Proper Terrace Penthouse

They were leaving a home on a wooded lot and worried a highrise would feel cold. That concern became the brief.

A private residence at Austin's Proper Hotel, taken down to the studs and rebuilt from scratch. Every surface and piece of millwork was designed specifically for this space. The clients were trading a larger home on a wooded lot for downtown Austin, and they had real concerns: that it would feel clinical, impersonal, sterile in the way that new construction often does. Those concerns became the brief.

The kitchen is finished in black tile, precise and low-contrast until the light shifts, then quietly dramatic. Custom shelving along one wall is built from perforated steel and colored glass panes, filtering the view without surrendering the light. The shelving is functional and sculptural and specific to this exact room.

Every architectural detail and furnishing was made by hand, by people who understood what they were making. The result is a downtown residence that feels like it has always been lived in, which is the hardest thing to achieve in a space that did not exist before.

Photography by Ryann Ford. Stylist: Adam Fortner. Architecture: Sanders Architecture.