Berkshires Style
Goes to Austin, TX
SPRING 2025 style story
A NOTE FROM JESS
There’s something magical about Austin—its eclectic charm, creative energy, and warm spirit make it the perfect canvas for inspired design. When our clients reached out to us about renovating their newly purchased home in Austin, we were thrilled and fully up to the challenge.
Designing from a distance is something we’ve learned to embrace, and this project became a beautiful blend of trust, technology, and creative alignment. Working remotely with a client requires a different kind of rhythm. Communication becomes everything. Our client had a strong sense of what they wanted functionally, but they leaned on us to bring the aesthetic vision to life.
Austin is full of contrasts: modern yet rustic, funky but refined. We didn’t want to ignore the local context—we wanted to honor it. We sourced regional materials, worked with some incredible local craftspeople, and incorporated pieces that spoke to Austin’s roots while still aligning with our design ethos.
When designing from afar, systems matter. We leaned heavily on tools like Zoom, shared Pinterest boards, 3D renderings, and real-time collaboration platforms to keep our client involved every step of the way. Local partners became our boots on the ground, and having a trusted contractor was absolutely key.
Austin gave us the opportunity to stretch creatively and connect across distance. And now, there's a little piece of our design soul tucked into a home deep in the heart of Texas.
XO Jess
FROM OUR PORTFOLIO
In our renovation of an Austin, Texas, residence, we melded the materials we love with Spanish Colonial references to create a home that feels familiar to the family and fitting for their Austin neighborhood.
In many ways, the Berkshires and Austin, Texas, are worlds apart. Certainly, the local architecture of each place doesn’t align. That said, you’d be surprised how seamlessly the materials overlap.
"We found that the materials we so often incorporate into the homes we design in the Northeast—reclaimed wood, tumbled limestone, metalwork, Venetian plaster—actually merge seamlessly with the Spanish Colonial elements of our Austin project. The result is a home that feels both familiar to the family and perfectly in place in its Austin neighborhood.”
Our clients are a family of four from New York who relocated to Austin. Even after a long search, the home they ultimately purchased there didn’t feel like them. The supersized spaces felt nondescript and suburban with traditional architectural styles that didn’t make much sense. They wanted the warmth of the Berkshires, the edge of the city, and a playfulness that befits a young family.
The question then became - how do we create a home that felt true to their roots but would fit into their new life? We pared back the misplaced elements and established an identity that embodies the clients’ aesthetic with local context.
Here’s how we melded the rugged, natural materials and industrial influences of our signature Berkshires style with Spanish Colonial features that are perfectly in tune with the surroundings:
LAUREN AT THE STONEYARD
A VISIT TO OUR FAVORITE METAL FABRICATOR'S SHOP
Reclaimed wood infuses earthiness underfoot and overhead
We used reclaimed wood for the floors and ceilings, sourced from The Hudson Company in Pine Plains, New York. The hand-milled, wide plank floorboards feel proportional to the soaring spaces, anchoring them with warmth and earthiness under foot.
We also carried rustic wood up to the ceilings of some spaces. Wood planks wrap the upper walls and vaulted ceiling of the living room, humanizing the scale. The rustic wood beams we inserted do the same. Not only does reclaimed wood speak to Berkshires style materially, exposed wood beams are mainstays in Spanish Colonial architecture.
Spanish colonial elements add character and depth
For the formal entry, we modernized a traditional wood paneling and paired it with a bold wallpaper, transforming the once flat, empty space into a compelling starting point for the rest of the house. Bonus feature: Push the paneling in just the right spot and you’ll find the secret new guest suite we added to this Austin home.
Another example: the massive wood doors that we made custom for the primary suite. The scale and style are reminiscent of Spanish monasteries—complete with hammered nailheads and weathered patina.
“Our clients loved the location more than they loved the house. While we saw a lot of formality that needed stripping away, there was a hint of the old world that we wanted to keep."
Tumbled limestone is the epitome of quiet luxury
For extra durability without compromising the elevated aesthetic, we installed tumbled limestone floor tiles in the entry and kitchen. The kids, the friends, the sports equipment, and any number of guests couldn’t ruin this natural stone surface which is made to look weathered. Upkeep of tumbled limestone flooring is easy too.
