Soaking up the Sun in This Central Texas Home

This new build seamlessly integrates indoor and outdoor spaces by utilizing an abundance of natural light and key MCM features.

“Around here, this is fairly unique,” admits architect and builder Pax Chagnon of the three-bedroom, four-bathroom, Mid Century Modern-inspired home in central Texas. “It’s not built in the conventional way that most houses are.”

But that distinctive look makes this home shine all the more.

palm trees stand in front of the exterior of a mid century modern home that has floor-to-ceiling glass windows — As the sun begins to set, the home’s floor-to-ceiling windows give it a magical look, providing an excellent view for late-night pool “hangs.” In the evening, “as you’re approaching the front door, everything—especially at dusk—is illuminated; it just glows like a lantern,” architect Pax Chagnon points out.

exterior of a mid century modern home located in central Texas — When entering the wooded, 20-acre property from the road, one of the first things you notice is the sleek, mid-century silhouette of this central Texas home. “Around here, this is pretty unique,” says Chagnon.

The home was built in 2020 and is located on a wooded, 20-acre plot west of San Marcos, Texas, in an area of the state referred to as “Texas Hill Country.”

open gate with a geometric metal screen — The geometric metal screen and gate provide the first—and limited—glimpse of what lies inside. Only after walking through them does the entirety of the home begin to be revealed, and you see the courtyard, pool and the floor-to-ceiling windows of the home.

One of the home’s defining features is its inviting courtyard, which holds a pool and multiple spaces for lounging and entertaining. The courtyard sits at the front of the home, but it still feels quite private—thanks to a surrounding wall and gate.

an outdoor walkway that has a rug, mid century modern seating and a round table — The courtyard is surrounded by an elevated walkway, which provides space for seating and entertaining and acts as a “hallway” to step down into the main pool area. Pax says it mimics the look of the sunken living rooms that were popular in mid-mod homes decades ago.

“The concrete wall and the metal screen support the ‘sequence of entry’ so you don’t necessarily see everything right away,” Chagnon points out.

Instead, you’re rewarded with a slow unveiling of the home. After exiting your car in the nearby carport, you walk up to the concrete wall and geometric metal screen and enter through the gate. Then, the sun-filled courtyard and pool are suddenly revealed. Even so, you must continue to walk along the elevated walkway bordering the courtyard to enter inside and see the home’s equally daylight-filled indoor space.

Bring in the Light

Daylight was one of the key considerations of the central Texas home’s design process. The orientation of the house (which sits perfectly on the north-south axis) was purposely chosen to take advantage of the sunshine: Once the sun hits the courtyard around midmorning, it receives uninterrupted, shadow-free light until the sun finally begins to set later in the day.

“The whole house is designed around the pool, and it was something that was important to the owners,” Pax explains. “The lady of the house really wanted to be able to sit out by the pool and soak up the sun—of which there’s plenty in central Texas!”

mid mod dining room with red/orange chairs surrounding a round Saarinen table — The bold Saarinen table provides a fitting centerpiece to the home’s dining area and further adds to its mid-century look. When adding the finishing touches to the home, Pax laughs as he recalls strict instructions to his team about not placing any tool or odds and ends on the pristine table: “We told everyone, ‘Do not set anything on the Saarinen table. Don’t even look at it!’”

Inside, daylight plays an equally important and carefully crafted role. The large, south-facing glass windows that surround the courtyard are protected from hot, direct sunlight by a 13-foot roof overhang. This allows light to still flood the space without having to worry about the daylight’s accompanying heat. The purposeful use of sunlight in the exterior and interior demonstrates Pax’s careful attention to detail.

”The solar exposure… and daylighting design in this home were aspects that we studied and calculated.”

