How We Give Back
As a social benefit company we care about people, the planet and profit with an especially soft spot
for folks that work towards affordable housing here in Texas. And that’s why we love Foundation
Communities.
Foundation Communities is a local, homegrown nonprofit that provides affordable, and attractive
homes with free on-site support services for thousands of families, veterans, seniors, and individuals
with disabilities. Their innovative model empowers their residents and neighbors to achieve
educational success, financial stability, and healthier lifestyles. With over 18 communities, they are
truly helping make an impact for our friends and neighbors here in Austin.
And, that’s why we are giving 10%-20% of all our ticket sales to them in 2016.
Welcome to the Weird Homes Tour 2016
May 7, 2016
For three years now, the Weird Homes Tour has been a celebration of our weird, wonderful, and
whimsically amazing world. Prepare to experience 11 of the most creative, kooky, magical and
eccentric places and people that makes Austin, well, Austin. Thank you for taking the journey with us.
A few things to keep in mind:
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The tour is May 7th from 10am-6pm
VIP party (requires VIP ticket) is from 6pm-9pm
Don’t forget to wear that wristband!
Children 13 and younger are FREE!
The tour is self-paced and self-driving. Start and stop wherever you want!
The homeowners are just as unique and interesting as their homes. Be sure to meet them
while on the tour or VIP party!
Now let’s get our weird on!
If you want to learn more about Foundation Communities or to get involved please visit
www.foundcom.org.
Annoucing the Houston Weird Homes Tour
The Weird Homes Tour is expanding to Houston! Mark your calendars for October 8th to check out
Houston’s own brand of weird! Stay tuned!
1 Casa Neverlandia
2 Freeman House
305 W Milton Street, 78704
7912 Tisdale Drive, 78757
3 Florence’s Comfort House
4 Under the Sea House
515 Kemp Street, 78741
1815 Dywer Avenue, 78704
5 Riggins’ Cabinet of Curiosities 2604 Lehigh Drive, 78723
6 Barbara’s Bird Cage
7 Community First!
9301 Hog Eye Road, 78724
8 Valerie’s Art Oasis
9 Kasita
3905 - B Grayson Lane, 78722
2008 Arthur Lane, 78704
1304 E 4th Street, 78702
10 The Village of the Witch
11 The Collectors
1708 Alameda Drive, 78704
12 VIP Party at Canopy
VIP ticket required
1921 Miles Avenue, 78745
916 Springdale Road, 78702
Austin, TX
Casa Neverlandia
1708 305 W Milton Street
The Bouldin Creek neighborhood holds a sweet surprise for those who know where to look. And
that surprise is Casa Neverlandia. This towering yet whimsical mansion was built with love and care
by James Talbot and friends and family since 1979. The home is a colorful, undulating playscape
outfitted with solar panels, rainwater collection, fire poles, secret passages, an elevated footbridge,
talk tubes, nooks, crannies, a hidden concert stage and other hideaways that are fascinating to
explore.
The Freeman House
7912 Tisdale Drive
If you live in Crestview in North Austin you’d drive by this place a hundred times and never spot it.
It’s a true hidden gem. This Mexico-inspired hacienda is the hidden artist’s retreat of owners Darryl
Freeman and his wife. Behind its hand built, 6-foot limestone walls, one finds a chicken yard, two koi
ponds, an aviary, many tropical and native Texas plants, and a rain collection system that sustains it
all. There is an art studio and a private acupuncture practice here on the property, an urban oasis.
The studio and home are full of strange, original, oil paintings and many unique treasures gathered
in their over 20 years of travel and adventure together. And you can peer inside this North Austin
hacienda only on the Weird Homes Tour.
Florence’s Comfort House
515 Kemp Street
Under The Sea House
1815 Dywer Avenue
In a bold streak of color in the Montopolis neighborhood lives Florence. This wild 74-year-old has
lived in her house for 25 years. In response to the daily challenges she and her neighbors face,
both inside and outside their homes, she founded Florence’s Comfort House and has decorated it
with art and heart ever since.
Nestled in the classic Austin weirdness zone of the 78704 lies this home dedicated to bold, bright
colors and bold, bright ideas. From the moment we saw the art car pulling into the driveway we
knew this was destined for the Weird Homes Tour. This complete work of art is home to Lois, who’s
been there at least 20 years, working on the home.
This house, filled with love, acceptance, and encouragement, enables Florence to reach out to the
kids in her community, helping them to make the best of their lives both during their youth and
beyond. And you can only see it on the Weird Homes Tour. She will also be selling art outside of her
home to benefit her nonprofit.
The interior has a multitude of collections and a unique lit bathroom with 109 dichroic glass tiles.
Salt and pepper shakers, miniature shoes, matches, are all part of the collections. There are at least
23 different colors used throughout the exterior and interior, and just wait ’til you see the backyard.
“I created a rock star rock garden, a swing with a chandelier, and a fence with an undersea mural on
the exterior,” says Lois. Be sure to check it out on this year’s Weird Homes Tour.
Come find out why she is lovingly nicknamed The Mother Teresa of Montopolis!
Riggins’ Cabinet of Curiosities
2604 Lehigh Drive
Tucked away in University Hills, stands the home of Friday Night Lights’ own Tim Riggins. While Friday
Night Lights might not be with us anymore, Riggins’ house, which was used for filming Friday Night
Lights, has found a new life as a Cabinet of Curiosities.
