After years of moving (and moving again) for work, one busy Texas couple was ready for a house to feel like home. “Our clients are a young couple, busy, hardworking individuals who live with their pups and are often visited by their huge loving family,” explains designer Chloe Legras of Boxwood Avenue Interiors. “This is a new build home located in Austin. It is located on a quiet street right off the main drag, with no neighbors directly across the street—just trees and nature. The area has so much going on, (ACL was happening during our install, with music playing in the background!), but it still feels like an oasis when you walk through the front door and look out at the backyard.”

The location was right, but the interiors needed some updating. “In the past, their homes were a bit blander, filled with whites, blacks, and beiges,” Chloe explains. “The client valued our European approach to design: layering old with new and creating a space with soul. We immediately clicked and began collaborating.”

The client requested color and personality in the house, seeking the expertise of Boxwood Avenue Interiors, which includes Senior Designer Gabrielle DiDonato, to bring it all together. “The client has amazing taste and supports local women’s art programs, so the collaboration felt very kismet,” the designer reflects. “The home needed to have comfortable areas to get work done, color while still feeling elevated, and a sense of serenity and calmness without being just white.”

While Boxwood Avenue’s scope was originally meant to focus on a few key spaces, it evolved to encompass the entire house and casita. The builder had an in-house designer who had done some initial concepts, but in the end, the space is decidedly fresh. “We ended up being involved in every room in the house, whether it was every finish in a room or just the artwork and hand towels in the bathrooms,” Chloe shares. 

The project took about 9 months from start to install. “Our client’s husband teared up a bit when he saw the home, exclaiming that they hadn’t had a place that felt like home before,” the designer smiles. “They loved how calm but visually interesting the furnishings and accessories were and loved how we incorporated color while still keeping it very chic and elevated. It was a moment of pure joy for them and for us as designers, reminding us ‘why’ we do what we do.”