Scandinavian Farmhouse Meets Texas Hill Country

So significant is this door to the overall design that the direct glaze contemporary windows on the second story were spaced to match the Multi-Slide’s vertical mulls. When the door is closed, the window’s vertical mulls line up. They do not, however, terminate at the apex of the hemlock-lined roof ridge, where the eye expects. Instead there’s a slight offset that mirrors White’s playful asymmetric interpretation of the farmhouse silhouette.

“We thought that was really fun to play with the asymmetry.” White said.

Another distinctive element is the 14-foot cantilever that shelters the patio. The plan originally called for this feature to extend out from the exterior wall of the home, fully shielding the outdoor living room beneath from the hot Texas sun. But White opted to cut out a four-foot section near the home to allow sunlight to penetrate the lower level through the Multi-Slide Door.

Interestingly, Margaret is one of two homes on adjacent lots designed and built concurrently by White. The other is called Folts. And while he designed each to have its own distinct identity, he also wanted the properties to relate to one another, as if siblings.

One of the key design elements shared by both properties is the use of Marvin narrow frame windows and doors.

Both homes are contemporary, but have markedly different points of view. One is mid-century modern, the other farmhouse. Despite the disparate design influences, Marvin narrow frame windows and doors serve both designs extremely well—and perfectly complement the architecture—which really impressed White.