For a town of around 100 residents, Round Top, TX, certainly has a lot going on. It’s home to the legendary Round Top Antiques Fair, known as one of the best antiques shows in the country and attracts thousands of dealers and vintage enthusiasts three times a year. The town is also home to the Prairie at Round Top, a historic bed-and-breakfast and event venue renowned for its charming design and Texas hospitality.
When new ownership of the 46-acre property brought on the need for a redesign, One Kings Lane favorite Tammy Price of Fragments Identity was tapped to give it a fresh, farmhouse-modern makeover. Read on to tour the beautiful spaces and to learn more about Tammy’s approach to design.
Shop the look of the Prairie at Round Top →
Pillows covered in Moroccan Berber wool and an Anatolian kilim top a linen sofa in the Farmhouse, the oldest building on the property. A coordinating framed global textile adorns the wall.
A barley-twist table and side chairs upholstered in a textural stripe provide unexpected details in the Farmhouse and play well off the building’s original pine flooring.
The kitchen in the Farmhouse features weathered wood furnishings, such as the Shandong stool and the petite island shown above, along with star cabinet knobs that nod to the Prairie’s Texas locale.
The screened-in porch off the side of the Farmhouse is just one of the five porches that grace the historic structure.
The Charming History
Known for her warm, neutral aesthetic and penchant for vintage furnishings, Tammy was a natural fit for the Prairie, which comprises a number of buildings and outdoor spaces over 46 acres of rolling Texas Hill Country. Her antique-heavy approach to design meshes perfectly with the property’s long history: German immigrants erected the original, still-standing Farmhouse (pictured above) in the late 1880s and slowly added more buildings throughout their century-long tenancy. After the family moved on, the property sat empty for nearly 20 years until a Houston-based artist bought and restored it, turning it into a bed-and-breakfast.
Classic Adirondack chairs provide the perfect spot to relax in front of #22 Whispering Trail.
Pillows from Tammy’s indigo collection lend a pop of color to the living room of #22 Whispering Trail, one of the Prairie’s inviting cottages.
Originally a barn for storing farm tools, #22 Whispering Trail is one of the oldest structures on the property and retains the building’s original brick floors and cypress beams.
The Revival
Though the current stewards are not based in the area year-round, they’re no strangers to Round Top. They’ve been longtime frequenters of the antiques fair and the Prairie, and they own Old Glory Antiques in town, where a number of pieces in the redesign were sourced.
Tammy, who is based in Southern California and has showrooms there and in Denver, flew to Texas for a site visit, then quickly set to work. It was an enormous project: Tammy’s team renovated 11 bathrooms, made more than 100 custom window coverings, painted every space in a crisp coat of white, and brought in three semitrucks’ worth of custom and vintage furnishings.
The main challenge was that each structure on the property has a different function and feel and therefore needed its own aesthetic identity. Tammy called upon her experience in hospitality design to reimagine each space while keeping a consistent look throughout. “When you’re doing hospitality, you’re doing restaurants, hotel rooms, lobbies, common areas. These spaces function a lot different from a home,” Tammy says. “I wanted the Prairie to be a relaxing environment that guests feel really good in: comfortable, homey, and a place they’d want to return.”
Holly House, the personal home of the property owners, was also designed by Tammy; it is occasionally available to rent for larger events.
Sleek ceramics, weathered woods, and woven textures give Holly House’s open kitchen a laid-back look.
A taxidermy bust stands watch over the Holly House living room, which features crisp white linen upholstery, dark hair-on-hide ottomans, and a mix of striped and Anatolian kilim pillows.
A serene palette, crisp custom bedding, a mountain of plush pillows… Sweet dreams certainly await whoever sleeps in this Holly House bedroom.
Simple and sleek fixtures play up the original molding and slatted ceiling of the Holly House bathroom.
A rustic pergola covered in overgrown vines is one of the property’s many outdoor dining and lounge areas.
The Design
For those familiar with her work, the space is unmistakably Tammy. The designer has always been a proponent of decorating with neutrals, and the historic details—which she was careful to preserve and highlight—feel fresh alongside her pared-down palette and thoughtful mix of natural textures. “When you do everything in neutral, it really anchors the space,” Tammy says. “It transcends [trends] and will always last.”
Woven pendants provide light in nearly every building on the property. Furnishings are upholstered in nubby linen, vintage Anatolian and Berber textiles, hides, and distressed leather. Vintage wooden bread boards and carved bowls lend rustic charm to the tables and walls. Shandong benches outfitted with vintage French linen rest at the ends of beds and provide a soft spot to sit.
Nearly every piece on the property is from Tammy’s collection, custom-made, or vintage. It’s all part of the Fragments Identity ethos, which takes the old and makes it new—and has turned the Prairie at Round Top into both a historic homage and a modern-day haven.
The Guest House, originally a hay barn (as evidenced by its restored rusted-tin siding and roof), now serves as the property’s main gathering place.
The Guest House features a number of areas for those staying at the Prairie to enjoy, including a breakfast room, a sitting room with a TV, a library for reading and playing games, and a fire pit flanked by Adirondack chairs outside.
With its Spanish-style build and lush banana and palm trees, #405 Whispering Trails is a unique structure on the property.
A stained-concrete floor with gorgeous patina graces #405 Whispering Trails, a popular choice for couples and families of three.
Vintage Spanish-inspired tiles add a hint of color to the bathroom of #405 Whispering Trails.
I wanted the Prairie to be a relaxing environment that guests feel really good in: comfortable, homey, and a place they’d want to return.
The Pearl Barn, built in 2012, is a popular spot for weddings and other events.
Found Cottage, a restored farmhouse from the 1900s, sits adjacent to the Pearl Barn and is often used as a bridal suite.
A bench upholstered in mud cloth from Mali rests at the foot of the bed in the Found Cottage suite, which features a distressed-wood door as its headboard.
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