With the support of designer Amity Worrel, James Spindler and Mina Kumar finally have a place to call home. In the previous 10 decades, they’ve moved 11 times, from Chicago to New York to Hong Kong. “We’ve never owned a house before,” Kumar says. It is simply amazing for all of us to finally have a place and a city that we may call our home forever! It is everything we have ever wanted — even down to the little Eastern screech owl that lives at the owl box out back.”
After looking at more than 60 houses, the couple decided on this ranch-style home in central Austin. Its interior is a perfect reflection of this couple’s travels. Antiques and small mementos fill their home, emphasizing the couple’s eclectic background and style. A bright and colorful palette produces a lively feeling for their two kids.
The couple features much of the home’s success to the thoughtful and creative design of Amity Worrel. “Thanks to Amity, we’ve got a house that is remarkably personalized, beautiful and much better than anything we ever expected to own,” says Spindler.
in a Glance
Who lives here: James Spindler, Mina Kumar and their kids Rosemary and Louis
Location: Austin, Texas
Size: 3,000-square-foot, one-story house with 4 bedrooms
Team: Interior Designer Amity Worrel; architect Sherri Woolley Ancipink; Landscape Architect Ellie Reshetnikov; builder: Tenney Construction
Amity Worrel & Co..
Beautiful hickory hardwood flooring run from the entry to the living room, kitchen and dining room. An open floor plan connects the kitchen and living space, making it the perfect place for the family of four to spend time together.
Amity Worrel & Co..
Skylights flooding the living room with natural light. Colorful pillows, artwork and hot colours create a cozy sitting room for the family. The side tables and table lamps on either side of the couch came from Wildflower Organics, an Austin home shop.
An extension in the kitchen island provides a casual breakfast table. The table clear-coated pecan wood surface works well with the hickory flooring. Daughter Rosemary seems to concur.
Amity Worrel & Co..
Amity Worrel & Co..
Worrel selected honed white carrara marble for the counter tops of the kitchen. The island is a turquoise custom timber cabinet created for the couple.
A wall of 8″x8″ encaustic cement tiles in Architerra Studios adds a graphic element to the kitchen design. The cupboard and drawer pulls are from Push Pull Open Close Inc..
SLIC Interiors
Mementos in the couple’s travels rest on these open shelves linking the living room to a small sitting room. Gorgeous stone encircles the shelves. Paired with the Spanish tile floor, the space reflects the eclectic nature of the home.
A stone fireplace divides the living room and dining room, creating a personal area for the formal dining room.
From the entryway, a classic Arts and Crafts washstand introduces guests to the customized style of the home. Kumar purchased this bit at a consignment shop in Dallas.
On the dining room wall hangs a painting by Kumar’s mum, Dallas-based artist Suzan Kumar. The couple found the wood table on the road and gave it a second home.
SLIC Interiors
Spindler and Kumar chose a Spanish terracotta tile for the bedrooms. A corner in the master bedroom provides a cozy reading area.
SLIC Interiors
These beautiful twin classic wood carved beds within their daughter’s bedroom were located in an antique showroom at Dallas.
SLIC Interiors
Spindler and a friend built this treehouse from the family’s backyard for the children to enjoy. The treehouse was Spindler’s first wood building project and it took him over a year to complete. Kumar says,”We love entertaining and constantly have traffic, and our house and yard today feels like a great house for parties”
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