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You are visiting: Home » Decorating/DIY » Decorate Your Home » A Tour of the 2015 HGTV Smart Home {Part 1}

A Tour of the 2015 HGTV Smart Home {Part 1}

by Lindsay Ballard on May 29, 2015 32 Comments

Have you ever started drooling while you are watching HGTV when they show off their Smart Home of the year?  Imagined yourself living in it and enjoying all of the beautiful furnishings and crazy technology that it holds?  Entered the sweepstakes every day in hopes that it would one day be yours?  Me, too.

So imagine my delight when I actually got to take a tour of the 2015 HGTV Smart Home.  Y’all, I tried to hide in a closet so that I could just stay forever, but they found me.

This year’s smart home is in the Zilker Park neighborhood in Austin – a little bit of the new Austin nestled in between a lot of the old Austin.  The style of the house and furnishings is considered “Modern Austin Farmhouse” (remember when I said to mesh three styles together for a good eclectic mix?).

Shaw Floors has been a HGTV Smart Home partner since the beginning, and they invited me to go on a tour of the home a few weeks ago.  And so of course, I’m going to share some of the home with you!  It was a dreary, rainy day (like every other day in Austin for the last month – what’s up with that?), so please excuse any of my pictures that seem dark!

And speaking of pictures, this post will be really picture heavy (and I even narrowed them down!), so get ready for that.  You’ll also see some other tour participants in some of the shots; I got to tour the home with some of Shaw’s largest Texas retailers, so it was fun to see the house through their eyes, too.

Front of the Home

The front of the home is a funky mix of modern and farmhouse.  As I mentioned, it was raining when I toured it, so a giant tent was set up over the entry and driveway so that we wouldn’t track water and mud into the house.  I could only get a good shot of the front door and amazing neon street numbers.

A Visit to the 2015 HGTV Smart Home in Austin, Texas

But, here’s what the whole exterior looks like via professional shots from HGTV:

A Visit to the 2015 HGTV Smart Home in Austin, Texas

A Visit to the 2015 HGTV Smart Home in Austin, Texas

My favorite parts of the exterior are the neon house numbers and the walls of glass by the front door.  I love the feel of floor to ceiling windows that meet in a corner like that.

There will eventually be other homes built all around it which will all share the same driveway, so it doesn’t take up as much land in this valuable part of Austin as it looks like it would.

Living Room

When you walk into the front door, you are greeted by an open living room/dining room/kitchen floor plan.  The living room definitely has a Texas vibe.

A Visit to the 2015 HGTV Smart Home in Austin, Texas

I love the black wall adorned with the window pane mirror.  And do you notice the natural color wood trim?  You’ll see that repeated throughout the house.  I think its a great way to tie the exterior into the interior.  Of course, the living room is styled beautifully, too.

Dining Room

To the right, you’ll see the open dining area.

A Visit to the 2015 HGTV Smart Home in Austin, Texas

Obviously, the table and chairs are killer.  But, the thing that I obsessed the most about is the hardwood flooring.  This is a Hickory floor from Shaw’s HGTV Home Collection (style: Winterset; color: Aspen).  it’s an engineered hardwood but it has wide planks and a skip-sawn look of reclaimed wood.  I generally prefer a darker hardwood, but this color is really gorgeous.  I was worried about the floors with everyone coming through the house (hardwoods in model homes end up looking horrible because of the foot traffic), but this one has Shaw’s ScufResist Platinum finish, which is giving it a lot of resistance to scuffs. The home has been open for a while, but I didn’t see any issues with the flooring.

Kitchen

Off of the dining room, we find the kitchen.  It’s a cook’s dream, with lots of cabinet space, a big island, and tons of natural light.

A Visit to the 2015 HGTV Smart Home in Austin, Texas

But, my favorite part is the stainless subway tile backsplash.  I’m pretty sure I have an entire board on Pinterest dedicated to stainless subway tile.  The cool thing about this tile is that it’s actually porcelain capped with copper and steel instead of a “press on” metal tile that I’ve seen in home improvement stores.  This tile is by Shaw.

