Texas is full of big cities and living in one can make you feel confined, like the city is closing in on you more and more every day. That is why this family, like so many Texans across the state, chose to buy land and move out of the urban chaos to settle in a more rural area. They had lived in Round Rock, just north of Austin, for years and could sense the quiet suburb being taken over by the big city to the south. This motivated them to buy their own 10 acres in the Bertram area. During their search for a custom home builder in Burnet County, they passed a Tilson built home and chatted with the homeowners. They were convinced to move forward with Tilson and had an idea of what they wanted to build. After talking through some of our plans with design consultant Taylor McIntyre, they decided on the Rio with the D elevation. From there all they had to do was make the design their own.

The family was pleased with the overall layout of the Rio, though they did make a few alterations. The addition that stands out the most is the attached 2-car side load garage. Directly off the garage, on the rear side of the home, the customers chose to add an uncovered porch attached to the home. The garage has an exterior door directly to the porch, allowing them access to lawn tools from the backyard. The porch also gives them an excellent space to enjoy their new land.

Inside the home, the customers chose to switch the standard tub/shower combo in the master suite to an elegant walk-in shower with seat. The swap, alongside the decorative mirror trim option they chose, gives the bathroom a sleek look that upgrades the overall feel of the master suite. They also used a prefinished hardwood floor in the family room that matches the rich brown on the exterior of the home.

An interesting choice the family made was to forgo the standard divided-lite windows on the front of the home and instead installed 1-over-1 windows. The alternative windows bring in a fantastic amount of natural light in and improve the exterior appearance of the home. The simplicity of the windows accentuates the spectacular Sonoran Desert bricks that wrap around the front and sides of the home. The rest of the exterior is finished with HardiePlankTM siding. With help from Taylor, the family made excellent color choices on the home. The use of rich brown for the columns, window trim, and corner boards carries your eyes toward the beautiful knotty alder, speak-easy front door. The speak-easy door is a popular choice to add character to any home’s exterior.

The family’s choices throughout the building process truly came together into a beautiful home. With the help of Taylor, they took the Rio plan and made it both personal and one of a kind without making any major alterations to the original design. You can watch an online seminar given on this home or learn more about the Rio here.