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For Sale: 218 Buckeye Trail Home

Buckeye is a short drive away from downtown Austin. This custom designed home merges California Craftsman with Prairie Craftsman to create a sophisticated architectural blend. The abode offers a secluded and majestic 270-degree view of Little Bee Creek Valley, the Texas Hill Country, and a view that includes The University of Texas Tower, complete with sunsets and sunrises [read more].

Buckeye Home featured by AIA Austin Tour
The AIA Austin Homes Tour is known nationally for
showcasing a wide variety of designs and for encouraging quality design for everyone. This year one of the 12 featured homes was Buckeye Trail.

Each year green building and environmentally conscious designs expand from unique design features to expected components of a home’s design.

Buckeye is an excellent example of the collaborative efforts of a general contractor and an architect to reclaim and restore through adaptive reuse an old dilapidated structure and bring it new life.

This project is the epitome of a "green" sustainable project. Some of its noteworthy features include:

Water harvesting; capturing spring water, roof drainage and HVAC condensate to create a grotto and koi pond with its collection,
Fine Arts and Crafts detailing, trim work and tile work,
Exhibiting a variety of different outdoor living areas including verandahs, loggia, patios and deck from which to enjoy the views of the ridges and valleys of Westlake Hills

“The fact that this project was an extensive restoration, and not a new construction, was to some extent limiting.” Says Mark Canada, the architect of the project. “But… had we demolished and started anew the building footprint and impervious coverage would have perhaps been even more limiting.”

Although anticipated by the architect; converting a dilapidated duplex into a contemporary 5,000 square foot custom residence with all existing luxury conveniences, and capturing the dramatic views to the west without compromising energy efficiency; still was challenging nonetheless.

About the Buckeye Project:

"The grotto is reminiscent of Fay Jones' —a Frank Lloyd Wright student and protégé, he helped pioneer 'Prairie Style' of architecture— water feature at the Alexander House. I actually like this better. It flows under the house while being visible from inside the house. Fay Jones' grotto ran through part of his house, which caused moisture problems. The house's woodwork has a level of craftsmanship and detail you don't see in other Austin high-end homes. I've worked on homes that did not come out this nice that were priced much higher. I would market this house for over 3 million dollars."

Tommy Cohan
AIA Graeber Simmons Cowan Architects

About Home Upgrades and Remodels
Two common reasons to remodel a home are: meeting family needs, and increasing property value. Remodeling is a process which demands time, patience, realistic expectations, methodical advanced planning and thorough cost analysis. Custom Homes of Austin can help you in your remodel... [read more]

Building with the environment in mind

"Stone World Magazine"
When building a spec home in Austin, TX, Steve Wauson of Craftsman Homes of Austin adhered to a few design objectives. Above all, it was a priority to utilize as many natural materials as possible — making for environmentally friendly architecture. In doing so, an assortment of natural stone — including several regional varieties — was employed throughout the home's interior and exterior spaces... [read more]

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