Posted: Mon, 30 May 2011 07:58 AM - 12,820 Readers
By: Nicole Villalpando
photography by Tom Coplen
Memorial Day weekend often is thought of as the start of lake season in Central Texas. (Though with our temperate weather, many a fall or winter day could be a lake day.)
When Jim and Sylvia Heisey want to take a dip in Lake Travis, all they have to do is walk out their front door.
Their home at 15101 Back of the Moon, Building E, sits in an enclave of four homes that share common areas, including a stone guest house, manicured lawns, babbling water features, boat dock and 400 feet of Lake Travis shoreline.
The Heiseys own 5.97 acres of the neighborhood's 26 acres in this private, parklike setting off Hudson Bend Road.
The Heiseys bought their portion in the early 1990s when all four plots came on the market. The neighborhood homeowners decided to keep the 1960s stone house that was on the site and turned it into a guest house for them to share. Three of the four owners, including the Heiseys, built right away with renowned architect Christopher Alexander, a professor at the University of California at Berkeley. Alexander wrote "The Pattern Language" and "The Timeless Way of Building."
Jim Heisey liked Alexander's theories, especially the idea of building a long-lasting structure. "He's creating a place to live like in Europe, a place that is for permanence," Jim Heisey says.
When Alexander and his crew arrived on the Heiseys' site, they built all the walls first; then Alexander determined where the windows and doors should go.
Alexander also used many natural materials — from the stone work at the base of the house and along the walls in some of the rooms to the pecan floors in the living room and cedar and oak sun room and decks.
The Heiseys moved in in 1995 and have made small tweaks along the way such as enclosing the sun room with windows and rethinking some of the built-in shelving in the living room. Essentially, the home is as Alexander and the Heiseys originally intended.
The Heiseys have put the home on the market with Diane Dillard of Amelia Bullock Realtors for $1.35 million.
Jim Heisey is a consultant in the oil and gas industry. Previously, he worked for Motorola and founded American Innovations.
Sylvia Heisey owns Beets Living Foods Cafe on West Fifth Street. With him consulting in Houston three days a week, and her working long hours near downtown Austin, they don't have time to enjoy the house as they once did. Still, it's a bittersweet departure. They've watched grandchildren learn to fish here. They've held weddings here. It's been the family gathering spot for their two children and four grandchildren.
The property has been ideal for those gatherings. The main house features a master suite, a guest bedroom and an office, which can be used as a third bedroom. The Heiseys also have a garage apartment with built-in bunk beds and a bedroom as well as a living room and full kitchen.
The neighborhood guest house features a separate bedroom, a bedroom area and plenty of couches as well as a full kitchen and living area. The residents divide up the use of the guest house by weeks, then they swap weeks when a family needs a week it doesn't have.
The Heiseys' main house features a spacious deck leading to the enclosed sun room. The sun room's many windows can be opened up to let the breeze in or shut to keep out the heat and the bugs that come with summer in Texas. The room provides a panoramic view of Lake Travis and the main lawn of the neighborhood's common area. The Heiseys have turned the sun room into the home's family room and dining room. At one end, couches face the lake in a comfortable seating area. At the other, a dining table offers the feel of al fresco dining. The wood ceiling and the tile inlaid with wood strips also help retain the feel of the sun room's original purpose. The Heiseys saw the wood-and-tile pattern in a Spanish mill and replicated it.
The sun room is Sylvia Heisey's favorite spot in the house. She grabs her morning cup of tea and sits on the couch and meditates. "It's impossible to live here and be stressed," she says. "The ambience and environment is so soothing. There's something about living by a big water sink."
The sun room flows up a few steps to the living room. White wainscoting juxtaposes with the purple walls and stone fireplace. Coffered ceilings build wood piece on top of wood piece, adding interesting architectural details. Large frames, originally for windows, look past the sun room to Lake Travis below. In a corner of the living room, a built-in desk area is surrounded by windows overlooking the water feature that runs along the side of the house to the pond down by the lake.
The kitchen's white counters and gray granite counters contrast with the salmon-colored walls. A banquette in the corner with a table is often the place the grandchildren snuggle into. A large pantry and utility room offer additional storage, as does an antique pie cupboard from Jim Heisey's family. This fabulous heirloom does not convey.
Upstairs, the guest bedroom is tucked into a corner with a full bathroom nearby. A laundry shoot tumbles dirty clothes to the downstairs' utility area.
The office with a closet sits between the guest room and the master suite, which is open to the hallway.
Closets line the entrance to the master suite. The bathroom offers teal tiles surrounding the sink, shower and tub. This room provides plenty of windows.
The master bedroom also is bathed in light from the windows. Doors open to the large second-story deck. Jim Heisey loves the peacefulness of this room. He can watch the stars out the window and from the deck. And he can lie in bed and listen to the night sounds of crickets and the babbling water feature beside the house.
In addition to the guest apartment above, the Heiseys' detatched two-car garage also features a room with an enclosed constant-motion pool and a shower. Sylvia Heisey's organic garden is planted beside the garage.
The $500 monthly homeowners association fees cover the cost of maintaining all of the homes' lawns and termite control as well as the common areas, storage bays, tool shed, guest house, boat dock and lake front. Stone seating areas under an arbor look out to the lake. The neighborhood offers a gentle slope into the lake.
Dillard says the home is ideal as a permanent residence for a couple with grown children who like to visit, or it could be a family enclave for vacationers. It will speak to anyone who likes to be on the water, because you can just walk down to the dock and get in and go, she says.
Despite the sadness of letting the property go, "I'm really excited for someone to come here and really enjoy this space," Sylvia Heisey says.
Dillard will hold an open house today from 1 to 4 p.m.
