Owners E. Gary and Anna Mae Morrison purchased this idyllic spot on Lake Austin in 1953. In the early 1960s, the Morrisons commissioned George Page of Page Southerland Page to build a home on the property that would come to be known as Rockmoor Estate. The home is dramatically sited on twelve acres on Lake Austin and offers a park-like setting with grand live oak trees and beautiful lake views. Mrs. Morrison worked with the interior design firm of Cannell and Chaffin to combine comfortable Texas design with touches of French provincial style, creating a warm setting for family and friends. In 1964, the home was showcased in Architectural Digest.
Anna Mae was the consummate homemaker and hostess until her death in 2015 at the age of 99. The home remained in the Morrison family until 2017 when the current owners purchased the property and undertook a complete rehabilitation of the home.
O’Connell Architecture worked with the owners to identify the character defining features of the home. Work included restoration of many of the original doors and extensive masonry repair to the house and landscape features. The original aluminum windows, a hallmark of the home’s design, had deteriorated beyond repair, and were replaced with custom designed and fabricated steel windows matching the original window profile. Inside, wood paneling was refinished and replaced as necessary, and original features such as hidden doors, cabinetry and door hardware, as well as the restoration of lights and bathroom fixtures original to the home were restored and reused wherever possible. A beautiful, custom designed stepped copper roof, in the style of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Kentuck Knob in Pennsylvania, provides a stunning cap to this rare Austin estate.