Our clients purchased an acreage near Shelby, Texas, with the goal of building a weekend retreat for their family of five. Though the property is surrounded by neighboring farms, no other structures are visible from the site, giving it a sense of seclusion.

Inspired by the layout of her childhood summer home on the Guadalupe River, our client requested that we approach the design with a motel in mind rather than a traditional “rocking chair front porch” house.

The site featured an existing barn, shed, and stone well, along with four mature live oak trees clustered nearby. The new residence was conceived as part of this landscape, positioned in dialogue with the existing elements. To strengthen the motel-like identity, the plan emphasizes the repetition of bedrooms and baths along a linear sequence, contrasted with the singularity of the kitchen, dining and living spaces. A continuous porch links the four bedrooms, functioning as an outdoor corridor. Its ceiling reveals the building’s structure and gradually slopes until it shelters the master suite, allowing the southern end of the house to settle closest to the ground. In contrast, the communal rooms are contained within the vaulted, open volume intended for family gathering.

Nearly every room opens directly to the outdoors, making the house’s “front door” a more incidental discovery than a fixed point of entry. In working to connect the bedroom “motel wing” with the shared living areas, we chose to keep them apart, creating a breezeway or dog trot. Aligned with one of the site’s most striking vistas, this open-air passage frames arrival while doubling as an outdoor room. Above it, a screened porch extends from both the living room and bedroom wing.

From the dog trot and the porch corridor, steps descend to a deck with a fire pit – a feature not part of the original brief but one that has quickly become a favorite gathering space for the family.