Making it Mid-Mod

This central Texas home also proves that new builds can have plenty of standout MCM style. The focus of sunlight, as well as the floor-to-ceiling windows, create a strong sense of indoor-outdoor living, blurring the border between what’s inside and what’s not.

walk-in shower with teal, vertical tiles and a wood plank floor — The home’s primary bathroom continues the theme of placing a high emphasis on natural light via its shower window. The bathroom window looks out onto the 20 acres, but it offers plenty of privacy, because the home is “in the middle of nowhere. There are a lot of deer wandering around, but that’s about it,” Pax says.

vanity mirror stand in a bathroom with palm tree wallpaper — The home’s pool bathroom features another unique source of light—a showstopping light fixture. Although this bathroom is a small space, Pax still sought to bring in curated details that took it to the next level.

The post-and-beam structure of the home adds to its “throwback” look. Richly toned glulam beams run perfectly north-south along the ceiling. (The installation of the beams involved a unique process: “A crane flew the beams in,” Pax says. “This doesn’t happen around here too much. It was a fun process.”)

mid mod office with a blue couch, red chairs, a large window, and a brown bookshelf — The home sits on 20 acres of beautifully wooded land in “Texas Hill Country.” The home office has a peaceful, north-facing view of the secluded woodland. Inside the office, which acts more as an overflow office for the owners (who have their own offices elsewhere), there’s “storage for files and a hidden wireless printer, but it’s not really a working office at this point,” according to Pax.

brown bar with two blue barstools, located near the living room in a mid mod home — This central Texas home features a bar area near the living room—perfect for entertaining and a fun homage to retro homes of old. “The vibe of having a bar in your living room is kind of fun, and it relates to the MCM era a little bit,” Pax offers.

The selection of the furniture inside provides additional MCM details. One of the most notable pieces is the stunning Saarinen table in the dining area. Nearby, a Zircon fireplace from Malm celebrates retro style and is the ideal finishing touch to the living area … despite the challenges of getting the fireplace from California to Texas in the middle of the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Pax.

mid mod kitchen featuring an island, two barstools, floor-to-ceiling cabinetry, and double wall ovens — The stunning kitchen is slightly tucked away from the main living area of the home, allowing for better definition of space and encouraging the courtyard and pool to be the main gathering spaces of the home. “We were trying to create a balance via which the kitchen is still accessible. Even so, it doesn’t try to ‘steal the show’ from the courtyard,” Pax says. “The kitchen is not the center of attention as it is in many homes today.”

When reflecting on the design and build processes of this home, one of the biggest takeaways for Pax was how carefully the exterior space was shaped and created in relation to the interior.

“Throughout the design process, attention to design was given equally to the interior and exterior experiences,” he notes.

This balanced approach certainly paid off!

Designing With Daylight

When creating and designing spaces in your home, don’t forget about sunlight! Allowing for natural light is a powerful tool that can set the mood and highlight key features in your space.

floor-to-ceiling glass windows that separate a mid mod living room from an exterior courtyard — The indoor living area provides a nearly seamless view of the outdoor courtyard. The doors open up to allow easy access to the pool and further the home’s indoor-outdoor living. The glass wall brings in plenty of light, but it’s protected from any harsh, direct sunlight—thanks to the 13-foot roof overhang above it. “The porch has a 13-foot overhang that shades all that glass. The exterior space and porches protect the interior space,” Pax points out.

Here are three aspects to think about when considering sunlight and your home design:

Chasing Shadows. Do a “shadow study” of sorts: Look at how light hits and reflects a certain part of your home throughout the day, and take note of what shadows are cast from the outside.
Think Green. Consider how to provide light without sacrificing energy efficiency. You can build large overhangs such as architect Pax Chagnon did in this central Texas home. Alternatively, you can opt for a more user-friendly solution with strategically planted trees, which can create shade, or via semi-opaque white window shades that let in muted, indirect sunlight.
Keeping Privacy. Large windows are great for daylight, but they can create privacy issues as the sun begins to set. This can be prevented with sleek, hidden window shades that come down at night; or, you can use tinted windows for a similar effect.

Love this Texas home? Check out related articles like Architect John Chase, A Groundbreaker Of Modernism In Texas; Kimber Modern: Comfort Deep In The Heart Of Texas; and Mid Century Modern Living In Lively Austin, Texas.

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