SundayHaus

The recently completed and landscaped contemporary family home and studio is located in the Texas Hill Country just outside Fredericksburg. The three-bedroom, 2.5- bath home is conceived around the original German “Sunday houses,” offering weekend retreats for families leaving the cities for a weekend getaway.

Typically located on ranch lands close to town, Sunday houses were often composed of a main barn-shaped house framed by a series of attached porches. Homes were frequently expande as families grew, using local materials of stone and exposed wood rafters in a barn-like fashion.

Although a primary residence, the design concept followed vernacular buildings of the area with a contemporary focus, complete with shed-like structures that engage year-round outside living. The 2.5-acre parcel offers a hidden compound surrounded by mature oak trees bounded by a river to the east. Masonry stucco is used on the main building, and corrugated metal is used on the shed roofs and porch wings, which also feature exposed Douglas fir timbers and naturally rusting steel to continue the historical barn feel in a more contemporary way.