The Stemick Residence is a custom home on a rural lot in Hutto — a country-looking house designed to fit the land it sits on, not the other way around.
One of the decisions that shaped the layout was orientation. On a rural lot you have more flexibility than a subdivision allows, and we used it — the home was positioned to take advantage of the lot’s natural features while also accounting for solar efficiency. Where the sun hits the house, and when, affects how the home heats and cools through the seasons. Getting that right at the design stage costs nothing. Getting it wrong shows up in utility bills every month for as long as you own the house.
The finished home reads as a country house that belongs in that part of Hutto. The exterior fits the area, the lot fits the house, and the whole thing sits the way a well-sited custom home should — like it was always going to be there.
That’s the goal on every rural lot we take on. Read the land, orient the house to work with it, and let the design follow from there. The Stemick family got a home built around their lot and their life. That’s what custom is for.
