Blog

  • Austin NARI Tour of Remodeled Homes 2016

    September 24 & 25

    Ryan Davis Headshot

    By Ryan Davis

    Posted on September 13, 2016

    Well it’s official, the season finally seems to be changing. It’s still hot, but something is different: the air is lighter, the light paler; the city sounds different, like you can hear further and more clearly than before. Nestled in this time of change and new beginnings, the Austin NARI Tour of Remodeled Homes awaits to provide all of your remodeling/renovation inspiration.

    Continue reading »

  • Shower As Creative Refuge

    The best insights always materialize in the shower!

    Stewart Davis AIA Headshot

    By Stewart Davis AIA

    Posted on August 24, 2016

    Bathrooms have many parts, but I think the heart of the bath is the shower. Well-designed showers promote serenity, comfort, and a feeling of wellbeing. Inside this special space, the mind is calm, and often valuable insights and ideas surface.

    Continue reading »

  • Climbing The Six Gates

    The CG&S Design Build Process

    Stewart Davis AIA Headshot

    By Stewart Davis AIA

    Posted on August 03, 2016

    If you are like most of us, you don’t do a renovation project very often. Maybe you have done finish upgrades or repairs, but nothing substantial. You may now be thinking about a more comprehensive, complex, architectural level renovation. There are lots of stories out there about these larger projects. You may have a family member or a friend who has bent your ear about how their project went. When I ask people, I hear good stories, and I hear not so good stories. Sometimes they tell me they are fine with the end result, but the process of getting there was confusing, frustrating, and painful. What if there was a way to guarantee a success story for your remodel? Well, dear reader, the good news is that there is! We call it Climbing The Six Gates. Now sit right down and let me tell you all about it. Today we’ll start at the beginning: Getting through Gate 1.

    Continue reading »

  • Central Hub

    Dining Rooms At The Center Of Home & Family

    Iris Davis-Quick Headshot

    By Iris Davis-Quick

    Posted on July 13, 2016

    I grew up eating at the dining table. It was a safe place. A place where we ate incredible, homemade food (thanks mom!) and talked about our day. It was a place where we had family meetings, birthday parties or study sessions. It was the central hub of our house.

    Continue reading »

  • Spec Versus Design Build

    Dolores Davis UDCP Headshot

    By Dolores Davis UDCP

    Posted on June 03, 2016

    I was recently asked by a colleague, “Why don’t you build spec homes? You don’t have to worry about clients!” Taken aback, I stood there with a confused sort of smile, the kind of reaction that occurs when basic assumptions or ingrained ways of operating are suddenly, unexpectedly challenged.

    Continue reading »

  • Sophisticated Country Living In Kyle

    Another Custom Home By CG&S

    Stewart Davis AIA Headshot

    By Stewart Davis AIA

    Posted on March 21, 2016

    About a year and a half ago, my niece and her husband asked me to design a new home for them. They have two elementary school age kids and a trusty dog. They had a beautiful, 1 ½ acre open lot in Kyle, and were ready to build their first [and probably last] home. I said, ‘Let’s DO this!”

    Continue reading »

  • Kid Baths

    Iris Davis-Quick Headshot

    By Iris Davis-Quick

    Posted on March 15, 2016

    Kid baths. I’ve been thinking about this lately considering I have two small children at home who will share a bath that doubles as a guest bath too. I’m not big on “kiddie” things. My oldest daughter’s room looks more adult than child and the nursery looks like an art gallery—nothing baby about it minus the changing table. So, when I was planning our kid/guest bath, the goal was to design it so it’s both appealing to the kids and totally acceptable for adults.

    Continue reading »

  • The Ubiquitous Coat Closet

    A Default Design Feature, But How Useful Are They, Really? A Texas Perspective

    Stewart Davis AIA Headshot

    By Stewart Davis AIA

    Posted on November 13, 2015

    ​When was the last time you used your coat closet for the storage of coats? When was the last time you actually wore a coat? Thought so.

    Continue reading »

  • New Home For An Old Friend

    A Rare Case Of A CG&S Design-Only Project

    Ryan Davis Headshot

    By Ryan Davis

    Posted on October 29, 2015

    Every once in a while we take on a design project that we don’t build ourselves, and in even rarer circumstances, we get the opportunity to design a home for a close friend or family member.

    Continue reading »

  • To Tub, Or Not To Tub?

    A brief investigation of the virtues and drawbacks of “tub-ness” in your bathroom

    Stewart Davis AIA Headshot

    By Stewart Davis AIA

    Posted on October 19, 2015

    Most people take baths about as often as they go to confession. And yet there is often a fear of not including a tub in their master bath renovation, even if it will go unused. The debate goes something like this...

    Continue reading »