Award-winning design firm Ashby Collective has recently renovated and rebuilt this lake house retreat to 4,630 square feet, nestled on the beautiful Lake Austin in Texas. Interior designer Michele Lorenz provided a “modern organic” design esthetic with custom-made furnishings, easy-going fabrics, with golden hour lake views from every room.

Homeowners, Angie and Todd Brinkmeyer purchased this lakefront property for its location, they wanted it updated to a more functional use as a vacation lake house versus a primary residence. The goal was to shed the weight of the previous Tuscan-influenced design (popular when the home was built in 1990) to a fresh modern and organic style, expressing the existing lines of the house in a simpler, more contemporary way while establishing a free-flowing connection between interior spaces and the outdoors.

DESIGN DETAILS: INTERIOR DESIGN Ashby Collective ARCHITECT Shiflet Richardson Architects BUILDER Dalgleish Construction Company LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT Tait Moring & Associates

When the clients approached Michele Lorenz, Ashby Collective, to reinvent their Lake Austin waterfront home they conveyed the importance of creating a refuge that allowed for a multitude of outdoor spaces. With the homeowner’s main residence being in Idaho, the Austin warm weather lifestyle was important to them.

There was some question at first on whether to scrap the existing home or undergo a major renovation. The team landed on a space in between. The home was taken down to studs and underwent the addition of a motorcycle garage and then fully reimagined to what you see today.

Above: In the living room the furnishings were sourced from Verellen Furniture. The ceiling light fixture is from Lawson-Fenning. The sculpture on the table behind the sofa is from Amelia Nourse Tarbet, a showroom at Market Hill in Round Top.

Above: The dining table was custom-made by Mockingbird with chairs from Sossego Design, while the light fixture is by Atelier de Troupe. The hand-formed clay artwork adds to the organic modernism that is this project in its entirety.​​​​​​​​ The interior designer selected Benjamin Moore’s White Heron OC-57 for the walls and ceiling providing a calming, retreat-like vibe.

The couple wanted an approachable, timeless design, suited for a summer lake house. They asked Michele for a ‘boutique hotel vibe’ with carefree elegance. She implemented ‘Big Sky Country’ touches in the design – a nod to the homeowner’s primary residence. The kitchen features double islands in Phyton Blue-honed marble pulling together a sleek modern design with a rustic finish. 

The ceiling throughout the residence (indoor and out) is cypress, the design team spent a great deal of time on the stain process, ensuring it captured a ‘golden hour’ glow.

What We Love: This lake house was reimagined into a beautiful organic modern retreat with idyllic sweeping views of Lake Austin. We are especially loving the dual-island kitchen with its custom cabinets, marble countertops, and exquisite pendant lights. Sliding glass doors conveniently connects to the outdoors providing a wonderful indoor-outdoor living experience while expanding entertaining options for the homeowners.

Tell Us: What details in this renovation project do you find most inspiring? Let us know in the Comments below!

Note: Be sure to check out a couple of other incredible home tours that we have highlighted here on One Kindesign by the designers of this project, Ashby Collective: A stunning modern sanctuary in Texas surrounded by heritage oak trees and Mid-century modern house gets inspiring transformation in Austin, Texas.

Above: Tucked away under the staircase is this powder room. The area rug was sourced from Black Sheep Unique.

Above: The custom cabinetry in the owner’s bedroom features hardware sourced from J&L Hardware Studio.

Above: The glass box office provides a quiet place to work with a view of the lake and the rest of the house. The area rug is from Black Sheep Unique.

PHOTOGRAPHER Clay Grier

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