Metal accents lean urban and industrial
At home, we’re heavily influenced by the industrial architecture of the Berkshires’ paper mills. Details made from steel help channel that sensibility. Here, we put a modern twist on it. In the husband’s office/gym—created by appropriating one of the garage’s four bays—we ran steel slats up the walls to wrap the vaulted ceiling. Paired with the concrete floor, which helps keep the temperature down, the vibe is almost loft-like.
For the stair rail, we used blackened steel that recalls the wrought iron detailing used on windows, doors, and railings of Spanish Colonial style homes. Here, however, rather than elaborately decorative, the design is spare. The blackened steel feels utilitarian (and thus very New England) as well as modern.
THE KITCHEN MOODBOARD
THE KITCHEN RENDER
JESS AND GRACE CONSIDER THE NEW HEARTH TILE
OUR CONTRACTOR IN THE NEW OFFICE
JESS in the framed out formal entry
ORGANIZATION IS KEY
JESS AND GRACE CONSIDER THE NEW HEARTH TILE
LAUREN AT THE STONE YARD
A VISIT TO OUR FAVORITE METAL FABRICATOR
THE PRIMARY BATH MOODBOARD
THE PRIMARY BATH RENDER
Venetian plaster wins for warmth and longevity
While stucco walls are a hallmark of Spanish Colonial style, they weren’t right for this more modern-leaning home in Austin. Instead, we covered the drywall with Venetian plaster, achieving a tactile luster that is both simple and refined. It conveys a modern European-meets-timeless Berkshires aesthetic.
Most importantly, plaster adds warmth to the vast Texas volumes. It is durable, long-lasting, and made with natural materials that blend beautifully with the rustic wood, metal, and industrial elements throughout.
"Melding contemporary influences of NYC and industrial and rugged influences of the Berkshires with a funky Austin vibe was the challenge."
We’ll be heading back to Austin later this year to photograph this home. We can’t wait to show you more!
Olivia Barnes
Olivia comes to JCI as a Design Assistant from her previous firm Hendricks Churchill. She also has experience on the editorial and brand creative sides through her work at ELLE DECOR, Boston Home, and Wayfair Inc.
New to the team
OUR STAFF STYLE PICKS
In honor of our signature Berkshires Style, this season we're highlighting a few of our favorite local makers.
Lauren
creative director
Maker: Olan Quattro
Olan Quattro is a local, mixed media artist whose current work explores human isolation and environmental change. I fell in love with her work at the Carrie Haddad Gallery in nearby Hudson, New York. We purchased two of her pieces for our 30 West project. They have both an earthly and ethereal feel. As collages, the layers offer a lot to discover. I particularly love that she incorporates old letters that her grandmother kept from besotted suitors.
Rachel
senior FURNISHINGS designer
Maker: Bossi Friedman
Bossi Friedman is an architectural millwork and fine furniture workshop that showcases exceptional craftsmanship. I love their unparalleled enthusiasm too. To them, almost any idea we come up with is achievable, and the process is smooth. The end result is always a beautiful heirloom piece.
Benjamin
SENIOR project manager
Maker: Joel Haynes
Joel Haynes is a decorative painter and muralist who creates one-of-a-kind works of art. We have been collaborating with him for years on faux finishes and custom murals. We are always excited about the creativity he brings to our projects.
Emma
FURNISHINGS project manager
Maker: Michael Robbins Studio
Michael Robbins is a furniture maker based in the Hudson Valley. We used these stools from his studio in our Austin project. Michael and his team are a pleasure to work with and every design detail is thoughtful. His pieces are functional, beautiful, and will stand the test of time.
Grace
project manager
Maker: Cedar Farms Wholesale
One the final day of an installation, as we sweep through the house shifting chairs an eighth of an inch and dusting the last corners of the highest shelves, we add the finishing layer: flowers. A well-placed arrangement of blooms brings liveliness and warmth to a room. It's also a gesture of welcome for the clients as they walk into their new home. For our local projects, we head to Cedar Farms Wholesale in Ghent, New York, where owners and sisters Marilyn Cederoth and Kate Swift have been growing, sourcing, and selling flowers since 1997.
Carah
Design Assistant
Maker: Clark Vintage Lighting
Todd Clark makes our lighting dreams come true. He welcomes every lighting challenge we present him with open arms and a deep breadth of knowledge. He refurbished the original chandeliers in Jess’s home in Great Barrington. He also rewires European fixtures and solves various lighting issues that inevitably arise during construction. He offers quality craftsmanship, a high attention to detail, and excellent client service.
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