Supernatural & Walker star Jared Padalecki and his wife Genevieve built an ideal home in Austin, Texas. The lovebirds share a two-story rustic farmhouse with a stone exterior and blue shutters that they snapped up in 2012. The pair wanted to escape Los Angeles for a quieter lifestyle in the Lone Star State with their children, Odette, Thomas, and Austin, per Architectural Digest. The couple did a massive renovation on the farmhouse that tested their marriage because it was so stressful to map out all the changes.
The star of “Walker” worked with interior designer Virginia Davidson to redo the property from top to bottom. Mrs. Padalecki also shared that many of the more seasoned homes in Texas are old German-style houses with wood beams in the ceilings, and they wanted to capture that homestead feel. However, they both wanted their nest to be inviting to friends and neighbors. “We kind of laugh when people ask us if they should take their shoes off because we have three dogs inside, three kids, chickens, whatever,” Padalecki said during the home tour on YouTube. Here’s a look at the charming property, complete with a chicken coop, vegetable garden, and swimming pool.
The kitchen has a massive island
Genevieve Padalecki said the kitchen is the heart of the home because everyone spends so much time there. Everything is user-friendly, and the pots hanging above the kitchen island are not just for looks. Padalecki uses them to cook three meals a day. The island is not just for style but also function. There is a sink off to the side and cabinets for storage below. They couple also has a white plaster bull named Harold above the oven for a dash of farm appeal. French windows look out to lush mature trees in the backyard, while rustic overhead lights add a romantic feel. Tiles on the wall are olive green and cream, making one feel as if they have traveled back to the 1800s. The kitchen also has modern amenities like a large refrigerator with a glass door for easy access to beverages.
Glass door refrigerators have become a new trend for those with busy lifestyles. According to Remodelista, one of the top glass-door refrigerators is the 48-inch Sub-Zero glass model. The top right side of the fridge has a glass door. It retails for around $20,000, but LG makes a more affordable one for only $2,000 called the side-by-side refrigerator-in-door.
The main family room is for movies
The main family room is all about comfort. There are two oversized sofas with a wood coffee table over a blue and white woven rug. There is also an entertainment unit against the wall that encases a large flat screen TV and books. Table lamps add hushed lighting in this room with untreated Douglas Fir beamed ceilings and off-white walls. The family gathers here to watch movies and eat pizza on lazy weekends. “Our home is your home,” Jared Padalecki said during the home tour. “It’s cozy, friendly. come one, come all.”
Interior decorator Martyn Lawrence Bullard told Frederic Magazine to avoid underestimating the importance of using table lamps with low wattage in a room. “Not only does it diffuse the white light so beautifully, but it adds a bit of texture and makes the whole space feel much more original. I find the lampshade is the one element a lot of people forget about, but why not make a design statement out of it.”
The dining room is farm style
The cozy dining room looks straight out of the 1800s because it has all the basics with a few fussy details. The thin, long dark wood table is a replica of an old sewing table Genevieve Padalecki loved. There are wood benches with yellow and blue cushions instead of chairs which feel like a throwback style. That means they can squeeze in five people on each side of the table.
According to FineWoodworking, early bench styles were easier to build than stand-alone chairs. Rustic benches were wood planks on top of wood ends connected by brackets. They were a more comfortable version of an old-fashioned workbench that several pioneers used. That old-school feeling is what the Padaleckis were striving to achieve in their design. “We wanted it to be fun and casual,” said Genevieve Padalecki during the home tour. The round mirror in a square wood frame from an old saloon adds rustic detail. Brass wall sconces surround the mirror for a classic look. Another quirky detail is the blonde wood hat rack, which is for decorative purposes only.
There is a wet bar
Off the dining room is a small space where the family built a casual wet bar with a white stone countertop, dark wood cabinets, a mirror backsplash, and a mini sink with a gold faucet. It is also where they stock sodas, beer, and wine. A highlight is an ice machine which Padalecki said they need because everything in Texas comes with ice. That means there is always plenty of iced drinks around. However, it’s not just a regular ice machine but a sonic ice maker.
Per Food and Drink Destinations, sonic ice makers are compact appliances that make little pieces of ice called pellet ice you can easily chew. They are perfect if you want your cocktail to cool down fast during the hot summer. Some of the best options are the GE Profile Opal Countertop Nugget Ice Maker and the Euhomy Countertop Nugget Ice Maker (via Popular Mechanics). The sonic ice maker can sit on your countertop and has a price tag of around $400 to $500.
