09/29/2026
FROM THE ARCHIVES 🎸 | Austin, 2017
Before the perfect photo…there’s usually a whole lot of this. 😂
This one goes back to 2017, when I was regularly consulting and staging for a builder in Austin. We worked on dozens of properties together, but this house was special — it sold before it was even officially completed.
When we first walked the property, it was still very much a construction site. Boxes everywhere. Appliances covered in plastic. Dust on everything. I even remember a toilet sitting in the middle of the living room. 🚽
And yes, that's pretty normal in construction.
We were still making finish decisions — including selecting the tile for that dramatic fireplace wall — while everything was happening around us.
By photo day, the furniture was in and the house was staged, but look closely at that behind-the-scenes shot. The photography equipment is up, bins are everywhere, we're still working…and those gorgeous dark floors are covered in construction dust.
But that's part of what I love about this photo.
Because the finished photograph tells one story. This one tells the story behind it.
Since most of the homes we worked on were staged specifically to sell, this time we decided to have a little fun. The direction? Something with a little more personality — a rock & roll vibe for the Live Music Capital of the World. 🎸
We specifically asked for Bowie. A friend brought over guitars and amps. We mixed leather, chrome, s**g, sculptural pieces and just enough attitude to make it feel cool without turning the house into a theme.
And once the professional photos were finished?
We opened a bottle of If You See Kay w**e and toasted the project — a cheeky little nod to the F-U-C-K-it attitude of rock & roll. 🥂
Almost a decade later, I still love this project.
Trends come and go, but the projects I remember most are the ones with a story — the ones where the design reflects the house, the place and a little bit of the personality behind it.
This one was Austin.
And it rocked. 🤘
