Posted: Sat, 19 Feb 2011 12:00 AM - 8,462 Readers
By: Michele Chan Santos
What:This timber-framed, three-story house on Lake Travis has the rustic, inviting atmosphere of a Colorado cabin. The white pine and walnut wood on the interior walls has a warm glow, lighted by floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the lake.
The homeowners are Paul Grayburn, the director of cardiology research at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas, and his wife, Rose Heicken, a former occupational therapist.
The couple bought this 6.02-acre lot in 1997 in order to build a second home (their primary residence is in the Dallas area). Construction finished in 2004.
The main body of the house was built using timber-framing construction. In this type of building, no metal nails or studs are used. Instead, massive beams of red oak were joined using mortise-and-tenon joints. "Huge drills drilled cured oak pegs through the beams," Heicken said.
She and her husband chose this method of construction because "it's long-lasting. Homes from centuries ago in England and New England are still standing" because they were made with the timber-framing method, Heicken said.
Their home is considered a hybrid, she said, because although the greater portion of the home was built using timber framing, the lowest floor was created using more conventional building methods.
Heicken has many fond memories of family gatherings at this lake house.
"What I love is when you go in, you can stand there and just say ‘Ahh,' " she said. "It's a room with a view. I can cook and do dishes and see deer, foxes, roadrunners and bluebonnets."
This home has four bedrooms and 31/2 bathrooms, with 3,645 square feet.
Where:1021 Thurman Bluff Drive, Spicewood 78669
Amenities: This property includes 110 feet of lakefront on the main body of Lake Travis, in a deep-water area. The house has a covered porch with a hot tub and a two-level ironwood deck. The lot includes a wet-weather creek and a natural area with many wildflowers. There is a three-car garage.
Agent:Peggy Schatz, Keller Williams-Lake Travis
Asking price: $999,000
FYI: This home is in the gated Thurman Bend Estates neighborhood, which has less than 20 homes, each on multiple acres. Thurman Bend Estates is in the Lake Travis school district.
You enter this house on the second floor. You walk into a huge combined living-dining-kitchen area, with 25-foot ceilings and a wall of windows overlooking Lake Travis. In the center of the room, a beautifully crafted wooden staircase leads to a 403-square-foot loft.
The kitchen has granite counters, hickory cabinets and a walk-in pantry. The master bedroom is also on the main floor. Most of the rooms in the house, including the master bedroom, have excellent lake views. A guest bedroom is also on this floor, as is a laundry room.
A stairway past the guest room leads down to the lowest floor. This floor provides a large tiled game room with a kitchenette, two bedrooms and a full bathroom. This level also offers a tornado-safe room encased in concrete.
The home faces northeast, which means the main living spaces stay cool and out of the sun in the latter part of a hot summer day, Heicken said.
The woodwork throughout the house impresses, from the tongue-and-groove wood ceiling in the kitchen to the intricate wooden stairway and the knotty alder front door.
This home is located near the Pedernales Golf Club (also known as "Willie Nelson's Cut-N-Putt"), Lakecliff Country Club and the Hill Country Galleria.
