Lake Travis winds more than 60 miles through the Hill Country, and a lake house in Lakeway lives nothing like one in Jonestown or Spicewood. River Jane & Co. is an interior design studio based in Spicewood, at the west end of the lake, and we work on lake houses, second homes and full time residences all the way around it. The first step is a free 15 minute call.
- From our studio
- About 5 minutes, 15 miles
- First step
- A free 15 minute call
- Consultation
- About an hour, in your home or virtual, depending on the project
- Design Strategy
- From $999, plan in 7 to 14 days
- Call or text
- 512-883-3767
Pick your shore
Every part of the lake has its own kind of house and its own kind of light. Here's a quick map of where we work, with a page for each.
- Spicewood: home base. Lake lots on one side of 71 and ranch land on the other.
- Briarcliff: a small lake village where older lake homes sit next to new custom builds.
- Lakeway: the south shore, from resort era houses to Rough Hollow.
- Hudson Bend: a peninsula of steep lots near Mansfield Dam.
- Steiner Ranch: ridge top family homes looking toward the lakes.
- Volente: a north shore village that's mostly shoreline.
- Lago Vista, Point Venture and Jonestown: the north shore, where views face south.
- Horseshoe Bay and Marble Falls: upstream on the constant level Highland Lakes.
Design for a lake that moves
Lake Travis is a flood control reservoir, and its level swings over the years. A dock that floats right off the patio one summer can sit a long walk away in a dry stretch. That's just part of owning here, and it's worth planning for.
Don't make the water the only thing a room is good for. A living room should still feel great when the view is more shoreline than lake, which means the furniture, lighting and art need to carry the room on their own. Lower levels near the water should use tile and finishes that can handle humidity. And storage for lake gear should work whether the boat is at the dock or up on the trailer.
Lake house or everyday house?
Some lake homes are weekend places. Others are where the family lives every day and drives to work in Austin. They look similar from the water and need different plans.
A weekend house should be easy to open, easy to close and forgiving: washable everything, guest rooms with storage, a locked owner's closet and a kitchen anyone can use. An everyday house needs more of what any family home needs, like a real mudroom, an office, storage for sports gear and a kitchen that works on a Tuesday night. Tell us which one you have in the first call and the whole plan shifts to fit it. That plan is a Design Strategy, and it costs $999 per room and up.
Lake style without the anchors
Nautical themes date fast, and they look odd against cedar hills and limestone bluffs. The lake houses that hold up here borrow from the land instead: pale stone, white oak, iron, linen, and colors pulled from the water and the live oaks. Blue can show up, but as one color in a mix rather than stripes on every pillow.
Our guides to lake house decor and how much it costs to furnish a Lake Travis home go deeper. For the glare that comes with lake views, The Shade Haus has cordless shades from $299 a window and motorized shades from $399 a window.
