The first time we set eyes on the house on Colorado Blvd we knew it was the one for us. We called our realtor Amy Sack and told her we were ready to make an offer. We had not seen the interiors but we fell in love with the lush bamboo courtyard; This was a wild jungle that only we thought would be magical. We felt like we traveled to Austin, where there is an abundance of picoladas and thoughtful design. We decided to bring our Austin to Dallas, and no longer would we need to retreat far away.
When we got our first electrical bill we realized the house had two addresses. The opportunity became obvious, to create a space where other people could retreat the way we did in Austin. The whimsical memories of our escapades to charming places crossed my mind, and the concept of Sage and Light was born. Our sweet Airbnb that taught us our love for creating experiences for others. The goal was to create a space that would elevate others in the way I needed to elevate.
We got started with phase I. We knew we would be living in this 450 sq ft space while we renovated the other side of the home; we made sure besides being beautiful it was functional. We cleared up the space and re-designed it to have an open flow anchored by a fireplace wall. For weeks we debated if we should use a concrete tile or the nouveau mint tile from Zia. In the end, we realized the architect in us would pick the gray tile but the human choses the mint, and so it went! Pale wood floors and pale wood clad the original ceiling vault giving the space a serene vibe. We refinished the wood that was in the space and applied it on an accent wall in the living space. This is when we realized we would always try to apply repurposed wood in our projects.
The wood-clad windows we used throughout the house came to us in a magical way years previous. One day, on the way to Chipotle we saw an estate sale. We stopped by and found out everything was for sale (they were demoing the house next week). I went to the cashier and told them we were buying all the windows on the house (mind they all had priced tags) After paying they asked me how we planned to remove them. At that point, I realized the adventure I had gotten ourselves into. We found a very good team to uninstall them, all 40 of them survived and lived in a storage unit for about 2 years. This is the first space we used the windows in, they all fit so perfectly, like they were custom-designed. My favorite window is the one behind the bed. It feels like you have a bamboo forest headboard. The bath also has a large window that makes you feel like you are showering outside, within the bamboo; making you feel like a kid again.
When the space was ready we packed our bags like we were going on our favorite trip, we brought our favorite clothes, special candles, and a heart packed with excitement. This was all we really needed. Looking back, during our time in this space we were living thoughtfully, everything and everyone we brought into the small space was so intentional. At night we would sit in front of the fireplace with Hampton to sketch with a glass of wine, during the day I would have fun in the garden. Watched by Shiva. Shiva was a green lava stone statue from Indonesia that our friend John, from Stored Roots delivered to our space. It was the first thing we did here. Before starting work on the home we bought her and 6 guys delivered it to our crazy jungle courtyard. That was the beginning of our creations.
Going back to that day when we told Amy this was the house we wanted to buy. She insisted we had to see it first. During our visit, she has a cringe face. I don't know if it was all the boarded-up windows or the sign that said “If you come in I will shoot you” Haha. Someone else agreed. Our neighbors and now really good friends (Matt and Anthony) bought the house in front. everything about their new home was perfect, everything except their neighbor's eyesore house. Later on, Anthony told us how excited he was when our house finally had a sold sign, he said for sure they would demo this one. And then the dumpster came “Oh today is the day” Then he started seeing new windows come in,“oh noooo, why aren't they demoing it”?
In the meantime, we were making good progress in our middle space. We opened it up and lined the whole wall back with floor-to-ceiling windows (from our estate sale adventure). We wanted to be able to see the bamboo from every room in the house. We wanted to challenge the back yard concept (a space you only occasionally use), I wanted this space to be so in-your-face you felt grounded by the outdoors. Because of this, the house became very open, and the division of the space is delineated by a split level between the living and kitchen area. It's so cool how when we have people over we are all together (where the food is of course). In this space, we went all-out using reclaimed wood. The living room, bedroom, and lounge walls/ceilings glow with antique cedar. We re-cladded the fireplace with steel that was coated in a bronze patina. We offset the warmth with white oak kitchen millwork and stainless steel countertops. My favorite nook is the coffee bar: at some point due to space constraints, we had to decide if we should use this precious square footage for a stove or a coffee bar. The decision was easy, we chose what gives us joy every morning...glorious coffee routine! This space is where we live and get inspired every day. The most thoughtful and efficient 850 sq ft of space.
Our last project of the house was what we know now as Bamboo and Linen. An in-law suite/Airbnb on the side. This space is our Norwegian cabin. Lined from top to bottom with plywood. The bright original rafters that used to support the drywall ceiling, now are a layer between the concrete floor and the ceiling vault. This space also showcases estate sale windows that let the outdoors in. It has a spa bath with darker tones of stone, the scent of cedar and musk is a nice touch. One of my favorite elements is the antique mid-century fireplace between the bedroom area and couch, thank you Facebook marketplace.