The guest bathroom has bucolic wallpaper
Every room in this large home is in step with the rustic country theme, and the guest bathroom is no exception. The family had this little wash closet designed just to their specifications. The thing you notice first is the painted wallpaper. The custom-made wallpaper depicts Austin in the early 1800s when pioneers settled by the Colorado River and started building their small family farms. The Padalecki family is painted on the wallpaper. Genevieve Padalecki has a white dress, and Jared is between their two sons.
According to Limitless Walls, mural wallpaper is becoming a hot trend because it offers a visual bang. The wallpaper is made specifically for a client and looks like one large mural rather than rolls of wallpaper with a repeating pattern. That means you will see a scene only once. This wallpaper is ideal if you want to add unique color and texture to a room.
Her office is homey and comforting
Genevieve has a home office of her own where she can read scripts. Her career goes back to 2004 when she starred in the movie “Death Valley.” She then worked on “Wildfire,” “Flashforward,” and “Supernatural” before landing a role in her current show “Walker.” The room is inviting, with a wall of bookshelves behind a cushioned bench. There is also a heavy oak armoire with a built-in desk and drawers. A black office chair adds a more modern look. She brought charm to the room with a glass iron chandelier and table lamps. Natural light comes into the room through French windows.
Interior designer Kelly Wearstler told The Chalkboard Mag about making her home office stylish. She said she loves to add books to her home office. Some of her favorite books are Hue, Domicilium Decoratus, Modern Glamour, and Rhapsody. She also has photos of special people in her life, fresh flowers, easy-to-grab snacks like almonds, and inspiring artwork in her workspace for inspiration.
The main bathroom has a TV in the mirror
The primary bathroom has a high-tech and unusual feature, even by celebrity standards. There is a TV built into the mirror — called a Vanity Mirror TV — so Jared can watch his favorite shows when relaxing in the sunken, built-in bathtub or brushing his teeth in one of the double sinks. The TV feature was a must-have when the couple designed their dream bathroom.
How does it work? The Vanity Mirror TV is a sleek and razor-thin Samsung television hidden underneath a mirror, per Hidden Television. When the TV is off, the mirror looks like a regular mirror on the wall. However, when you turn the TV on with a waterproof remote, a TV appears inside the mirror, like magic. While the mirror needs to be on the large side, the size of the TV is your call. They can be massive or small.
The bedroom is small for a reason
The house is massive, but the primary bedroom is not. The small scale is by design. The couple wanted it to be smaller to feel cozy and have personality. There is a big wood-framed bed with a carefully carved headboard, a bookshelf above the chest of drawers, a chaise lounge in a mossy green color with patchwork on it, and cream-colored wood nightstands, and standing lamps by the French windows. Artwork hangs on the walls, and curtains in soft beige warm up the space. The floors are hardwood, but a checkered rug in off-white and beige keeps it welcoming. Personality pops up here and there in the throw pillow, mushroom-shaped lamp, and framed family photos.
Interior designer Carson Kressley told Reader’s Digest, “I think a space has to have personality and it has to tell your story. It’s shocking that many people, even those who are very chic in how they dress, can have a very safe space at home that doesn’t have a lot of personality.”
The piano room has special touches
Off the main living room is a special little space built just for listening to music. Under the beamed ceilings is an area with four maroon velvet Ralph Lauren chairs decorated with Swedish pillows by Howe London, according to Architectural Digest. A round wood coffee table with custom brass inlay from Sawkille Co. is in the center of the chairs. Off to the side is a black piano with a bench that used to belong to Genevieve Padalecki’s mother and a picture of a black bear. Their favorite part is the cream-colored fireplace that keeps them warm in the winter.
Placing a piano in your home adds instant appeal. It not only looks good, but it is where music can come from with friends gathered near. The best pianos in the world include the well-crafted Bechstein for its craftsmanship, the innovative Blüthner, the powerful Bösendorfer, the high-quality Fazioli, and the well-toned Grotrian-Steinweg (via Luxury Pianos). The most expensive piano in the world is the $3.2 million crystal Heintzman & Co. piano, which appeared in 2008 at the Beijing Olympic Games (via Pianist Magazine).
