Light Work Inside Modern Home
Words Christopher Ferguson, RA Photos Casey Dunn
Tucked quietly into the Cherrywood neighborhood, this modern Austin home proves that great design doesn’t have to shout. It was designed by Chioco Design founder Jamie Chioco. Moreover, the residence is a study in restraint—modest from the street, yet expansive, luminous, and deliberate once inside. With carefully-framed natural light and seamless indoor-outdoor living, this layout prioritizes calm and connection. Thus, this Cherrywood home is a masterclass in contemporary residential design. It naturally feels at home in East Austin.
From the street, this home doesn’t boast or insist on itself. Stepped, rectangular volumes sit back from the sidewalk. These volumes are measured and calm. They guide visitors toward an intimate crushed-gravel courtyard behind a gated slat wall. This wall glows at dusk.
The home’s siting and interiors are designed to pull guests inward. They deposit them into the belly of the layout. The layout consists of a series of cooking, dining, and living spaces. These spaces spill into each other and flank a lush backyard. The backyard is defined by a narrow, covered patio and a lap pool.
“The main thing that brings my wife and me so much joy is the natural light and how much it changes throughout the day,” says Jamie Chioco, the home’s designer and the founding principal of local architecture and interiors firm, Chioco Design. “A full-length skylight spans the kitchen, and when the light bounces off the Venetian plaster, it’s ethereal and always changing,” he adds.
In fact, daylight truly defines the home. By tucking the master suite and its amenities into its own, consolidated wing, Jamie was able to flood the heart of the layout with light and views. Light and views were carefully shaped from all directions.
Prefabricated, full-height window assemblies are placed at four critical right angles. These create moments where guests are rewarded with deep outdoor views through multiple layers of the home itself. These spaces are doused with diffused outdoor light. Simply moving through the home becomes a rewarding experience.
Jamie acquired the original property in 2000, having moved to the neighborhood four years earlier and rented nearby. After spending years in the ‘50s home that was original to the lot, he intimately understood his neighbors and community. He managed to live most of his life within a walkable, five-mile radius.
So, when designing the new home, he was deliberate about its appearance from the street. Rather than overpowering the neighbors with a grand gesture, the home steps back, sensitive to scale, proportion, material, and orientation. As a result, the home feels in keeping with the neighborhood, private and restrained, while blooming generously inward.
The same sensitivity guides Chioco Design’s broader practice. Jamie and business partner Christy Taylor, AIA, approach each project with an emphasis on contextual design attuned to natural and cultural environments alike.
Did You Know? Chioco Design has designed many local favorites like Torchy’s Tacos, Royal Blue Grocery, Paperboy, and more.
Worth Noting: The original 1950s house on the site was relocated within East Austin, avoiding demolition.
Contact:
1515 E Cesar Chavez St., Ste. 120
chiocodesign.com
@chioco_design
