The Texas House provides a high quality of living while being extremely economical. The size and shape of the footprint – 18’ x 32’– allow for single span framing across the short dimension. An extended truss roof framing system is easy and inexpensive to construct.

The two-story house has only four major rooms – living room and kitchen at the first floor, and two bedrooms upstairs. A central stair, open to the rafters, provides a sense of openness and at the intermediate landing, the house’s only bathroom, convenient to both levels. The small house area is extended by a series of covered outdoor porches. The galley kitchen has easy access to a rear patio where meals can be served beneath a canopy of trees. A small farmer’s porch echoes the intimate scale of the house, while the front porch follows the tradition of Austin, Texas homes. The rear deck has a pergola above for hanging plants and screening the sun.

The house is clad in low-cost, low-maintenance vinyl siding in a distinctive diagonal pattern, with accents of conventional cedar clapboards. By configuring the house with minimum needs for window openings, funds are reserved for glass front doors at the living room. A central dormer window at the front of the house is located at the top of the stairs to allow for convection cooling and to bring light into the center of the house.