SPICEWOOD, TX $2,225,000
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With sweeping views, a charming barn, private well, and 18,000-gallon rainwater cistern, the setting blends beauty with utility.
Tours are available by appointment only.
To gain a deeper understanding of this rare and special property, please take a moment to watch the narrated video on the property website, where the curators share personal insights into its history and transformation.
Preserved, celebrated, and ready to be shared.
Schedule a tour today!
Insights from the Curators of Highline Hill:
Highline Hill is the name we’ve given this wonderfully situated homestead, inspired by the man-made and natural landscape of the property. The two historic farmhouses are sited above and below a natural rise, and nestled into the hillside defined by a limestone ridge.
This is bordered by a series of industrial LCRA high-tension electric pylons built of rivets and galvanized steel, which is reflected in the roofing and bare steel accents supporting and capping both houses. These have been the landmarks that allow us to locate Highline Hill from a distance in both directions on Hwy 71.
Our intent in thoughtful, careful restoration of these houses is to bring their history back to life with modern energy efficiency, re-use and reclamation of antique materials to give truth to the phrase ‘Green’.
The Homann House
The Homann House, nestled between a hill above and one below with North and South-facing porches, was built in 1908 by German settlers on farmland in Lytton Springs, TX. The Homann family established Homann Farms, still active, due east of Kyle and Niederwald and bordered by Homann Road and Homannville Trail.
Known as the Grandpa House, the Homann homestead was built by Phillip and Lottie Homann, who raised five children here, the youngest of whom, Reinhart Homann, sold us the house in October 2016.
This house was built as a 1 ½-story Folk Victorian, spare in the usual Victorian detail with the exception of unique vegetal leaf trim hand-cut for the porch, windows, and doors. The ½ story is a term representative of a center-hall house with a single room directly above.
Reinhart was 84 years old when we met him to view the house, a kind man of few words with an iron-grip handshake. As he walked through the house with us, he explained that his father removed the stairs and closed in the upstairs room following damage from a ‘twister’ that took the roof off in the 1970s.
As the house hadn’t been occupied in decades, he’d just evicted a family of owls living in the hallway closet and told us he had warm memories of waking up to the sunrise through the upstairs room window where the kids slept.
We’ve sympathetically restored this house, retaining all the original (now extinct) Longleaf Pine materials and insulating with spray foam from the outside-in to keep shiplap and wainscoting intact. The windows are modern replicas of the original 2-over-2, which provide far better thermal quality, and new standing-seam galvanized roofing protects all this history.
Close-Up of Porch and Trim Details
Though simple in its Victorian details, the house features a unique hand-cut vegetal leaf trim on the porch, windows, and doors—a testament to the craftsmanship of the era.
Interior of Homann House – Restoration and Modern Updates
Our intent in the thoughtful, careful restoration of this house has been to bring its history back to life while incorporating modern energy efficiency. We've retained all the original, now-extinct Longleaf Pine materials, insulating from the outside-in to preserve the shiplap and wainscoting. The windows, modern replicas of the original 2-over-2, offer far better thermal quality, and new standing-seam galvanized roofing now protects the wealth of history within these walls.
The Stairway and Interior Features
The beautiful stairway was rebuilt using a combination of elements from two other Texas farmhouse staircases from the 1880s. One provided the rustic treads and risers, all function, while the other contributed a beautiful newel post, banister rail, and spindles, likely older than the Homann House itself.
To either side of the Center Hall were two rooms on the right and two rooms on the left. We removed the wall separating each to create two larger spaces: a Library/Lounge and a Kitchen, both designed to encourage larger gatherings and easy flow.
Library and Kitchen
The Library offers views of the natural stone ledge and hillside, with both North and South porches adding to its charm. We've utilized a pair of apothecary cabinets from a pharmacy in St. Louis as the base for a full wall of bookshelves. To access the upper shelves, we've added an antique rolling ladder from a Southwestern Bell relay station in San Antonio, blending function with vintage appeal.
Across the wide Center Hall, the Kitchen, with its soaring ceilings, provides ample space for baking and meal prep. The centerpiece is a massive 12-foot-long general store counter from Oxford, Mississippi, reflecting a hundred years of use, now retrofitted with modern deep drawers. Opposite, a French Sideboard, circa 1900, offers ample storage and a grand display for your favorite cookware and crockery collection.
The Homann House was designed to serve as the heart of the public spaces at Highline Hill.
Hallway Bridge
This is a modern structure designed and approved by a local commercial structural engineer to connect the Brazos House on lower ground to the Homann House on the hill across a 10-foot vertical grade change like a covered bridge. This hallway spans 26 feet, connecting the Homann House mudroom to the Brazos House living room. It is lined with floor-to-ceiling picture windows on one side and features 2 ½ bathrooms on the other, accommodating larger gatherings.
The mudroom, just off the kitchen, provides direct entry from the South porch and offers storage for shoes, boots, jackets, and hats—an excellent staging area before or after a hike through the acreage. Here, you’ll find an antique cast iron mop-sink salvaged from Round Rock High School, offering a place to wash up, trim and arrange wildflowers, or wash smaller pets.
In the middle bathroom, a large picture window frames a treetop Texas Hill Country scene, beneath which rests an unusually large 'bear-foot' tub from the late 1800s. This tub was salvaged from the original Circle-C Ranch house south of Austin and preserved with its original porcelain finish. According to the original owner's family, Texas Senators and Congressmen passing through South Austin on their way to serve our state often drafted house bills, proposals, and legislation by candlelight in that tub. Who knows what actually became law?
Hanging above the tub is an antique 3-tier wedding-cake chandelier salvaged from a 1920s home in San Antonio, providing shimmering light to complement the decadence of the bath. Each of the larger bathrooms features 4-foot-wide schoolhouse sinks salvaged from the original Round Rock High School art department. Previously used to wash out paint brushes of creative students, these sinks have now been refinished to accommodate the toothbrushes of future owners and visitors.
The hallway-facing occupancy lights, originally from an old gas station, add a cheeky charm by signifying whether the bathroom is available for use or occupied.
The Brazos House
The Brazos House was built in the early 1890s, bordering the State Capitol of Texas. While we don’t have the original address for this house, we know it sat within the block of Brazos Street and 13th Street, which was annexed by the State of Texas in the 1950s to expand the Capitol grounds for the development of additional office space.
The house was sold at public auction by the State and purchased by Gilbert Ginsel of Elgin, TX, who moved it to his farm in Manor, TX, where he and his wife raised three children. We purchased the house from his son, Stan, in March of 2017 with the blessing of his siblings.
The Brazos House is designed to serve as a bunkhouse for Highline Hill, featuring four bedrooms and a family room. We are not the first to conduct renovations within the Brazos House, where the removal of lower door frames and sheetrock was required to uncover the original beadboard ceilings, cased transom door openings, and shiplap. With the same focus on creating energy efficiency while preserving the original interior materials, this house underwent the same historic renovation and energy efficiency program as the Homann House.
Lighting throughout both houses comes from various sources, but all are antique and have been rewired for energy efficiency using LED bulbs.
Art Deco Refrigerator & Piano
Among the treasures we preserved when relocating the Brazos House from Manor to Spicewood are a piano and an Art Deco refrigerator. While the piano will require some repair and tuning, it remains a piece of the home’s musical legacy. The antique refrigerator, though still working, offers a nostalgic charm, even if it’s not energy efficient. Both items may be negotiated as part of the sale of this property if desired.
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