Guest Bedroom

Down the hallway from the kitchen you will find the guest bedroom and bathroom.  I am obsessed with both of these rooms!

The bedroom feels dark in the pictures due to the weather, but it didn’t feel this dark in person.

A Visit to the 2015 HGTV Smart Home in Austin, Texas

I really like the below vignette, but I can’t put my finger on exactly why.  I like the stool in front of the dresser, but that’s not really practical in real life (maybe in a guest bedroom).  Perhaps I like it because there is so much texture and variation of heights?  I need to think about it some more, because it was one of my favorite spots in the home.

A Visit to the 2015 HGTV Smart Home in Austin, Texas

I also loved the way that the designer (Linda Woodrum) used a mix of carpet and hardwoods.  As I mentioned, there is the same hardwood throughout the home, but each room has a bound rug instead of a traditional area rug.  This is a budget-friendly way to have a giant rug cut to the exact size that you need to a room.  Shaw offers many of their carpets in their Cut a Rug program, and I really love this idea. In fact, I’m planning on getting one for my home once I rip the gross carpets out of my living room.

A Visit to the 2015 HGTV Smart Home in Austin, Texas

Also?  That chair and those curtain panels. YES.

Guest Bathroom

I love the guest bathroom as much as I do the guest bedroom.  I mean, look at it!

A Visit to the 2015 HGTV Smart Home in Austin, Texas

I love the wood-look tile on the walls.  It’s a great way to plank a bathroom and not have to worry about wood warping from the bathroom humidity.  This is Shaw’s Napa Plank Tile in Vintage.

A Visit to the 2015 HGTV Smart Home in Austin, Texas

Let’s talk about those shelves, shall we?  I believe they were custom designed for this home, but this would be a good DIY project with wood, long double C hooks and eye bolts.

A Visit to the 2015 HGTV Smart Home in Austin, Texas

I’m a nerd, and I love to look at floor and wall transitions when there isn’t a baseboard or base tile.  In this bathroom, the wall tile goes straight down to the floor tile.  The tiles are both from the same collection, so they work together very nicely.  Additionally, they are both grouted with the same color, so I think that helps with the transition as well.

A Visit to the 2015 HGTV Smart Home in Austin, Texas

I’ve talked a lot about the furnishings and flooring, but I haven’t mentioned much about the home’s “smart” features.  This is a step dimmer, so you can have bright light in the mornings and dimmer light in the evenings when you are winding down.  Love this feature!

Y’all, we’ve just covered the downstairs level of the home.  We still have 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms and a family area to cover!  I think I will break that out into another post next week so as not to overhelm you or your internet service.

What is your favorite thing about the first floor of the 2015 HGTV Smart Home?

About Lindsay Ballard

Lindsay Ballard is a former college mascot turned political geek turned roller derby playing, DIY fanatic.

Lindsay chronicles her projects, design ideas, and lifestyle tips here at Makely, where she shares tutorials and inspiration. Her DIY designs are bold and graphic, while her spirit is fun and full of color.

Lindsay lives outside of Austin, Texas with her husband (Tom), children (Zack and Emma), and dogs (Duke and Jill). She plays roller derby for the Rockin' City Rollergirls out of Round Rock, Texas.

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A Tour of the 2015 HGTV Smart Home {Part 2} »

Comments

  1. Renae says

    May 29, 2015 at 11:45 am

    You don’t have to buy Shaw’s carpet for rugs. Ask your local carpet store for a remnant cut to the size you want and then they can bind the edges for you. We have a matching 9×12 area rug made from carpet for less than $150 and an L-shaped runner type piece under our kitchen counter where we sit. It was around $100 and protects our floors from the bar stools. Just wanted to let you know!!

    Thanks for the tour!

    Reply
    • Lindsay Ballard says

      May 31, 2015 at 12:16 pm

      Yes, that’s definitely true. I’ve seen people do it with even builder’s grade carpet.