A police car hood, complete with working siren, greets visitors as they enter to a house bursting
at the seams with oddities. A WWII portable birthing/surgical table stands in for a credenza and a
Victorian coffin dolly, complete with antique gynecological devices, acts as a coffee table. Lamps
are made from x-rays, silkworm cocoons, and a pink 1950’s salon hairdryer! The guest bathroom
is covered with blood spatter and has a hollowed out armadillo containing washcloths for guests,
thoughtfully watched over by 15 muskrat skulls and several grenades.
The owners Michael and Cathy are happy to help explain the method behind the madness. Michael
will be in his hand-built backyard studio to talk art, design, and motorcycles. Cathy, will be happy to
explain why she suspiciously looks something like the character Abby Sciuto from NCIS.
Barbara’s Bird Cage
3905 - B Grayson Lane
In Upper Boggy Creek, you will find the home of artist Barbara Irwin. Barbara is a found object artist
who has made a career of transforming castaway items into unique works of art. She has turned her
house into a found object gallery, literally filled with works of art, from doll heads to bird cages to
totems of power.
Now she wants to invite you to stretch your imagination and see things in a new light, including how
you decorate your home. Barbara has taken turns at being an interior designer, a department store
buyer, a certified Montessori teacher, an herbalist, and an artist. She was even involved in building
a 42-foot trimaran sailboat and sailing from Texas to Hawaii! Since the time she was a teenager, she
has created collages, but it was not until she was in her forties that she actually considered putting
art out into the world.
In Barbara’s words, “when we learn to realize the uniqueness and beauty in everything, then we
can understand that nothing is ever ordinary.” See some of Barbara’s art at her website and come
see for yourself on this year’s Weird Homes Tour. Her art will be for sale so you can take something
home for yourself.
Community First!
9301 Hog Eye Road
Nestled in northeast Austin only a stone’s throw from the Travis County Expo Center is the dream
of one Austin nonprofit – and close friends of ours – Mobile Loaves and Fishes. Community First!
Village is a 27-acre master-planned community that will provide affordable, permanent housing and
a supportive community for the chronically homeless in Central Texas.
But this is no ordinary community! They are truly helping to keep Austin weird in the process. The
housing options available to residents are varied and the community itself is truly one-of-a-kind. You’ll
find professionally-designed micro-homes, RV’s, canvas cottages, airstream trailers, and even tipis.
Other amenities at Community First! include a community garden, chicken coop, memorial garden
and prayer labyrinth, walking trails, art house, and a massive outdoor movie theater. It’s no wonder
Community First! has been getting national attention and inspiring people to rethink how we help
our most vulnerable neighbors.
Valerie’s Art Oasis
2008 Arthur Lane
Valerie, a metal artist, calls Barton Hills her home. In every sense, her house epitomizes the definition
of “art”. Metal sculptures adorn every room including a metal portrait of a famous Russian witch, Baba
Yaga, that guards the library. The whimsical furniture, from squared-circle (or is it circled square?)
chairs, to a loveseat that looks like a plush Viking ship, are all one of a kind. And all of have been
designed and built by Valerie’s husband. And on top of all of this, it used to be a French School!
The house itself is an always evolving work of art that Valerie hopes will never be complete. Whether
it’s the sky painted ceiling, mosque inspired doorway with matching cat door, closets that have
become bookshelves, and bookshelves that have become closets, the house is always in a state of
development. Be sure to talk to Valerie and learn about her plans to raise the roof. Literally.
Kasita
1304 E 4th Street
The Village of the Witch
1921 Miles Avenue
Right next to the Historic Scoot Inn sits the future of urban living from the mind of our own Professor
Dumpster, Dr. Jeff Wilson. This time, under the company name Kasita, Jeff is on a mission to
reimagine home design so that people can do more with less. These concepts are nothing new for
Professor Dumpster who famously lived in a 33 square foot dumpster for over a year and was part
of the Weird Homes Tour in 2014.
In Garrison Park you will find a home that defies all definition. The expansive back yard holds massive
rain collectors, large solar panels, and a small building that can only be described as a guard house.
Two generations of Airstream trailers stand alongside these items. “Olga” is a few years old with
all the modern amenities, while “Buffy”, was built in 1979 and has all of the vintage airstream style
you can imagine.
At 270 square feet, Jeff’s newest project is 237 square feet bigger, but because of it’s thoughtful
industrial design, feels much bigger than that.
In additional this shape shifting backyard holds the studio of Jessica Wagner, a performance and
visual artist and self described witch. Old fairy tale books, snakes, swans, lambs and experiences
are created to make work out of her own personal revolution. And where is the natural habitat for
all this? A red barn of course!
Not only is the use of space unique, but Jeff has reimagined home ownership. People can buy a
Kasita that can be unplugged and added to grids in large cities all around the country. If you want
to move, you simply download the app, pick a new location, and you can take your house with you!
Be sure to check out the special art installations and acrobatic performances planned especially
for the tour!
The Collectors
1708 Alameda Drive
If you thought that the owners of Austin’s iconic vintage store (and one of our favorite’s to visit!)
Uncommon Objects would have a weird home then you would be 100% right. This house in Travis
Heights is a collection of collections.
As you enter you are greeted by a wall of 30 years of handmade Christmas ornaments that are the
product of a long-standing party the owners have with their friends to create new ornaments. That’s
a great tradition, right?
From there you off to explore a treasure trove of hidden gems both large and small including
collections of seeds, baseballs, cowboy boots, dice, art and who knows what else. Every cabinet,
and every shelf, is filled with jewels waiting to be discovered, each one with it’s own story. It’s never
been open to the public before and you can see it on this year’s Weird Homes Tour!
Special Thanks to Thanin Viriyaki Photography