Readers with work on hold, take heart. A paused project can spring back to life, just as this Austin, Texas, house did. The home's owners commissioned architects Gary Furman and Philip Keil to design it almost 10 years ago, and lined up David Dalgleish as their builder. But before construction could start, an unexpected career opportunity arose for the clients in Los Angeles. They moved there instead, and Furman, Keil, and Dalgleish turned their focus to other projects.

Five years later, the clients returned to Austin, eager to pick up right where they had left off. And they did—with the same design and building team. Furman and Keil kept the home, known as the Terrace House, in its originally determined spot on the side of a steep, west-facing slope. There it captures treetop views and follows the site's contours, stepping gently down the hill. The 5,500-square-foot building's western end holds the master and guest bedrooms, while the eastern side contains the children's bedrooms and public spaces. Outdoor rooms extend the living area and blur the lines between the house and its lush natural setting.

Dalgleish often works with Furman and Keil, and believes their ability to control a home's relationship to the site sets their work apart. “To give these houses the kind of feel they have, Gary and Philip spread the house out a little, so there's more exterior wall,” he says. “There are windows on two to three sides of every room, and more views, light, and interaction of architectural details.”

A horizontally banded, cream-and-gray limestone wall cuts through the Terrace House on its east-west axis, serving as an organizing device. “The wall rakes across the landscape and marches down the hill,” Furman says. “It celebrates the slope of the lot and demonstrates the layering of materials from space to space and outside to inside.” This central design element extends up through the roof, and uses the same limestone that appears on the exterior walls and hardscaping.

While the home's siting and layout remained essentially the same as before, Furman and Keil fine-tuned the overall design to reflect the influence of the clients' years in California. “The configuration didn't change much, but the attention to materials and details was amplified,” Furman explains. “The owners came back with even more appreciation for the fit and finish of the house.”

Luckily for them, meticulous detailing is a hallmark of both the architects and the builder, who each excel in a town full of top-notch talent. “The best types of details, for me, are when you walk through the house and see lots of things you like, but afterwards you can't remember exactly what they are,” Dalgleish says. “Those subtle but powerful details add up to an impression.” For example, his team carved a continuous groove into the main east-west wall, where it meets floors of polished blue limestone and ipe. The floors' edges fit neatly into this groove, providing a clean, baseboard-free intersection.

The design and building crew also lavished attention on the pivoting front door, made of stainless steel and vertical-grain Douglas fir (see “Point of Entry,”). The 4-foot-by-7-foot door establishes a sense of drama in the entrance area, which is sheltered by a concrete lintel. One of Furman's own favorite details is the tall, narrow slot cut into a living room wall to provide a fleeting glimpse of the entry hall. “It's quite small, but it lets the space bleed and slide into the adjoining spaces,” he says. “We're really into connections between spaces.” A similar slot, filled in with glass, supplies a visual link between the high-ceilinged living room and a second-floor, screened-in porch.

Furman and Keil drew from the Texas Hill Country vernacular, incorporating the regionally traditional features and materials that made sense to them. The limestone, for instance, was quarried from the Lueders Basin near Abilene, Texas. A standing seam metal roof and deep overhangs ward off sun and rain. So do the shaded outdoor rooms—sleeping porches off the master and guest bedrooms, plus extensive covered terraces —that act as transitional zones between indoors and out.

Still, much of the Terrace House's detailing departs from the more rustic look that's popular in the area. “We don't think about ‘Hill Country' as a style at all,” Keil says. “We embrace some of the concepts, but we don't feel trapped by it.” Take the smooth, rectilinear limestone columns on the back porch. “In the Hill Country vernacular, they'd be made of timbers or stacked stone,” Furman says. “Ours are cut of Lueders stone, and they're monolithic.”

This tendency toward refinement permeates the house, from the polished concrete detailing in the kitchen to the treatment of wood on the interiors and exteriors. Rift-sawn white oak cabinetry, ipe floors, and Douglas fir windows, doors, and paneling all were sealed with clear finishes to let the characteristics of each wood species come through. Ipe also graces the handrail and treads of the steel central staircase—another painstaking detail worked out by the architects, builder, and craftsmen. “The steel is for strength, but everything you touch is wood,” Keil notes. The house is clearly modern, but the strategic deployment of wood keeps it warm and welcoming, rather than cold and austere.

Furman feels the frequent back-and-forth with Keil, the clients, and Dalgleish's team was crucial to the project's success. “We had great, open communication about what things were costing and where it was important to spend money,” he says. Keil agrees, emphasizing the builder's role. “The love of craft David brought to the table was phenomenal,” he says. “To do this project, we needed an engaged client and good people out in the field. We all needed each other.” That holy trinity of architect, builder, and client—a must for producing a beautiful, livable house—won't change, no matter where the housing market takes us.

Project Credits:
Builder: Dalgleish Construction Co., Austin, Texas;
Architect: Furman + Keil Architects, Austin;
Landscape designer: Big Red Sun, Austin;
Living space: 5,500 square feet;
Site: 2.2 acres;
Construction cost: Withheld;
Photographer: Casey Dunn, except where noted.

Resources:
Bathroom fittings and fixtures: Agape, Ceramica Catalano, Dornbracht Americas, Duravit USA, Franke Consumer Products, Kohler Co., Lefroy Brooks, TOTO USA, Vola A/S;
Barbecue pit/smoker: Texas Pit Crafters; Brick/masonry products: Alkusari Stone; Ceiling fans: The Modern Fan Co.; Dishwasher, oven: Miele; Entry doors, windows: Quantum Windows & Doors; Exhaust fans: Broan–NuTone; Glass tile: Walker Zanger; Hardware: FSB USA, Häfele America Co., Hettich FurnTech GmbH & Co. (ProDecor), Valli&Valli (U.S.A.); Refrigerators: Sub-Zero; Kitchen fittings: Dornbracht Americas; Kitchen fixtures: Franke Consumer Products; Lighting fixtures: Alkco Lighting, Cooper Lighting (Lumière), David Weeks Studio, FLOS, GINGER, Hunza Lighting USA, Lightolier, Nora Lighting, Rotaliana, Sistemalux, Solavanti Lighting, Tokistar Lighting, VIBIA; Paints/stains: Benjamin Moore & Co., Sikkens; Range, hood: Wolf Appliance; Warming drawers: Viking Range Corp.