My Houzz: Historic Textures Meet Modern Touches in Texas Hill Country
An oft-renovated former log cabin now features a soothing palette and nods to New Orleans
Sarah Hardin saw potential beneath the layers of add-ons in her Boerne, Texas, home. The home began life in the 1850s as a log cabin, but before the 1900s it had already accumulated three additions, including one in 1870 that incorporated limestone left over from the Boerne (pronounced Bernie) courthouse. All these additions resulted in a wonderful mix of textures, from the old cabin walls to the limestone to brick and shiplap, but it was time to blend them together when Hardin began her own addition and renovation.
Sarah collected her ideas in a binder filled with tear sheets and printouts of houses she found online and kept it organized room by room. “I called my book ‘The House Bible,’ ” she says. She had the design well planned before work even started. The result is a cohesive blend of colors and style, obvious in the open-plan family room and kitchen.
Sofa and chairs: Quatrine
Sofa and chairs: Quatrine
Sarah’s family is from the New Orleans area, and she credits her grandmother as being her biggest aesthetic influence. “I prefer a Southern style of architecture,” Sarah says. “It was easier to insert the New Orleans feel into the existing structure, which is original Hill Country.”
These influences can be seen throughout the house. “We used a little limestone in the addition, but we added reclaimed Old Chicago brick floors inside and out, wrought iron railing, round columns and dormer windows to make it feel more New Orleans or Southern,” Sarah says. “If I could have figured out how to have floor-to-ceiling shutters like you see in New Orleans, I would have!”
The vintage biblioteque and the cage pendant lamps over the kitchen island are French antiques from New Orleans, Louisiana. The color of the cabinet is original and worked perfectly with Sarah’s soothing palette of grays and blues.
Cabinet paint: Paper White, Benjamin Moore; island paint: Sterling, Benjamin Moore; Lyle backless bar stools: Crate & Barrel
These influences can be seen throughout the house. “We used a little limestone in the addition, but we added reclaimed Old Chicago brick floors inside and out, wrought iron railing, round columns and dormer windows to make it feel more New Orleans or Southern,” Sarah says. “If I could have figured out how to have floor-to-ceiling shutters like you see in New Orleans, I would have!”
The vintage biblioteque and the cage pendant lamps over the kitchen island are French antiques from New Orleans, Louisiana. The color of the cabinet is original and worked perfectly with Sarah’s soothing palette of grays and blues.
Cabinet paint: Paper White, Benjamin Moore; island paint: Sterling, Benjamin Moore; Lyle backless bar stools: Crate & Barrel
Off the family room and kitchen is a casual dining area with pendant fixtures over the table and antique gold sconces on the wall. The mix of metals and styles was intentional.
“I loved the freedom of using mixed metals,” Sarah says. “We wanted the house to have an ‘added onto over time’ feel to it. We have a little bit of everything. I found that playing with lighting and metal finishes ended up being one of my favorite things.”
Thomas OBrien Goodman pendant lamp, Visual Comfort; sconces: Aidan Gray; paint on banquette: Boothbay Gray, Benjamin Moore
“I loved the freedom of using mixed metals,” Sarah says. “We wanted the house to have an ‘added onto over time’ feel to it. We have a little bit of everything. I found that playing with lighting and metal finishes ended up being one of my favorite things.”
Thomas OBrien Goodman pendant lamp, Visual Comfort; sconces: Aidan Gray; paint on banquette: Boothbay Gray, Benjamin Moore
Because of Sarah’s embrace of the rich textures in the home, she chose to downplay the use of color. She felt it might feel like too much to have a lot of textures and colors competing for attention. “I absolutely kept the palette similar throughout the house to make the space feel calm and serene in spite of having so many textures,” she says.
Daybed: Aidan Gray
Daybed: Aidan Gray
The main hallway runs the length of the home and looks out onto a courtyard. The hallway includes a wet bar, wine storage and a game table. At one end sits a butler’s pantry-mudroom with a ladder for accessing high storage, as well as a passageway to the family room and kitchen.
Also off the hallway are a sitting room, a dining room, an entryway and a guest room, all of which are interconnected.
