David J. Neff - Weird Homes: The People and Places That Keep Austin Strangely Wonderful

Copyright 2018 by David J. Neff and Chelle Neff

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Neff, David J., 1977- author.

Title: Weird homes : the people and places that keep Austin strangely wonderful / David J. Neff and Chelle Neff.

Other titles: Weird Homes Tour presents Weird homes

Description: New York : Skyhorse Publishing, 2018.

Identifiers: LCCN 2017050972| ISBN 9781510723603 (hardcover : alk. paper) | ISBN 9781510723634 (Ebook)

Subjects: LCSH: Fantastic architecture--Texas--Austin. | Architecture, Domestic--Texas--Austin--Themes, motives. | Austin (Tex.)--Buildings, structures, etc.

Classification: LCC NA209.5 .N44 2018 | DDC 728.09764/31--dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017050972

Cover design by Jenny Zemanek

Cover photograph by Thanin Viriyaki

Print ISBN: 978-1-5107-2360-3

Ebook ISBN: 978-1-5107-2363-4

Printed in China

This book is dedicated to my mom, dad, and sister, who have always encouraged me to do my own thing, ever since I was eight years old. This book is dedicated to my wife, and founder of Weird Homes Tour, Chelle Neff. She is the most beautiful, intelligent, funny entrepreneur I have ever met. This book is dedicated to our amazing Weird Homes owners, who constantly surprise and delight us and our community with their art. And finally, because we are a community-minded, mission-driven company, this book is dedicated to all the affordable housing groups/nonprofits we invest in. Keep changing people's lives for the better. It's an honor to invest in you.

David

Contents

Find out how the Weird Homes Tour TM got its start and why this book serves an important purpose in preserving Austins wonderful weirdness in all its glory.

This fantastic, imaginative three-story house is an eco-friendly work of art, complete with towers, crystals, a wooden bridge, and an Elvis in Las Vegas master bedroom.

Built by hand out of burlap sacks and dirt, this eco-friendly, low-cost house is both affordable and sustainable. Just wait until you see what it looks like inside!

An art car in the driveway. A chandelier hanging from a backyard swing. At least twenty-three different colors used in the interior and exterior of the home. A rock star garden. Whats not to love about this incredibly unique house?

The owner of Austins quirky South Congress store Uncommon Objects has lived in his Travis Heights bungalow for a quarter of a century. And, just as youd suspect, its filled with unconventional treasures.

Fans of the show Friday Night Lights will recognize it as the home of character Tim Riggins but the owners have ties to another, very different television series: NCIS . Pull up a seat in the dental chair, place your cup on the Victorian casket-turned-coffee-table, and well tell you more.

A metal artist calls this Barton Hills treasure her home. In every sense, her house epitomizes the definition of art. Metal sculptures adorn every room, including a metal portrait of a famous Russian witch, Baba Yaga, that guards the library.

Artist Barbara Irwin has made a career of transforming castaway items into unique works of art, turning her house into a found object gallery in the process.

This East Austin one-bedroom, one-bathroom, 280-square-foot home was built out of a steel shipping container. This creative property also holds a chicken coop, a wood-burning hot tub, and a number of highly environmentally sustainable features combining high tech and low tech.

This collection of three 1930s bungalows and an 1880s Victorian Farmhouse is in a private, fenced compound filled with trees, flowers, herbs, and walking trails. For many years, it was a home for artists, entertainers, writers, philosophers and circus performers.

This college professor and ceramic artists home is packed with shrines to dead relatives, religious statuaries, Christmas decorations, and artifacts from many different countries and religions.

Is it haunted, or enchanted? This Gothic mansion, hidden in the hills of West Austin, has stained glass, hidden spiral staircases, secret closets, and a mysterious air.

An Austin professor turned a dumpster into a dwelling as part of an experiment conducted with his students. The result? Trash (container) turned treasure, equipped with air conditioning, cooking equipment, solar lighting, and a bug repellent system.

Bright colors, eclectic furniture, Betty Boop figurines, and a tricycle are all part of Aralyn Hughess surprising home. Theres a documentary about her called Love in the Sixties , a fitting theme for her home, too.

Warm and inviting, this relaxing house and yard were an experience visitors will never forget. The South Austin vacation home that once sat under majestic oak trees alongside Dawson Creek is recently gone, but its spirit lives on in murals around the city.

A chicken yard, two koi ponds, an aviary, an abundance of tropical and native Texas plants, and a rain collection system form this urban oasis. The lovely home ensconced in this oasis features oil paintings and other works of art.

Remember our beloved Professor Dumpster, aka Jeff Wilson of The Dumpster Project (chapter 12)? His time in the trash helped shape a vision of affordable urban housing that led him to his next project called KASITA. Who said weird cant be sleek and sophisticated, too?

What would an Austin Weird Homes Tour be without an homage to music? Welcome to live music producer Luis Zapatas home, where music is king but theres also room for meditation and a table encrusted with seashells.

Mobile Loaves & Fishes was already an Austin treasure. But then its 27-acre master-planned community called Community First! Village, providing affordable and sustainable housing to the chronically homeless in Austin, took shape. Now the nonprofit is a perfect fit for our tour, too.

Featuring an ark in the backyard and bright, whimsical decorations, this East Austin abode is home to Florence Ponziano who, for decades, has cared for neighborhood children. Her Comfort House is a safe and nurturing place for all who visit it.

We brought the Weird Homes Tour to Houston in October 2016 and the city welcomed us with open arms. From Tejano band La Mafias former abode to artist Bonnie Blues famous art house, take a sneak peek at our time in H-town.

Help us honor these homes and shine a spotlight on other homeowners who capture adventure, inspiration, and passion within their dwellings.