Granger House: Hillside Haven

One look at the lazy Colorado River with the mist-covered Texas Hill Country behind it was all it took. Kim Granger knew she had found the ideal waterfront property for building her Austin dream house. And one look at houses designed by Paul Lamb was all it took to know she’d also found the ideal architect. “I didn’t even know who he was,” admits Kim, president of a charitable foundation. “But I was driving around and saw a Mediterranean-style house I loved and knew that whoever did it had to be really talented.”

A couple of phone calls later, when Kim and Lamb met, he was as smitten by her five-acre property as she was. “I walked onto the site, and I couldn’t believe it,” he recalls. “There was a view of the river and the hills beyond. It was a hidden treasure, right in the middle of town.”

In the dining room, shown here, substantial chairs in hand-blocked linen offset the Persian rug’s formality.

Photographs by John Granen
Text by Helen Thompson

Design:
Architect: Paul Lamb, Paul Lamb Architects, 618 Lavaca St., Suite 1, Austin, TX 78701; 512/478-7316.
Interior designer: Fern Santini, Abode, 4414 Burnet Rd., Austin, TX 78756; 512/300-2303, fernsantini.com.
Lighting: Herb Schoening, Herb Schoening Interior Design, 2208 Sunny Slope Dr., P.O. Box 200925, Austin, TX 78703; 512/542-0033. Contractor/builder: Don Crowell, 5524 Bee Cave Rd., Suite J-1, West Lake Hills, TX 78746; 512/328-9974.
Landscape design: Tait Moring Landscape Architects, 6707 Bee Cave Rd., Austin, TX 78746; 512/327-6616.

Sources:
Table: Raymond Hemza, Hemza Designs, 512/707-9987, hemzadesigns.com.
Chairs (“Harley’’): John Saladino, 212/684-6805, saladinostyle.com.
Chair fabric (“Arabesque’’/Bark on Green Tea #2102/04): Rose Tarlow/Melrose House, 323/651-2202, trade only.
Persian rug: James Powell Antiques, 512/477-9939.
Mirrors; art; gilded French console table: owner’s collection.
Wall finish: colored plaster.
Chandelier: James Powell Antiques, 512/477-9939.
Lamps: Abode, 512/300-2303.