Lanterns: The Enchanted Home; bar cabinet paint color: Sterling, Benjamin Moore
Also off the hallway are a sitting room, a dining room, an entryway and a guest room, all of which are interconnected.
Lanterns: The Enchanted Home; bar cabinet paint color: Sterling, Benjamin Moore
The original cabin is now the home’s entryway. The log cabin wall, which the Hardins exposed on the hallway side, was covered in layers of plaster when they bought the home.
“Our original hallway design had built-in bookshelves and a reading nook,” Sarah says. “Once the log cabin was exposed we left it and ditched the built-ins.”
Lighting: Magnolia Market; table: Carol Hicks Bolton
“Our original hallway design had built-in bookshelves and a reading nook,” Sarah says. “Once the log cabin was exposed we left it and ditched the built-ins.”
Lighting: Magnolia Market; table: Carol Hicks Bolton
Off the entryway sits one of the original additions, part of which is now a sitting room. Sarah says it’s a favorite place of hers to read or gather with her girlfriends for a glass of wine.
The dining room walls are made of 1870s limestone, which gives the room a weathered patina. The table is a family heirloom, and Sarah had the slipcovers made for her chairs. The antique chandelier is from Sarah’s grandmother.
Slipcovers: LS Slipcovers
Slipcovers: LS Slipcovers
An outdoor table, built-in grill and smoker are located on a brick patio just off the kitchen.
Sarah says that saving the trees out back “made our house U-shaped, which allowed us to have a New Orleans-style courtyard in the back with Bevolo lanterns.”
The lanterns are all gas-lit, another nod to the home’s historical roots.
Chairs: Inmod
Sarah says that saving the trees out back “made our house U-shaped, which allowed us to have a New Orleans-style courtyard in the back with Bevolo lanterns.”
The lanterns are all gas-lit, another nod to the home’s historical roots.
Chairs: Inmod
The combination mudroom and butler’s pantry off both the kitchen and the carport is the perfect dropping-off spot for backpacks and jackets when the kids come home from school.
Light fixture: Ballard Designs; cabinet paint color: Boothbay Gray, Benjamin Moore
Light fixture: Ballard Designs; cabinet paint color: Boothbay Gray, Benjamin Moore
Sarah’s office is outfitted with custom floor-to-ceiling built-ins and a wall-to-wall desk. She also incorporated an area to store gift wrap that is both pretty and practical. “Nothing is wasted space,” she says. “The small personal spaces are fun to design.”
Light: Aidan Gray; cabinet paint color: Slate Blue, Benjamin Moore
Light: Aidan Gray; cabinet paint color: Slate Blue, Benjamin Moore
Sarah also didn’t skimp on design in the hard-working laundry room at the end of the brick hallway near the bedrooms.
Baskets: Rejuvenation; Kohler Brockway sink; cabinet color: Boothbay Gray, Benjamin Moore
Baskets: Rejuvenation; Kohler Brockway sink; cabinet color: Boothbay Gray, Benjamin Moore
The master bedroom features an alcove for the bed to tuck into, shiplap on the walls and ceiling, painted brick and a rustic beam. Behind the fireplace is Scott’s office and a screened-in porch overlooking the courtyard.
Wall paint: Classic Gray; brick paint: Sterling, Benjamin Moore; linens: Pine Cone Hill
Wall paint: Classic Gray; brick paint: Sterling, Benjamin Moore; linens: Pine Cone Hill
Built-in nightstands are cleverly concealed behind the brick wall, an idea Sarah saw online. She says it keeps all of the clutter that piles up on nightstands out of sight so the room always feels restful.
An antique corps deux was fitted with electricity and plumbing so it could be turned into a coffee bar.
Corps deux: Joyce Horn Antiques
An antique corps deux was fitted with electricity and plumbing so it could be turned into a coffee bar.
Corps deux: Joyce Horn Antiques
Sarah had the tile on the floor in the master bedroom made for this space in Mexico and designed the room around it.
“It is the Original Mission Tile Co., the same tile that was used in the McNay Art Museum” in San Antonio,” she says. “Encaustic tile is trendy right now, but actually for our area of the world, it is very appropriate and historic.”
