Sneak peek: The incredible homes of the AIA Austin tour

October is prime time for local events to ramp up, and the AIA Austin Homes Tour is one of the best, as well as being a welcome break from/alternative to the abundant music festivals and other crowded happenings of the season.

This will be the 32nd year that AIA Austin has convinced owners of fabulous homes designed and built by local firms to fling open their doors to design and lifestyle mavens of all stripes. Its long tenure and venerable status, however, belies the fresh approaches and inventiveness on display every year; the variety is substantial and refreshing.

The 14 homes on this year’s tour embody the range of work, styles, and talent available in this city and include designs by such heavy-hitters as Clayton & Little, Dick Clark + Associates, FAB Architecture, Hugh Jefferson Randolph, and Weiss Architecture, just to name a few.

The 2018 tour takes place Saturday, October 27, and Sunday, October 28, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. each day. More information on the tour, including where to buy tickets, is available at the AIA Austin Homes Tour website.

Let us know which ones you like most and why in the comments!

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A Parallel Architecture

Lakeview Residence, Lake Austin

A lakefront home on a hillside curve incorporates the sites natural verticality into the design, creating a dramatic experience as one moves through the space.

A. Gruppo Architects

Laman Residence, Willow Creek

A gallery and studio addition to a 1970s home provided an opportunity to change its entire identity.

Clayton & Little

Balcones Residence, Colorado Foothills

Austin’s award-winning architectural firm and longtime go-to for expert historic restoration renovated and expanded the footprint of this midcentury modern home, designed by Roland Roessner, who taught at the UT architecture school and was one of the city’s premier designers of the period.

Chas Architects

Mountain View Residence, Tarrytown

The challenge of a small lot with close-by neighbors inspired this inverted take on the modern farmhouse, which places the main living spaces around a private courtyard pool.

Dick Clark + Associates

The Bohn House, Old West Austin

The historic Bohn House is a large and remarkable Art Deco/Art Moderne home inspired by a cinematic castle in the 1937 film Lost Horizon, originally designed by Austin’s Roy L. Thomas (see: Stephen F. Austin Hotel and other iconic buildings), and built in 1938. Dick Clark Architecture refurbished, reconfigured, and expanded the home, expertly retaining or matching its distinctive stylistic elements.

FAB Architecture

Bridle Path Residence, Tarrytown

A classic 1940s Tarrytown home with an addition built in the 1970s was completely reinvented and reconfigured in contemporary, family-friendly style.

Side Angle Side

Allen Street House, East Side

Designed for an architectural photographer and inspired by some of the simple homes he shot over the years—specifically a modest house in the Maine woods and, more recently, residences he photographed in Marfa—this is a space that achieves a balance of warmth and minimalism, modestly scaled.

Hugh Jefferson Randolph Architects

10^th Street Home, Clarksville

Randolph excels at transforming classic historic styles with a combination of updates that can blend in with traditional elements or reference them with purposely surprising, contemporary additions and changes. This home in Clarksville is an artful, playful example of the kind of renovation the firm does so well.

Jay Hargrave

West Mary House, Bouldin Creek

A new build in a popular South Austin neighborhood, built for an architect and his family, materializes his minimalist vision and employs some inspired room placement to create highly functional space.

Restructure Studio

The Lockhart Residence, Travis Heights

A new home in South Austin achieves sustainability through smart technology and carefully considered design.

Matt Fajkus Architecture

Re-Open House, Crestview

A house in the central midcentury neighborhood is reinvented for a unified feel, good flow, and a balance of natural light.

Tim Cuppett Architects

Eva Street House, Bouldin Creek

This house off South Congress Avenue is a brand new urban-infill project, but it fits the original style of many homes in the neighborhood, updating them in unexpected ways while incorporating sleek, modern features and contemporary design.

Webber + Studio Architects

Welcome II The Dawn, Cuernavaca

A new home in one of the Austin area’s most eclectic and still somewhat overlooked neighborhoods, this house uses a minimalist style to respond to the natural landscape as well as to the owner’s tastes, making “subtle nods to late music icon Prince,” according to the AIA press materials.

Weiss Architecture

The Bough House, Bouldin Creek

This expansion was designed for the home of two Austin icons—neon and sign-restoration artist Evan Voyles (The Neon Jungle) and fashion designer/entrepreneur Gail Chovan, whose Blackmail boutique has been an anchoring presence on South Congress for decades—and their twins, who were still on the way when the project started. The addition, a steel structure on the back of the house, achieved the goal of preserving the street view of the original cottage as well as being quite lovely.