Elizabeth Baird Brings This Rosewood Home Down to Earth
An East Austin abode connects a constellation of courtyards to seamlessly intertwine indoor and outdoor living.
As published in Austin Home, Summer, 2024
Photo by Casey Dunn.
When architect Elizabeth Baird first visited her client’s site in Central East Austin’s Rosewood neighborhood, she was underwhelmed by the existing structure, but immediately knew the scale of the property made it a gem hiding in plain sight.
“The original building was brick, from the 1960s, and the lot was overgrown, nothing special, really,” she says. “But when I stepped onto it with the real estate agent, we were both amazed by the sheer size of the lot, which in this neighborhood is kind of unheard of.”
Photo by Casey Dunn.
The homeowners, who work in the tech industry and were relocating to Austin, realized how special it was. “They loved how close it was to downtown where they work, and they talked about how, with their demanding jobs, they wanted to come home to an oasis.” That was back in 2019, before the world turned upside down.
But throughout the pandemic, she and interior designer Liz MacPhail forged ahead, working closely with their clients to create a distinctively modern home where nature and design are integrated. A geometric silhouette offers a subtle nod to the postwar architecture that populates the surrounding landscape.
Photo by Casey Dunn.
From the start, Baird’s clients had a clear idea of what they wanted. “They filled up my questionnaire with really great descriptions,” she says. “They were trusting and up for making big design moves, clear about their likes and dislikes, and made swift final decisions, which always makes for a great final product.”
One inspiration photo the homeowners sent to Baird was of a small Japanese-style courtyard on the property. Having just returned from her honeymoon in Bali, Baird was intrigued with the idea of breezeways, open connections, and strategies for making the most of the outdoors, even in the city. “Nine months out of the year, and the weather’s pretty reasonable [in Austin] and you can be outside,” Baird adds.
The house is designed around a large, lush courtyard, with other smaller courtyards in architectural pockets connecting the property. “Although it’s slight, the [Japanese] inspiration does appear in some of the smaller outdoor spaces,” Baird says. “There are small north and south courtyards at the stair and on the way to the primary wing, and the sunken court between the primary wing and the pool. These have lush greenery with carefully placed rocks and gravel infill that give them a zen meditative feel, thanks to the landscape architect who also helped interpret the inspiration photos.”
Photo by Casey Dunn.
The new design started as a single-story home, but Baird and the project team eventually added a partial second story to the main house with a bedroom and bathroom, a separate casita with an upstairs home office, and a pool. The couple even had a baby during the process, so in every sense the footprint of the project was expanding.
Inside, a color palette that offers a subtle nod to traditional southwestern aesthetic is made contemporary with the addition of some eye-catching jewel tones. Baird says she wasn’t trying to make it seem overly regional in character. “I was originally inspired by mid-century modern design—many of the existing homes in the neighborhood are from the 1960s,” she says.
Ultimately both she and her clients chose a particular adobe brick for the facade that gave the entire structure a sense of earthy warmth. “I just fell in love with the dusty peachy undertones of the brick and the variation within them, and so did the clients,” said Baird. “It was more interesting to me than a uniform colored brick that was a typical red, gray, or white, so we went with it, and the final colors of all the exterior materials responded to this.”
Fine details and sumptuous materials make the house feel simultaneously understated and luxurious. Sculptural lighting, caramel-colored oak floors, and velvet-upholstered furniture in garnet and jade hues give the space a certain chromatic boldness, with rounded forms that hint at Art Deco style.
“We considered Japanese inspiration when we were designing some of the smaller interior details such as the custom screen door between the primary bath and closet, and some other elegant wood details,” says Baird.
Drawing inspiration from the natural variation in the color and texture of the adobe brick outside, Baird wanted to pull some of that crafted feeling inside. “Taking cues from [the brick], I used a lot of natural materials like steel and wood, and I pulled in a little bit of green here and there, which for me is kind of unusual.”
Photo by Casey Dunn.
The primary bathroom feels almost botanical clad in Heath Ceramics tiles in Morning Dew, which echo the hues of real plants in a nearby open air atrium shower. A colorful, custom stained glass panel from Bespoke Glass shields the atrium for privacy. Large, nearly floor-to-ceiling windows let light and views of the landscaped grounds inside.
“I love modern, clean lines,” Baird adds. “I think sometimes those things can be cold and severe. So we were just trying to really bring that warmth inside with the materials. It’s lean, there’s a lot of light, and it’s very serene.”
Photo by Casey Dunn.