Wall paint: Classic Gray, Benjamin Moore; artwork, Nostalgia Fine Art; bathtub: Michelangelo
“It is the Original Mission Tile Co., the same tile that was used in the McNay Art Museum” in San Antonio,” she says. “Encaustic tile is trendy right now, but actually for our area of the world, it is very appropriate and historic.”
Wall paint: Classic Gray, Benjamin Moore; artwork, Nostalgia Fine Art; bathtub: Michelangelo
His-and-hers vanities with honed Carrara marble counters provide ample storage for towels and accessories.
Sconces: Horn sconce in nickel, Visual Comfort
Sconces: Horn sconce in nickel, Visual Comfort
Tucker’s room has plenty of toy storage and a spindle bed that was passed down from Sarah’s great-grandparents in Louisiana. The flooring is wall-to-wall seagrass.
Desk and light fixture: Pottery Barn
Desk and light fixture: Pottery Barn
Thirteen-year-old Luke’s bedroom is the only room upstairs, giving him more privacy. A nook filled with cozy couches is ideal for video games and hanging out with friends.
Hanging light: Ballard Designs; sconces: Magnolia Market; bedding: Pottery Barn
Hanging light: Ballard Designs; sconces: Magnolia Market; bedding: Pottery Barn
Luke’s bathroom has an industrial-style mirror and sconces. Open shelving keeps towels nearby and a chalkboard gives Luke a place to jot down notes to himself.
Cabinet paint color: Mindful Gray, Benjamin Moore
Cabinet paint color: Mindful Gray, Benjamin Moore
The guest room has a shiplap ceiling and limestone wall, providing lots of old-world texture.
Light fixture: Aidan gray; linens: Pine Cone Hill
Light fixture: Aidan gray; linens: Pine Cone Hill
AFTER: The homeowners had the tongue-and-groove board ceiling painted, added brick and a railing and enhanced the exterior for a more Southern feel. Wicker chairs gathered around a fireplace turn the space into a hangout that can be used through the fall.
Chairs: World Market; ceiling fan: Horchow
Chairs: World Market; ceiling fan: Horchow
AFTER: The tin roof highlights the sound of acorns falling from the mature oak trees that surround the house. The Hardins planned around the trees when considering their addition — even extending the hallway to preserve the trees in the back courtyard.
One of the more impressive trees on the property now holds a treehouse designed by Hans Riedlinger of Hill Country Treehouses. The Hardins had the tree inspected before the treehouse was installed to make sure the house wouldn’t harm it. It’s a popular attraction during family birthday parties.
Pictured here is the family in the living room, clockwise from left to right, Sarah, Luke, Scott and Tucker. Sarah caught the design bug while renovating their home and plans to continue designing by helping friends with their projects. She chronicled their journey on her blog, Building Southern Charm. “I [wanted] every room to have a purpose and to also feel special,” she says. “This is our dream home.”
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See more photos of this home
My Houzz is a series in which we visit and photograph creative, personality-filled homes and the people who inhabit them. Share your home with us and see more projects.
Browse more homes by style:
Small Homes | Apartments | Barn Homes | Colorful Homes | Contemporary Homes | Eclectic Homes | Farmhouses | Floating Homes | Guesthouses | Homes Around the World | Lofts | Midcentury Homes | Modern Homes | Ranch Homes | Townhouses | Traditional Homes | Transitional Homes | Vacation Homes
Who lives here: Scott and Sarah Hardin; their sons Luke, 13, and Tucker, 6; their dog, Brutus; and their cats, Hugo and Sister
Location: Boerne, Texas
Size: 4,888 square feet (454 square meters); four bedrooms, 3½ baths
Year built: 1850
“I was always on the lookout for the perfect historic home that would provide enough space for me to make it a modern home,” owner Sarah Hardin says. Once she and husband Scott purchased this one, they began a labor of love and patience.
Sarah designed the home and worked closely with architect Ben Adam and builder Chris Godsey. It took about 2½ years of planning plus a year of renovation to transform the house. “I had been collecting ideas for years,” Sarah says. “We had architectural plans complete before we began.”
Countertops: honed Statuario marble; lanterns: Antiques de Provence; range: Lacanche