Northumberland: A traditional Austin home with an oak-paneled library lounge
Residence (interiors)Austin, TexasPublished Updated
Northumberland is an Austin home for a couple with roots in Houston’s formal design tradition. They arrived with a clear aesthetic. The work was to bring it fully to life rather than decorate around it.
The brief
Some clients know exactly who they are. This couple wanted a home that was considered, proud to entertain and built to last. The Old Enfield architecture suited them. The work was to honor that sensibility without letting it stand still.
Scope
Interiors throughout, with a library lounge as the defining room: oak paneling and millwork, a fabric-lined ceiling and an antique fireplace surround.
The design
The library lounge defines the project. The oak paneling and millwork weren’t done by a trim carpenter. They were built by one of Cravotta’s longtime furniture makers, and the difference shows in the fit and the finish.
The ceiling is lined with paper-backed fabric. The fireplace surround is an antique brought from London, because nothing available locally had the right weight.
A room that needed to feel earned. It does.
- Collaborators
- Photography: Ryann Ford.
- Materials and makers
- Oak paneling and millwork by a longtime Cravotta Interiors furniture maker.