A Dated Lake Austin Home Gets A Welcomed Touch Of Flair

I became an interior designer because I like to make things beautiful,” Claire Zinnecker says. So, when her clients approached her about renovating an outdated 1990s hillside home overlooking Lake Austin, she didn’t flinch at the work it demanded. “We faced some challenges, and it required problem solving to make things attractive,” she admits. “But this project made me fall in love with design all over again.”

Working with architect Hugh Jefferson Randolph and builder Tim Hill, Zinnecker ingeniously “found” space without changing the home’s footprint. Reconfiguring the upstairs allowed for an expanded primary suite, while raising the roof made way for a two-story living room. On the main level, the team opted to move the staircase to improve the flow of spaces. “The orientation of the original stairway guided you directly upstairs, making it feel like the bedroom was a public space,” Zinnecker explains. Now, a curved stair set back from the door makes the transition to the second level more subtle and encourages the family and their guests to gather downstairs, all while adding a sculptural note that catches the eye upon entering the house.

“This house is all about making practical living gorgeous.”

–CLAIRE ZINNECKER

In furnishing the entertaining spaces, Zinnecker aimed to introduce a touch of elegance. “Originally, the clients were focused on midcentury style, but, as we progressed, they became open to new aesthetics and pieces that were a little more glam,” she says. Playing to the graceful curves of the new stairway, she chose a limestone console and an antique mirror, then added an Italian crystal chandelier at the husband’s request. “It’s beautiful, and you can see it glowing as you’re walking up to the house,” she says.

In the living room, the designer focused on making the new double-height space feel welcoming. “We needed to make it a more human scale,” she explains. The room also needed to be kid-proof. The large sofa—which has two sets of removable covers for easy cleaning—round coffee table and vintage leather chairs allow more fluid motion. “The family constantly moves through the house, so curves help things flow better,” she says. Just off the living room is the wife’s office, where Zinnecker added open shelving and closed storage as well as a comfy sofa where mom and kids read together.

Zinnecker carried the living room’s neutral palette into the dining area, where she turned a fireplace wall into a marble-lined niche fitted with a walnut buffet. The result: convenient drawers for table linens and entertaining essentials, as well as a sleek display space. “There wasn’t a ton of storage in this house, so we made the most of each area—I used every little trick I have,” the designer shares. In the adjoining kitchen, she took a sophisticated but utilitarian approach, wrapping the walls with oak and topping the counters with quartz, both durable materials.

When it came to the family’s private spaces, Zinnecker leaned into what matters most to the young parents: education. On the home’s lower level, the designer converted a windowless media room into a library stocked with kids’ books and a sleeper sofa perfect for curling up with a story. There’s plenty of play space, too, with a large table for puzzles or games. “You need those ‘active’ spaces for kids to be wild,” she says. Zinnecker also turned the cramped, dark bedrooms into cheerful retreats, each with its own built-in study area. “It was like a cave down there, but now those spaces are tailored for this family,” Hill adds.

Upstairs, at the top of the voluptuous new stairway, sits the ultimate parental hideaway. The room’s long, rectangular shape necessitated some design savvy from Zinnecker and Randolph. By placing the bed at the far end of the room, overlooking the lake, they accommodated a television nook on the opposite side. “The husband is a movie fan, so we wanted to make a really beautiful space with hidden speakers,” Zinnecker shares. The team lined the room with built-in cabinetry and added a vanity. “It feels like a hotel suite,” she says.

Entertaining is a priority for the family, so Zinnecker carved out elevated outdoor living spaces: A set of chaise lounges lines the pool, and a pergola houses the grill and dining area. “We squeezed everything we could out of every single space,” she says. “This house is all about making practical living gorgeous.”