It can be said that a historic house is only as good as its bones, but oftentimes, it takes a little digging to find them. Such was the case for Carrie and Robert Hicks, who found their dream home in the form of a Tudor-inspired house built in 1926 in one of Austin’s oldest neighborhoods.

“We first fell in love with the location and the great big front yard. It was just a really wonderful space,” recalls Carrie, an interior designer who cut her teeth in New York and West Hollywood before settling down in Texas. The house had been through many hands in the nearly hundred years before the couple, who have three young children, took possession in 2015. Layers upon layers of misguided renovations had taken their toll. “The bones were there, and the structure was there, so the idea was to bring in Paul to save the

This five-bedroom, six bathroom home in Studio City, California, was a new Cape Cod-style construction, bought off plan complete with standard issue lighting, fixtures and fittings.

Its new owner, however, wanted to make it her own and introduce more interest, unique features and personality. Above all, she wanted to add happiness to her new home, with texture and natural elements, and called on the expertise of an interior designer to do exactly that. The result of the home’s major redesign truly makes it one of the world’s best homes – spacious, bright and full of clever design solutions.

The interior designer who brought about the transformation is Jessica Nicastro, of Jessica Nicostro Design (opens in new tab), who worked closely with the homeowner to come up with the home’s new look. ‘We came in to de-spec the home,’ explains Jessica. ‘We swapped out lighting, all furnishings, and added custom