Tour a Unique, Modern Victorian Home

Adam Talianchich and Ashley Menger wanted to live in Austin’s French Legation neighborhood for years — some of the city’s oldest homes are in the area — but there was one big problem: The properties almost never come up for sale. The couple waited ... and waited … and finally, in 2015, when Ashley was eight months pregnant with their second child, a listing popped up for a small 1960s-era home. “It was in terrible shape, essentially a teardown,” says Adam. He and Ashley run a design-build company, Hatch Works, so they were up for the task. They demolished the structure and built a 2,500-square-foot modern Victorian that blends in with the older homes in the area but also stands out, thanks to bold colors and an eye-catching roofline. “We have a steep roof and dormers, which created a lot of pitched interior ceilings, and we just kept following that triangular theme,” says Ashley. “Adam had an idea to make some interior doors triangular, and we also added a triangular shower nook. Basically, whenever we had a design decision, we just ‘put a triangle on it.’ ”

“A fireplace was at the top of my wish list,” says Ashley, “so we designed a lot of the home around that.” She and Adam paired graphic black-and-white tile from Cement Tile Shop with a wraparound wooden hearth. (Their dog KitKat often naps here.) For the adjacent stairwell, Ashley liked the “modern and playful” vibe of Aimée Wilder’s jungle-print wallpaper. “Looking at it every day gives us so much joy.” The sconce is by DL Designworks, and the ottoman is from Safavieh.

The couple’s two kids, Gia, 11, and Marlo, 8, love dancing and running around, so the space called for fairly indestructible items. The leather couch from CB2 has stood the test of time, as have the Bed Bath & Beyond ottoman and deceivingly soft white indoor-outdoor rug from Wayfair. For the walls, Ashley chose Rara Forma sconces, a vintage pennant and a painting from a local gallery. The trunk is an antique.

Adam fell in love with French Lacanche ranges on a client’s project and knew he wanted one for his own kitchen. Ashley chose the perky green color scheme: “I was tired of black-and-white kitchens,” she says. The handprinted Paper Mills wallpaper evokes the tropics. The rugs are from West Elm, the pendant is RH, and the stools are from Campos Iron Works.

Adam and Ashley don’t believe in a huge primary bedroom. “It often feels like unused space,” Ashley says, so they kept theirs on the smaller side and bought a West Elm bed (reupholstered in mohair and outfitted with CB2 linens) that fits the window bump-out. They chose a Venetian plaster finish in dusty pink for the ceiling and walls and accented it with black paint to give the impression of wainscoting. The striped rug is from Safavieh.

Custom peaked doorways, a nod to the dormers on the home’s exterior, add drama to this second-story hall. The sconces are from Schoolhouse.

The light-filled space has what Ashley calls a “1920s New York hotel feel,” with starburst-pattern floor tile by Cement Tile Shop, a Carrara marble vanity top and Newport Brass hardware. The shower is a huge luxury: It has double shower heads and is home to two staghorn ferns.

“We’d been dying to use one of these giant steel windows,” Ashley says, and this third-floor office was just the spot. Everyone works at the built-in desks (the chairs are from West Elm), and when the day is over, they hang out on the balcony and watch the sun set over the city skyline.

The neon coral color scheme is “no-joke bright,” Ashley says. It was inspired by the Jujujust weavings over the beds. The rug is Unique Loom, and the light fixture is from Sazerac Stitches.

Ashley and Adam created two separate spaces in this room for Gia and Marlo. They can bunk together when they want to, but big sister Gia has mostly claimed the smaller area up the steps as her own.