Welcome.

Hello. My name is Lauren Himmelvo. I come from a long line of do-ers (my father, a successful real estate developer, my mother, an accomplished interior designer for 30+ years). Oh, and my grandfather was a calligrapher – I don’t know where that fits in, I just thought I’d throw it out there. I’m writing this blog to share my experiences designing/building/renovating homes over the last 15 years. Currently I am working on a small cabin from the ground up (literally) outside Austin in hill country.

To give you a sense of who I am, because maybe you want to know what made me want to roll up my sleeves and put on a tool belt – I am a woman after all – I’ll give you some background on me:

My childhood was spent by the sea in Massachusetts. My parents had a habit of buying old palatial homes and restoring them from the ground up. I lived on construction sites quite a bit as a kid and came to love the smell of freshly delivered 2x4’s. I learned to love/use power tools from numerous contractors I befriended and started building and fixing things on my own at around 8 or 9 (have you read Violet the Pilot?). What started as a raft, became a floating nature observatory for the kids in the neighborhood, and soon I moved on to tree houses, and eventually at 12, I started my own boat maintenance and restoration business. I had a few steady clients and maintained the teak decks and brightwork on their sailboats throughout my summer days. When I wasn’t working on other people’s boats, I worked on my own, often into the night. Not a bad gig, eh? I have nautical (mostly stripes) running through my veins. Built-ins, tight, well-thought-out spaces, utilitarian design – throw in a Japanese aesthetic, meets boatbuilder, meets shiplap in a cabin in the country, and that should do it. It all fits, doesn’t it?

Simplicity and balance in a space is what moves me.

It took me a long time to come back to the design/build aspirations of my childhood. And several films, a restaurant, and two babies later, I manage to be working and doing what I love – building and creating meaningful spaces.

When I found the Texas hill country it was love at first sight. I can’t get past all that white-washed limestone, cedars, cedars everywhere, and those rolling hills. It captivates and nourishes me.

And so with this blog, I am launching Country & Seaweed, an itty bitty design/build firm. Armed with a modest brigade of professional tradespeople, we aim to take Austin’s small renovation, little cabin market by storm…in our own itty bitty way. Remember: I like small spaces. No space or job is too small. Not sure how Texas will handle this whole “small” thing, but heck, we’re here to help. That’s what we do.

Take a look at what we’re creating in hill country on a very LIMITED budget. This 850 square foot cabin will come in under $100,000. Enjoy and please don’t be afraid to ask questions or touch base if you think you might have a project that seems right for us.

Oh and since music has always been the driving force in my life, whenever I post I will always share the song of the day. I always have one.

Today’s Song: Bolinas by Tony Furtado

https://itun.es/i6BW3nV #iTunes

And because I believe we get back what we put out into the universe…

Do a good Deed: Buy a Starbuck’s for the person behind you in the drive-thru line.