Meeta Morrison Designs
Meeta Morrison is a fan of all things “modern and eclectic” and is drawn to items with “an obvious handmade appeal,” like Persian rugs and locally made furniture, her aesthetic inspired by her Indian heritage, Texas upbringing and years spent as a studio artist. Over the past decade, she’s taken up a second career in design and has been helping Austinites get their dream home. But one of her latest projects, her own Bee Caves residence, was quite the design challenge.
It’s an older home, built in the late 1970s or early 1980s, and exhibited all the common problems, like a tight floor plan, a lack of natural light and small bathrooms. Plus, there was dated wood paneling and carpeting. She wanted a larger kitchen, as she and her husband are big entertainers, and a brighter office. She captured a midcentury modern-meets-California deck home aesthetic with large wooden decks at the back of the house, matte flooring that deflects the light during the day and pieces from Austin makers, like the blue-green shimmering tile from Architerra and a colorful Meeta Morrison acrylic-on-canvas painting above the living room credenza.
The most fascinating tidbit about the home? It has a five-star rating from the Austin Energy Green Building Program, thanks to Morrison’s effort to “reuse, recycle and donate.”
“The limestone that was removed from the inside and outside was reused on the exterior walls and landscaping and given to a friend,” she says. “Concrete was recycled. Metal was recycled. Cabinetry was repainted and reused. Appliances were sold or given to friends. It’s very important to me, and whenever I’m on a project, both at remodels and on new construction projects, I talk to my clients about managing waste.”