History of Frame House
"These old log cabins are so charming and so warm, I didn't want to recreate an old house; it just wouldn't look the same. A log house is always old if you use old timber."
(Click on photos to enlarge.)
Comprised of three old hand hewn log cabins transplanted from the east, the oak and poplar cabins match so closely that looking at the front of Frame house, it is as if the three buildings have always stood side by side. In reality, two of the cabins originally stood in Kentucky ,the third in Tennessee. Austin based architect Charles B. Travis helped create a seamless, flowing design, making it appear as if the home was always one unit, and that it always stood on this lake front property.
"After purchasing the cabins, 'what in the world was I to do with them!' They came on two flat bed trucks; just a pile of old logs that looked as if they should be on a burn pile. Only with the help of Charles Travis, my daughter (and business partner) Hilary Crady, and close friend, noted New York designer John Saladino, did it all come together."
The carriage house came to be a year later out of the need to give family and friends their own private space, as well as design space for Gloria and her assistant.
Frame was looking for someone not only to construct the cabins but to handle the stonework that would weave the buildings into a single structure. She finally tracked down a log house builder who looked as primitive as the logs themselves.
"It wasn't easy to find someone with this specific expertise. I wanted the construction to be as it was done originally, including the plaster walls and chinking between the logs."
All elements added to the cabins, including the connecting corridors, were done in stone that would contrast with the original timbers. In addition to the corridors, Frame added a breakfast bay off the kitchen with a beautiful view of the lake. A glass bay off the master bedroom also overlooks the lake.
Frame, an interior designer who works with both contemporary and traditional styles, wanted the wood to be the focus of the home's interior. The warmth of the cabin can be contributed in part to the massive hand hewn timbers that make up the walls of the three cabins. On the floor are 17 inch wide boards, reclaimed from a barn. The floor in the kitchen is flagstone.
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Contact information: -
Gloria Frame, Plus Two Interiors
(512) 264-9876 or Cell: (713)819-0253
2930 Travis Lakeside Drive, Spicewood, Texas 78669
