Casey Dunn has a shoulder injury to thank for his introduction to photography: at the age of 16, the lifelong ballplayer found himself on the sidelines. To fill the time (and earn an elective credit), the Austin student joined the high school yearbook staff. He started photographing his friends and classmates riding their BMX bikes and playing in their punk bands and was surprised by how much he loved it—and how he took to being holed up in the darkroom for hours on end. He enjoyed it so much that he enrolled in a photo class. “At that point I was hooked and spent the rest of high school in the darkroom,” he says. He went on to study photography at the Brooks Institute in Santa Barbara, California, and it was there that he found his niche: architectural photography. Since moving back to his hometown in 2006, the 36-year-old has become one of the go-to and most highly respected interiors photographers in the state, capturing the spaces of many a legendary architect (like the Austin Public Library for Lake Flato in San Antonio), taking photos for publications including Texas Monthly, and producing a handful of beautiful coffee table books, like Marfa Modern and the upcoming Texas Made | Texas Modern. When it comes to Texas design, he’s seen it all, so we couldn’t wait to see what style he would choose for a home for himself and his wife, Sarah, on a corner lot in East Austin.
“I have developed an appreciation of a lot of different styles of architecture over time,” he says. “This house project was a reflection of what we were inspired by and our values during this time of our lives. I was working on Marfa Modern during the design process, and while we didn’t aim to plop a Marfa house down in East Austin, we were certainly inspired by a style of architecture that is warm, minimal, and efficient, with natural, honest materials. We wanted it to be beautiful, but the style of the house was less important to us than having a project that was true to our values, that we could really live in, and that we could enjoy as it aged.” The end result of this highly thought-out abode, which was designed by Dunn’s longtime friend Arthur Furman and his wife, Annie-Laurie Grabiel, of Side Angle Side, is a a space that feels both modern and timeless.
Photographer Casey Dunn worked with married couple architects Arthur Furman and Annie-Laurie Grabiel of Side Angle Side. "Our design meetings were usually over dinner at Arthur and Annie’s kitchen table. We drank a lot of wine and always spent plenty of time talking about things that weren’t our house project," Dunn says. "I am not sure if that was intentional on their part, but surely how close we all became during that period shaped the decisions we made in the house," Dunn says.
Photography by Casey Dunn
The home's burnished stucco is a cool contrast to the Douglas Fir front door made by Austin's Honea Woodworks.
Photography by Casey Dunn
Dunn has a love/hate relationship with open floor plans but chose that setup for the living room. The stove in the corner is by Lopi, and in the few winter months when temperatures drop below 60 degrees, it can heat the entire house. "I love the way the light filters through the trees and hits the floor in the living room in the morning. It's one of those things you couldn’t design for," he says. "I mean, Arthur put the window there, knowing it faced east and would get morning light, but the way it feels in there when we walk down the stairs with light dappling through is pretty magical."
Photography by Casey Dunn
Dunn's wife, Sarah. stands in the kitchen, framed by white oak cabinets and soapstone countertops. The pine shelves were designed and built by Adam Young.
Photography by Casey Dunn
Austin designer Ann Edgerton consulted on the interiors decisions throughout the process. The coffee table is by Yucca Stuff, and the sofa was designed by Edgerton and built by Tyson Pendergrass. The wall unit is by Vitsoe, a company that maintains and produces this Dieter Rams Design.
Photography by Casey Dunn
The clawfoot tub was salvaged by a family friend who lived on Red River near Rainey Street. It was once a home frequented by Austin characters like Charlie Sexton and Townes Van Zandt. The couple grabbed the tub before the home was demolished. Dunn says: "I like the idea of saving a bit of that history. They refinished it and put it on old pine blocks. The wood shelves are pine and came from wood that Dunn salvaged from a warehouse that was being torn down on East Seventh Street.
Photography by Casey Dunn
The chair in the master bedroom was a gift from Dunn's mother-in-law, who lives on an old farm in Georgia. The art was a gift from Dunn's parents.
Photography by Casey Dunn
The floors of the home are antique pine and were milled out of beams from Delta Millworks.
Photography by Casey Dunn
The bathroom vanity features white oak cabinetry that mimics the kitchen cabinets.
Photography by Casey Dunn
The couple's dog, Mandy, hangs out on the back porch, where they entertain. Brent Clifton built the benches for the Hatch Workshop table. It matches the one found at their favorite coffee shop around the corner, Flitch.
Photography by Casey Dunn
Dunn photographed his own home for this story. What does he love most about his work? "I love shooting homes from an anthropological standpoint. Getting to see how people live, or moreso, how they design their lives," he says. "A house is an expression of a homeowner's values, and in this realm, I try to treat architectural photography as portraiture. I love when projects allow this type of approach."
