Fall is here in the Northern Hemisphere, also here at Houzz we’ve been craving cozy evenings snuggled up in front of the fire. What better way to do that than to have a fireplace right in your bedroom?
This Austin, Texas home is located right on Lake Austin. Architect Bob Wetmore of Cornerstone Group Architects worked with is customers to incorporate the appearance of a few of their favorite cities — San Miguel de Allende, Mexico — into their bedroom. Wetmore and the customers actually ended up spending almost a week in San Miguel to receive all of the inspiration they could. “They wanted to reveal what was so special about the insides and architecture of this exceptional town,” Wetmore says.
Cornerstone Architects
The room is framed by an elegantly arched entryway — a part of a foyer Wetmore built into the master suite. In many of the larger homes he layouts, Wetmore loves to make what he calls “The Master Foyer,” only a personal room that greets visitors as they enter the master suite. “It normally allows for more privacy, and it helps me frame the owner’s and guest’s first views into the space,” says Wetmore.
The tasteful and traditional fireplace and headboard dominate the decor. The headboard is a truly distinctive piece — created by converting front of a classic confessional booth by a Catholic church in Central Mexico. The fireplace has been hand-carved from two solid pieces of limestone: front and legs are just one bit, and the shirt is another bit.
Rustic hand-scrapped mesquite plank timber has been used for floors, while walls were given a exceptional treatment with Lipton tea! Employing black tea to tint white walls generates “a very clean, really even appearance,” says Wetmore. “It gave us the aged appearance we were heading for.”
The majority of the art is an assortment of handmade pieces from shops in San Miguel de Allende, while other pieces came in the owners’ extensive journeys, which only increases the area’s well-worn and worldly feel.
More spaces motivated by San Miguel de Allende:
Houzz Tour: A Modern Mexican Paradise
Kitchen of the Week: Warm Up By the Fire