New on the market, one special Travis Heights condominium offers more than meets the eye.

PHOTO COURTESY OF CRAVOTTA INTERIORS

Finding a turnkey condo designed by one of Austin’s most lauded talents in one of the nation’s hottest real estate markets can be as challenging as securing a Birkin or a Patek Philippe Grandmaster Chime. Perhaps that is why wise investors are already buzzing about one extraordinary bespoke option recently available in Austin’s covetable Travis Heights neighborhood. Part of an enclave of only seven residences tucked between the charming Hotel Saint Cecilia and the artsy Hotel Magdalena, this two-bedroom condominium was completed in 2019, and interior designer Mark Cravotta of Cravotta Interiors personalized it with style for the original owners. Now, the home, rich with multifaceted detail, awaits its next chapter.

“It was a great space,” Cravotta recalls after seeing it for the first time. “Completely filled with light. It had great views all the way all around.” The designer’s clients, a California couple desiring a pied-à-terre, did not have a clear vision of what they wanted, but they asked for something “really sexy and sophisticated.” And Cravotta knew they were big fans of designer Tom Ford. “That was the impetus. That was really the design brief,” he says. “They loved nice things. They loved art and sculptural elements and texture and all the things that I love to hear.”

PHOTO COURTESY OF CRAVOTTA INTERIORS

Unlike many new builds, the 1,900-square-foot, designer-ready unit already included many appealing high-end finishes and features, including Miele appliances, honed marble countertops, wood paneling on the walls and exposed concrete ceilings. Having a relatively blank canvas and very open-minded clients helped Cravotta dig deep. “I like mixing things up and creating something unique and new,” he says. “I’ve always had the goal, if possible, to create interiors that are timeless or have a timeless quality.”

“I’ve always had the goal, if possible, to create interiors that are timeless or have a timeless quality”–MARK CRAVOTTA

His first step was to surround the space with flair, a feat he accomplished with handpainted wallpapers from Porter Teleo in the living room and the bedroom. With the exception of both bathrooms, which featured beautiful fabric paper from Philip Jeffries, all remaining walls were painted with an unexpected shade of dark green. Then came custom, handpainted window coverings to welcome diffused sunlight, including a showstopping squiggle-patterned curtain by Carolyn Ray for the living room. “We do focus a lot on handcraft, artisan craft,” Cravotta says. “That’s probably a throughline with almost all of our projects.”

PHOTO COURTESY OF CRAVOTTA INTERIORS

As the entry foyer sets the stage from the moment one steps off the private elevator entrance, Cravotta knew it had to be special. A vintage tiger rug found at Austin’s Black Sheep Unique greets guests first, drawing the eye along Tolga Sencer’s curved wood Tamga bench from StudioTwentySeven and up to a multi-dimensional art piece by Robert Stone. Across the hall, Cravotta hung a series of black-and-white photos by Dan Chavkin taken in Palm Desert, and he hung a dynamic Signal pendant light from Apparatus Studio above.

Down the hall is a cleverly arranged dining space featuring an ochre velvet banquette and a table Cravotta designed, paired with chairs from Christophe Delcourt found at Avenue Road. The ombre milk glass light fixture with a contrasting, spiraled center is from Parisian Jeremy Maxwell Wintrebert, who was once an AirBnB guest of Cravotta’s before the artist went on to create installations for the likes of Perrier-Jouêt and Calvin Klein. “About six or seven years ago, he was taking a sabbatical,” Cravotta recalls. “He was coming here to take a break from blowing glass and to train jiu-jitsu in Austin, and he and I got to know each other.”

PHOTO COURTESY OF CRAVOTTA INTERIORS

In the distance, overlooking a spectacular view of Downtown Austin’s skyline, is the living room, which features an eye-catching chandelier from Trueing with grey-green glass chains. Cravotta pulled the color with a dusty teal sofa made specifically for this space by Brooklyn-based design company Egg Collective and complemented it with a special find: “The velvet accent pillow is made from a 300-hundred-year-old textile from Uzbekistan that I bought in the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul,” he explains. “I didn’t know where I was going to use it, but I knew I would use it somewhere because it’s amazing. It’s embroidered with bronze thread.”

Adding more unexpected interest, Cravotta found a giant photograph of Bianca Jagger with Andy Warhol and installed it as part of a custom Savant art lift. “Controlled by the remote, it lifts up to reveal the television in the living room when it is not in use,” he explains. A coffee table from Holly Hunt and swivel chairs designed by Yabu Pushelberg for Man of Parts round out the vignette.

When the homeowners were not entertaining or catching up on Netflix, they needed a home office, so Cravotta repurposed one of the bedrooms by delivering a pair of custom-designed 1/4-inch-thick bronze partner desks. A SHIIR rug, CB-50 Lounge chair and a mid-century-inspired Neil Pendant light fixture add warmth and personality, along with a giant artwork that belonged to the clients.

For the other bedroom, Cravotta looked to a San Francisco-based friend, designer Jiun Ho, for a custom bed. Ho delivered a Mori bed with a wraparound headboard and a middle inner headboard upholstered in a woven textile and built-in drawers. Paired with Stahl+Band’s No. 174 Bench, an Armadillo rug from Malawi, a Sputnik-inspired pendant light, and bedding from Parachute and Wicker by SDH, the environment is as chic as it is serene.

PHOTO COURTESY OF CRAVOTTA INTERIORS

At nighttime or in broad daylight, this special home definitely bears the unique stamp of a design professional with a unique point of view. “I love history, and I love the arts and design throughout time,” Cravotta explains. “I’m not a purist. And I’m certainly not attached to having a style be consistent through a house. Hopefully, it’s got some, you know, classically robust roots, but hopefully there’s something that’s pushing the story forward as well.”

St. Cecilia Residences, 110 Academy Drive, Unit
41, Austin. Contact Kumara Wilcoxon, Kuper
Sotheby’s International Realty,
kumarawilcoxon.com