Texas Hill Country Architecture and Home Design

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Texas Hill Country Architecture

Texas Hill Country architecture has a long, consistent history and tradition.  Like most things Texan, architecture and design in the rolling hills of rugged limestone and clear water springs are distinctively and refreshingly different.    Some say it’s a blending of Spanish and Central European design.  We say it’s just Texas Hill Country style.

Visualize high pitched, standing seam metal roofs that sing during a welcomed rain.  Deep porches with wide overhangs catch southerly breezes and minimize solar gain.  Windows are large and oriented to maximize the views and bring in the light.  There’s usually a great room with a high ceiling and open beams where families congregate.  Smaller rooms branch off from the magnificent central living area like spokes or wings.  We like our dining rooms to hold a good size crowd.  Large, wood-burning fireplaces form a central place in most homes.

We like spaciousness and wide-open spaces both inside and out.  We often have informal designs, but with distinctive styles and understated grandeur.  Natural materials incorporate the splendor of the environment into our living spaces.  Residents in the Hill Country have been living in alignment with nature, using native products and eco-friendly methods long before it was popular mainstream.

We take advantage of that mild year-round climate that gives us plenty of sunshine.  Our outdoor rooms serve as extended living area for much of the year. Loggias, porticos, covered breezeways or pergolas are incorporated into most home designs.

TEXAS LIMESTONE

Texas quarries have been producing limestone for architectural purposes for over 100 years.  The native limestone walls, floors and fireplaces blend well with the limestone bluffs and ridges viewed outside the large windows most of us prefer.  For those building more sustainable custom homes, buying materials that are produced locally is significant. And thick limestone walls are great insulators in summer and winter.

Limestone is a sedimentary rock made up primarily of calcite deposited by the compression of small marine creatures, reminding us that millions of years ago the Hill Country was a warm, shallow inland sea.  Our limestone is primarily in shades of white, creams and grays.

RUSTIC IRONWORK

Ironwork is used often in Texas Hill Country architecture as well as in interior design elements. It can be something as simple as iron on a glass door, or rails lining a stairway, or a large chandelier.  Ironwork is used decoratively and is often seen proudly displayed as a large Texas star inside a circle, much like the badges worn by the early Texas Rangers who first instilled order in the wilds of Texas.  The Texas Rangers are the oldest state law enforcement agency in the nation and are a part of the mythology and history of the Old West.

WOOD AND OTHER NATURAL MATERIALS

Natural wood like cedar, pine, oak or pecan is also a mainstay in Hill Country homes.  It adds warmth to floors, walls, ceilings, and crafted wood built-ins from cabinets to mantles.  Wood is sometimes painted with artistic patterns on floors. Polished concrete floors are also colored to match the environment and may be painted with hand-rendered artwork.   Weathered old barn or other boards are often given new life in Texas homes, as are other building materials from past times.  Reusing pieces of history is a tradition.  Even discarded antlers from native deer have created many a unique dining or great room light fixture.

BELVEDERE IN THE TEXAS HILL COUNTRY

Belvedere on Hamilton Pool Road is a community of luxury custom homes on 1-3–acre home sites located on 443 acres that includes an 80-acre nature preserve.  Many fine examples of Texas Hill Country architecture can be seen in the homes at Belvedere, reflecting some of the best designs in central Texas.  Belvedere is a community that offers a state of belonging and cheerful well-being.

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