I'm in love with this place. Immaculately clean, yes, that, and high marks on the usual scoring points, but that's only a small part of it. The house and its people have an enigmatic energy - both welcoming and private, provocative and chill, familiar yet entirely unique.
The Blue Room is a big, high-ceilinged room with original wood floors, massive wood sliding doors, and large wood shuttered windows letting in filtered sunshine. The furnishing is spare, leaving the room open against the fullness of the walls and ceiling, which are covered in art. On close inspection it is possible to find a few uncovered spaces and confirm that the walls are in fact blue. Waking in this room I felt expanded, opened up, my eyes and spirit lifted.
The art collection extends through the house, covering the walls in hallways, in the common rooms, the bathroom, a visual and mental feast. There is a visceral theme to much of it - the savagery of eating, of sex, the violence of what it is to be alive - or, maybe that's just what I took note of, what resonated in me from this eclectic collection.
Yes, the bed is a mattress on the floor, the bathtub is sans shower - if this is too primitive for you, maybe don't stay here. Or, maybe think again - there will be other beds, other showers, and this really is a magical space to pause and be in for a while. I look forward to returning to Austin just to stay here again.