for us,” Amanda says, “is that it had a second living area upstairs and an office for me. My husband is a musician, so he converted a bedroom for his office, where he stores his nearly nine-foot marimba.” (Think giant xylophone.) A composer and band member, Ivan is frequently gone on tour; Amanda therefore appreciates that her neighbors are so close. “Especially with a newborn, it’s nice to have this tight-knit community.”
The garden court homes all face a shared green space, hemmed in by a round sidewalk that serves as a ‘track’ for the neighborhood kids. “Henry (the Trevino’s infant) is child #20 in the courtyard,” smiles Amanda; today they range in age from 1 month to high schoolers. “There’s usually a soccer game going on, and some adults drinking wine.” A little after 5:00 p.m. every day it’s happy hour out there. Because “it can be hard to make new friends outside of work, it’s been an awesome way to meet new people.”
Even now, Christmas lights span the length of the courtyard, zigzagging from one balcony to the next—a real community project. Ivan explains,“All the neighbors got together at the holidays and strung these lights, and it looked so cool we kept them up.” At night, they shine a literal spotlight on this East Austin gem.
Design Inspiration…
Architecture firm Clayton & Little modeled the roughly 2000 square foot garden court homes, like the one that Amanda and Ivan Trevino own, after a colorful Icelandic village.
Architect: claytonandlittle.com
Builder: themuskincompany.com
Homeowner/Realtor: muellersilentmarket.com, amanda@muellersilentmarket.com