      Reply
  2. Brenda says

    May 29, 2015 at 5:09 pm

    I will look you up when I win the house and we can bake and cook together!! 🙂

    Reply
    • Lindsay Ballard says

      May 31, 2015 at 12:16 pm

      Let’s do it!

      Reply
  3. Alex says

    May 31, 2015 at 12:07 pm

    You’re likely mistaken on the light switch in the bottom image. The timer is not a dimmer switch. Instead, it very likely a timer for the vent fan. Press “25 min” and it turns on the fan for that long. The switch on the right is a standard On/Off switch for the light. Neither switch has anything to do with a brighter or dimmer light….

    Reply
    • Lindsay Ballard says

      May 31, 2015 at 12:15 pm

      That’s entirely possible, because I didn’t press this particular switch. But, the one like it in another bathroom (that I haven’t shared yet) worked the same way and it definitely dimmed the lights. 🙂

      Reply
  4. Carol555 says

    June 10, 2015 at 3:30 am

    My favorite room pics has to be the tile in the kitchen and the loo, I’ll dream about sitting down to shave my legs…. Not falling down while doing this horrid act for us females, is AWESOME… Thanks Lindsey

    Reply
  5. Tom says

    June 10, 2015 at 9:57 am

    Zilker park is awesome! Yes the kitchen backsplash is my favorite along with the shower tiling 🙂

    Reply
  6. Sheri McNamara says

    June 13, 2015 at 7:50 pm

    Amazing home and a great personal tour!!! Love those bathrooms with simple style and a clean elegance that is not over done.

    Reply
  7. Patty says

    February 24, 2017 at 2:49 pm

    Where do you buy the long C hooks?

    Reply
    • Michelle says

      November 16, 2017 at 2:19 am

      Did you ever find those C hooks

      Reply
      • Rodney says

        February 20, 2022 at 4:44 pm

        Been looking for them c hooks too but are nowhere to be found 🤔

        Reply
  8. Jamie says

    April 25, 2017 at 3:41 pm

    Do you know what color the carpet is in the living room and what fabric they used for the drapes ? Hope you can help! Thanks

    Reply
  9. Wendy says

    June 25, 2017 at 8:26 pm

    Where did you buy the double C hooks long I have searched and not found any that are like the picture.

    Reply
  10. Kelly matteson says

    August 18, 2017 at 4:13 pm

    Where do you buy the long C hooks for the shekf

    Reply
    • Michelle K Mitchell says

      November 16, 2017 at 2:24 am

      Did you ever find those C hooks

      Reply
  11. Suzanne says

    October 30, 2017 at 1:13 pm

    HELLO!
    Do you know where to get those double “C” hooks that were used in the bathroom. I can’t find them anywhere.
    Or where they custom made?

    Reply
    • Michelle K Mitchell says

      November 16, 2017 at 2:25 am

      Did you ever find those C hooks

      Reply
  12. Michelle K Mitchell says

    November 16, 2017 at 2:27 am

    Where can I find the C hooks

    Reply
  13. Natalia says

    January 12, 2018 at 3:25 pm

    Hello, can somebody tell me where to buy the Long double C hooks, I will appreciate it. Thank you in advance.

    Reply
  14. Diana says

    June 11, 2018 at 1:08 pm

    Was doesn’t anyone resound to the above messages. Where can you purchase the C hooks?

    Reply
    • Rosita Hee says

      May 2, 2020 at 11:59 am

      Love the shelves,where can I buy the C hooks?

      Reply
  15. LJ says

    May 29, 2019 at 2:43 pm

    Please tell me where to buy that yellow chair ?

    Reply

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About Makely

Lindsay Ballard is a former college mascot turned political geek turned roller derby playing, DIY fanatic.

Lindsay chronicles her projects, design ideas, and lifestyle tips here at Makely, where she shares tutorials and inspiration. Her DIY designs are bold and graphic, while her spirit is fun and full of color.

Lindsay lives outside of Austin, Texas with her husband (Tom), children (Zack and Emma), and dogs (Duke and Jill). She plays roller derby for the Rockin' City Rollergirls out of Round Rock, Texas.


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