Spanish Oaks is a guard gated golf community in Bee Cave where nearly every home is custom, set on large Hill Country homesites with long views over oak covered hills. River Jane & Co. is an interior designer with a studio in Spicewood, about 25 minutes away on Highway 71, and we design new builds and updates in Spanish Oaks. A free 15 minute call is the first step.
- From our studio
- About 25 minutes, 18 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
Selections on a custom build
Building custom in Spanish Oaks means hundreds of decisions: stone, tile, plumbing, lighting, cabinetry, hardware, paint, flooring. The builder needs each one by a certain date, and they tend to arrive in waves when you're also picking a pool finish and a front door.
The way through is one plan. Set the palette for the whole house first, then make each selection against it. It's faster, and it means the primary bath, the kitchen and the guest wing feel like one house instead of three good ideas. We do that in a Design Strategy, starting at $999 per room. Our new-build interior design page covers timing.
- Choose the flooring and main stone first. Everything else follows.
- Plan furniture layouts before the electrical walkthrough so outlets land in the right place.
- Pick lighting early, since custom fixtures can take a while.
Estate scale, human rooms
Large homes can feel like hotels if every room is furnished the same way. The goal is rooms that feel personal even at estate scale. That means real variety: a formal living room that's a little dressier, a family room that's all comfort, a study with dark color and books, and a breakfast nook that feels cozy.
Scale matters. A 20 foot ceiling needs a big light fixture hung low enough to bring the room down. A long gallery needs art and maybe a bench. A big primary suite needs a sitting area so the bed isn't floating. And every room needs lamps.
Early 2000s estates, lighter
The first generation of Spanish Oaks homes leaned Mediterranean and Texas traditional, with heavy stone, dark beams, iron and warm gold walls. The architecture is often beautiful. The finishes can make it feel dated.
Keep the stone and the arches. Lighten the walls, lighten or paint some beams, swap dark bronze fixtures for aged brass or simple iron, and bring in lighter wood and linen. The house keeps its character and loses the heaviness.
Guest wings and outdoor rooms
Homes near the club get a lot of visitors. A guest wing with its own sitting area, a coffee bar and good storage makes guests feel at home without taking over the house. Outdoor living by the pool and terrace needs shade, deep seating and lighting for evenings.
For afternoon sun on big glass, see The Shade Haus, our motorized and cordless shade line. Nearby, see Bee Cave and Lakeway.
The rooms that get skipped
On a big custom build, the budget and attention tend to go to the kitchen, the primary suite and the great room. The smaller rooms, like the study, the wine room, the scullery, the powder baths and the laundry, get whatever is left.
Those are the rooms that make a large house feel personal. A study painted a deep color with good lighting and shelves. A wine room with warm lighting and a small tasting table. A powder bath with a bold wallpaper. A laundry that's pleasant to stand in. Give them a plan early and they won't end up as afterthoughts.