Natural touches are everywhere
This family loves all types of animals and insects. While they have plenty of friends outside — like the chickens in their coop — they want to be reminded of earth’s creatures inside their home too, which is why they have accents everywhere. The white plastic bullhead in the kitchen is named Harold. There’s also a taxidermy chicken in the bathroom, wood geese hanging from the ceiling in the playroom, a fake rhino head in one of the kids’ rooms, and a framed dried butterfly.
According to Slate, framing butterflies became popular in the Victorian era when catching, naming, and studying insects was a hobby. In 1702, the first butterfly was dried and framed. Collecting butterflies is still done today as people discover new species every year. Those who do not want to catch and frame butterflies by themselves can go to Butterfly Utopia to buy pre-selected insects. The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service inspects these butterflies, and the frames are by artists in Apex, North Carolina.
There is a colorful fun room
Keeping three kids entertained all the time can be a struggle. It is a good thing the Padaleckis have a swimming pool and playground outside. When they are inside, there is also a play space. The Padaleckis call it the fun room. There is a big white craft table with drawers for supplies, a white bookshelf with a TV, a chalkboard on the wall, chandeliers in different colors, a chess set, a fluffy sofa with crayon-colored round pillows, and a charming nook with shelves. When the kids want fresh air, they can walk outside the French doors onto the fenced-in patio.
Designer Darcy Miller gave Martha Stewart tips on decorating a craft room. “For me, there are two main elements to keep in mind when designing a craft room — organization and inspiration. The wall of my craft room is covered with pictures of my family, who are my inspiration. My pens for drawing illustrations are in cups on my desktop instead of in drawers.” It’s always good to keep supplies at the ready.
The family eats from their garden
The backyard is not just for fun. It is also where the family has a mini vegetable and fruit garden that they eat from regularly. The family grows lemons, tomatoes, blackberries, and more. The garden includes wood boxes and wire trellises to help the plants thrive. During the home tour, Padalecki sweetly picks some blackberries for his daughter to eat.
Starting your own garden requires a few simple steps, per MasterClass. The first thing you need to do is to select an area that gets a lot of sun, which vegetables love. Next, figure out how big you want your garden to be because vegetables need space. For smaller areas, use planters. You also have to decide what vegetables you want to grow and keep in mind the temperature. Zucchini does well in warm weather, while spinach prefers the cold. Companion plants are helpful because they keep away insects, but research is required. Pick organic and seeds without GMOS, and make sure the soil is of good quality with a ratio of 40 percent sand, 40 percent silt, and 20 percent clay. Compost is also essential because it has minerals that plants crave. Natural pesticides are best and don’t forget to weed.
The swimming pool has no edges
While the Padaleckis live on the outskirts of Austin, they refused to give up on first-class luxury. That is why they have one of the finest zero-edge pools. “This is where we come to cool off and hang out,” said Genevieve Padalecki during the home tour. The vanishing edge pool allows water to come up to the wood deck.
According to Leisure Pools USA, zero-edge pools are pools where water spills into an out-of-sight drainage area. The water falls below the pool and pumps back into the swimming pool, so it’s more of an optical illusion. This type of pool has become popular with celebrities such as Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Jennifer Lopez, Selena Gomez, and Kylie Jenner (via Vogue). There is also plenty of space around the swimming pool. The wood deck has room for six lounge chairs with three blue umbrellas. To the side are four armchairs facing each other. At the end of the pool is a stone façade pool house with room for a lounge set and a cooking area where the family cools off.
There is a chicken coop for feathered friends
These Texas residents take pride in supplying their own food. Smiles were on their faces while showing off their wood and wire chicken coop. This place is home to dozens of chickens and lets the family enjoy fresh eggs for breakfast in the morning. Chicken coops have become a trend among the rich and famous. Star Jennifer Aniston told People she looked after a coop at her Bel Air, California home. “We use the eggs every day. We make frittatas, carbonara. Justin makes great pasta. I use the eggs in my salad or for snacks.”
There are specific steps to follow when creating a chicken coop at home (via Purina Mills). First, find the space, build a fenced-off coop, add a brooder, and determine the water and feeding area. Sanitation is key. You have to set aside time to clean up after your feathered friends. Then you have to decide what chickens you want and how many. The food also needs to be carefully selected. Chickens eat seeds, plants, insects, earthworms, snails, and small animals such as frogs, mice, and even snakes (via Hermitage Acres Market). Alternatively, you can always buy chicken feed from the store.
Source: housedigest.com