This house is so sweet...

According to Real Estate lore, established neighborhoods represent the safest investment, as long as you don't buy the most expensive house on the block. In Austin, we have experienced many boom and bust cycles, the most recent of which has happened over the last 6 years. I thought it would be interesting to see how differing neighborhoods were effected in both the boom phase of the cycle and the bust phase. So, I compiled data on homes sold during this period, examining key factors like $/sqft, days on market, and the margin between high and low priced homes. I chose 5 areas in Austin, which are described below:

This deck was designed for a really great client earlier in the year out in Georgetown. She took some pictures 6 months later so I could finally post them to the site. We had a great collaboration on the design, and the result was exactly what she was hoping for: Affordable Modern.

This deck features lots of seating along the edge, making it perfect for parties. It also has a built-in planter, with a fiberglass pan to prevent rotting. Because it is quite high off the ground, the deck is visible from the street. To provide some measure of privacy, and to slip in a design element for looks, we built a simple, horizontal-slatted privacy screen. We used a similar horizontal-slat design to create the seat backs. The seats along the edge sit on a custom welded steel support, which gives the seating extra stability and durability. It also has a neatly executed door that provides access under the deck. I was specifically asked to hide the underside of the deck, and thought these horizontally oriented boards would be a nicer alternative to lattice(yuck).