I know everyone loves a good converted church. This is also a great example of the kind of great deals that are available right now. This exact house sold just over a year ago for more than $150k higher than the current asking price.

Price: $845,000

Details: 1,703 sf, 3 Bed, 3 Bath

These 6th and Brushy condo’s tend to fly under the radar, and I think it’s mostly because they don’t have a lot of turnover. I think they are well designed and you’ve got to admit that the price point is pretty enticing.

Price: $357,000

Details: 701 sf, 1 Bed, 1 Bath

You’d be hard pressed to find a modern home in Austin that is a better deal than this. Designed and built by PGM Design Build it sold for nearly $500k above the current list price just two years ago. Yeah, someone is getting a good deal.

Price: $875,000

Details: 1,971 sf, 3 Bed, 3 Bath

This east side mid century modern home looks like it could use a few aesthetic updates on the inside, but you’d be hard pressed to find a cuter house for the price. Big lot, great style, great location. Bring some sweat equity and it’s the perfect starter home.

Price: $360,000

Details: 921 sf, 3 Bed, 1 Bath

This one happens to be in a great East Austin neighborhood. It’s about as walkable as it gets for the east side. It actually looks like pretty good value as well, it even already has a pool installed.

Price: $1,365,000

Details: 2,300 sf, 3 Bed, 3 Bath

As much as I love a stark modern home there is still a lot of love in my heart for a well decorated eclectic bungalow. To me these will always be quintessential East Austin. Speaking of East Austin, great location on this one too.

Price: $725,000

Details: 1,230 sf, 3 Bed, 2 Bath

There is lots of talk, especially in the design community, about the benefits of an ADU (accessory dwelling unit). I for one still think they are the most bang for the buck you can get in town, that is if you only need 2 bedrooms.

Price: $649,000

Details: 954 sf, 2 Bed, 3 Bath

Could “modern Tudor” be the new modern farmhouse? I feel like this is a trend I’m seeing more and more of, and much like modern farmhouse I’m here for it. I especially appreciate this style in historic neighborhoods where modern can be such a contrast.

Price: $929,000

Details: 1,854 sf, 4 Bed, 3 Bath

This one may look like a classic East Austin bungalow on the outside, but inside is a very different story. It looks like every square foot of this house has seen a major update, and a good one at that. I really love the single story floorpan on this one.

Price: $829,000

Details: 1,724 sf, 3 Bed, 2 Bath

You gotta love a super classic East Austin Craftsman house, especially a well updated one like this one. Great location and a decent price on this one as well.

Price: $675,000

Details: 1,262 sf, 2 Bed, 2 Bath

Today is the official first day of summer, which means it’s only going to get hotter here in Austin. A lot of my clients that are moving to Austin from cooler states ask me how the summers are here, and I never sugar coat it. It’s hot. Very hot. You’re going to sweat a lot, and your’e going to need to cool down.

Luckily there are two very good solutions to both those problems. Swimming, and deliciously refreshing summer time drinks. Over the years I’ve shared a lot of my favorites on my newsletter so I’ve decided to do a big round up here of how to survive a summer in Austin.

Perhaps one of the most ironic parts about our house is that the focus from the very beginning has been the inner courtyard, and yet somehow it has been the last thing to be finished.

Because of budget reasons the pool and all our landscaping for the back yard didn’t get completed with the house. That doesn’t mean that we weren’t planning ahead though. Our guest house is at the exact level as the main house, which meant until now it has been sitting awkwardly above grade. The pool that we added a year ago was also at the same level, meaning it too stuck above grade making it look like an above ground pool. There were also stub outs for gas and electric to go to the back yard.

I have a confession to make, I’ve been holding out on you. It’s partly because I’m lazy, and partly because I’ve wanted to keep it all to myself. It’s time to come clean though and introduce you to House of St. Clair. I’m not a particularly fashionable guy, but I’ve always thought that menswear is feeling fairly stagnant these days. That’s exactly what got me so excited about HOSC. They take deep inspiration from the past (like their Detroit influenced fall winter collection) but execute everything with a contemporary twist.

Last year I was fortunate enough to have some talented friends over to help document our house and capture a few of my thoughts about what makes a good space. If you haven't already seen the gorgeous photos taken by Andrea Calo stop what you are doing right now and check them out here. 

Special thanks also goes out to Sisterwolf for getting me in front of a camera and picking my brain a bit about why I love architecture and the work I do. 

When it comes to barbecue Texas takes itself very seriously. Here barbecue is all about beef brisket and when it comes to brisket Franklins is king. I'm not here to dispute any of that, what I am here to do is to make a confession. I love ribs. Delicious, falling off the bone, smothered in barbecue sauce ribs. I'm not alone obviously and most of the well known barbecue places in town offer ribs as well, but if you are looking to avoid the lines and get some finger licking delicious smoked meats, there are some new kids in town to help you out. Meet J. Leonardi's Barbeque.

I know a lot of you have been patiently waiting for photos of my house finished. There are a few tiny projects I'm finishing up still and then I promised I'll share. In the meantime we are finally at a good stopping point were I think it would be fun to stop and look at how far we've come. The two biggest questions I get about my house are how long did it take, and how much did it cost. So let's start with the first. I've broken down a rough timeline below of major milestones and noted where we could have moved faster. Cliff notes: it takes a long time to build a house.

Tis the season of music festivals and art shows! Really this is one of my favorite times of year in Austin. East Austin Studio tour is always a highlight and I'm excited to check out all the great talent in this city. This year I'll be kicking things off attending ARTBASH. Never heard of it? We'll it's about time. This is the second annual event and it looks like it's going to be a good one. I'm particularly excited about the venue as well.

Keep your eye on my instagram for a chance to win two tickets or buy your own here.

Austin may be well known for its music scene, but it also has a flourishing art scene that deserves attention. Despite having lots of legitimate local talent I've always felt like the city has been lacking a bit in exhibitions with well known national and international artists. Don't get me wrong, The Contemporary does a decent job but I'm super excited about the good work that POP Austin has been doing in the contemporary art scene here in Austin. That's why I'm super excited to be giving away 10 weekend passes to this year's show. So let's get to the details:

It's crazy to think the last update was all the way back in February. Since then a lot has changed. It's still not much to look at from the street, between the dumpster, the fence and all the scaffolding. We're just waiting for the rain to pass so we can do our last coat of stucco. It's a white stucco with integral color, when finished it almost looks just like white concrete. With that and some metal screens that we have planned over the windows it should be looking lots better soon. You can see now that thanks to it being set below grade it doesn't look too imposing, despite being two stories. I parked my classic Range Rover there to help you with scale. :)

This week marks the beginning of SXSW 2016, also know to locals as "everybody please get the fuck out of my town". About this time every year I start to see a bunch of top 10 lists pop up about where to eat and drink in Austin. Most of them are pretty solid, and they definitely cover the basics but the reality is they barely scratch the surface of what Austin has to offer. This year I wanted to take a different approach and talk about some of my favorite places to eat and drink in east Austin that you will probably never find on a top 10 list, but absolutely deserve to be.