SPECIALIZED SERVICES
Hill Country Homes
The Texan Hill Country is like no other.
It's an area of rolling limestone hills, relaxing vineyards, and auburn-colored soil that inspires creativity in the hearts of those who live there.
The architectural designs of these dwellings are as diverse as the landscape itself - boasting traditional features, it mixes authentic and rustic designs with modern needs. They feature clarity of circulation; natural light and a harmonious connection between indoor and natural outdoor spaces. Sensibly designed buildings that include covered porches; appropriate scale; careful massing; clear hierarchy; natural materials; and respect for the building site.
Not only do we design ranch houses...
We also spend a lot of time in the hill country too.
You should work with an architect
who loves
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Hill Country Life
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Coffee Sunrises
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Farm Animals
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Panormic Views
disclaimer: we're not this geeky!
You enjoy the views while we get to work.
As a bespoke home designer and residential architect located in the heart of Texas Hill Country, Motif believes that situational context is paramount in new home designs.
Our architectural choices are guided by regional influences and the diverse cultures that have shaped the Texas Hill Country and the greater Austin area. The rugged beauty and complexity of the land, as well as our respect for the deep local history, inspire our authentic and custom home designs.
Are you ready to boot up? Let's get to work.
We collaborate with a specialized group of local consultants, who are experienced with managing the code restrictions, design standards and the challenges that arise from developing a new home on a rural property in Hill Country.
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Let our diverse and capable team handle all the details so you can enjoy your views from the comfort of your rocking chair sooner.
Your Hill Country home, elegantly integrated into the natural landscape.
During the evaluation stage of your site, we may create a 3D model of a particular aspect, or even the entire site to perfectly nestle the house amongst the landscape. A house that is thoughtfully positioned within the defining features of the land will appear natural and give a sense of belonging to the environment.
It’s no secret that a Texas ranch is an escape from city living. The land is rugged and beautiful, and the sky is huge. We provide an in-depth experience when evaluating a site to truly appreciate the property, its uses, its beauty, and our client’s desires. We listen to our clients’ stories as we tour with them through rough country properties with whatever means necessary to evaluate the landscape. This includes touring on horseback, utility vehicles, and other modes of transport to assess remote sites. Exploring our client’s favorite sites on the property allows us to unearth hidden vistas and functionality options, as well as gain a deep understanding of their vision for the property.
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By respecting the larger context of the ranch, we carefully position the homes and other buildings to create an idyllic homestead. By enhancing the situational context of a building within the landscape, a story can unfold in the design. The end result is a house that feels like a continuation of the landscape – as if has been there since the beginning.
Design elements for Hill Country.
Our clients choose Motif for our expertise in designing custom homes that fit gracefully into the context of the Texas Hill Country landscape.
They value our team’s shared passion for designing homes that exhibit continuity with traditional, vernacular, and classical architecture. Our ability to listen to their dreams and goals for their home, comprehensively weaving together solutions suited to the uniqueness of their site, sets us apart.
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Our previous projects include homes located on varied sites, including country for ranches, estate lots, rivers, and lakes. Our work also includes barns and accessory buildings, master planning of ranches and vacation compounds, and selected commercial work. Regardless of the project, each building has been designed to incorporate the southern charm of Texas that runs deep in our veins.
Durable
Building
Materials
Incorporating the most durable materials and construction techniques that your budget allows will help your home withstand the test of time. While the outlay for the initial cost for robust, quality materials is higher, this approach will safeguard your home by increasing its longevity, and will simultaneously build character.
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Using natural materials not only honors the Hill Country history, but also brings a timeless beauty, depth, and texture to a new home. Incorporating salvaged antique materials and house parts adds warmth to a new home and is an excellent sustainable choice as it extends the lifespan of those reclaimed elements.
Ancillary buildings are storage buildings, party barns, workshops and barndominiums that complement town and country projects.
We are skilled and experienced in designing supplementary buildings, such as guest houses, casitas, pool houses, summer kitchens, garages, and workshops too. Each building is designed to complement the adjacent buildings and enrich the story of the property.
Our team will control the scale and size of the ancillary buildings so that the design does not overshadow or distract from the main residence. For inherently large ancillary structures, we use the historic precedents of carriage barns and working barns to guide the layout and roof shape. We also manage the appropriate distance of the ancillary structures from the main house according to their scale and function. This is an essential consideration as it creates a hierarchy of importance within a homestead.
Barns &
Ancillary Buildings
Master
Planning
& Studies
Our master planning process involves conceptual planning for an entire property, including multiple structures, drives, walks, and fences. This comprehensive planning approach is purposeful and responsive to the landscape, and immensely helpful for long-range planning of a large property. The master plan usually leads into the design of one or more structures within the ranch. i.e. Main House; Guest House; Barn, etc. We begin this process by visiting your land together, spending quality time on the site to discover your vision, listen to your stories, and your hear your important goals for the property.
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We also help our clients evaluate the use of their beautiful acreage property by developing conceptual site studies with several options for the disposition of the buildings on the site. These conceptional studies typically include necessary features such as septic field locations, driveways, cattle pins, property fences, water storage, and can expand to include other elements such as pools, mini-grape vineyards and putting in greens!
