Inside This Austin Home Where the Interiors Are Equal Parts Autobiographical and Museum Worthy

Beauty and resilience, family and provocation, power and femininity—the walls of Suzanne McFayden’s newest home tell the story of a life’s evolution. “I’ve been a daughter and student, a wife and mother,” she says. “Now, I’m an empty-nester.” With her youngest child graduating from college this past spring, the Jamaican-born writer, philanthropist, and prolific contemporary art collector is ready for change. “This is my third act,” she says, reveling in the possibilities. “I’m excited to see what happens next.”The front door—five feet wide by ten feet tall—features a custom pineapple doorknob by local artisan Hawkeye Glenn, honoring the Jamaican symbol of hospitality. Beyond the threshold, guests step into a light-filled foyer finished in Domingue limewash paint. A vintage Isamu Noguchi Akari light sculpture hangs above a custom wool rug by Pierre Augustin Rose. The room is furnished with a 2014 Senegalese tribal chair by Babacar Niang, a Haas Brothers Monkey bench, and a Studio Van Den Akker ottoman covered in a Moore & Giles shearling. The space showcases prominent artworks including Sanford Biggers’s Quilt 8 (The Cartographer’s Conundrum), layered over an 1850s antique textile, and Frida Orupabo’s pinned paper collage Woman Flying II / Birdy. These hang alongside Ayana V. Jackson’s pigment print Stella and two beaded sculptural works by Nádia Taquary: Dinka Obaluaê and Dinkas Orixás. Frida Ourpado Photo Credits: Mario Todeschini. ART: Ayana V. Jackson / Mariane Ibrahim Gallery. © Sanford Biggers / Boesky Gallery, New York and Aspen. ©Frida Orupabo. / Stevenson Cape Town and Amsterdam. © 2026 Ruth Asawa Lanier, Inc., / David Zwirner. Haas Brothers / Marianne Boesky Gallery. Nádia Taquary. Henry Taylor.Tranquil reflection redefined her idea of home. After selling her 7,000-square-foot Brutalist concrete house in Austin, Texas—featured by Architectural Digest in 2020—McFayden sought “something cozy and nourishing,” she says, “with wall space for art.” She found her “sleeping beauty” tucked into a verdant thicket of Red Oak and Live Oak trees in Austin’s Hill Country. To bring the project to life, she reunited with local architect Paul Lamb and New York City–based interior designer Jennifer Vaughn Miller, the team behind her previous industrial monolith.Evocative of Dionysus’s lair, the moody library is painted in Farrow & Ball’s Radicchio and features a crimson, low-slung Mario Bellini sofa for B&B Italia. The artwork (right) is by Tschabalala Self. The custom towering ebony bookcase with artwork by Didier William adds drama to the room. The floating pendant is by Hervé Van der Straeten from Ralph Pucci. The sculptural Crepuscule floor lamp by Material Lust illuminates a vintage Jorge Zalszupin JZ tea trolley from Espasso. Window treatments are in a Pierre Frey cheyenne fabric, and the custom area rug is by Woven. ART: © Marcel Dzama / David Zwirner. Didier William. Charles Umlauf. Wangechi Mutu. Tschabalala Self.“The room is the beginning of architecture,” Lamb says, quoting the legendary 20th-century American architect Louis Kahn. This philosophy—that true design happens from the inside out, conceived not as a massive external shell but as a harmonious, thoughtful “society of rooms”—became the guiding principle. “Suzanne has a proclivity for minimalism,” Lamb says. He encouraged her to layer the space with pieces that reflected her passions and honored her ambitions. Working together, Lamb and McFayden—the former board chair of the Blanton Museum of Art and a trustee of the Studio Museum in Harlem—pored over McFayden’s extensive collection, a compendium of soul-driven acquisitions that reflect her multi-layered identity as a Black woman, mother, immigrant, and survivor. “It wasn’t until I went to Art Basel (in Switzerland) in 2010 that art became personal. I saw myself represented—unlike what I learned in art survey courses at Cornell, where the art was so external to all I am,” McFayden says. The artwork they ultimately selected, she says, “is an extension of how I’m feeling and who I am.”“At home, I dress casually,” says McFayden, “but I love to put on a gown for the right occasion.” The homeowner is pictured on a staircase designed by Lamb, who envisioned it as soft, flowing, feminine, and gracious. Artworks include Jean-Michel Basquiat’s Padrino (n.d.), and Ruth Asawa’s Untitled S. 769/60 (c. 1960). These hang alongside Nate Lewis’s Probing the Land, V (2020); Naudline Pierre’s Prophecy of Power and Endurance (2022), and Allison Janae Hamilton’s Mask with guinea halo (2019). Art: © Estate of Jean-Michel Basquiat. Licensed by Artestar, New York. © 2026 Ruth Asawa Lanier, Inc., / David Zwirner. Naudline Pierre / NORR COHAN, New York. Nate Lewis. © Allison Janae Hamilton / Boesky Gallery, New York and Aspen. Haas Brothers / Marianne Boesky Gallery.Every room tells a story. In the light-filled foyer—or the “Hall of Ancestors,” as Lamb calls it—Frida Orupabo’s angelic Woman Flying II / Birdy seems to levitate above a Senegalese tribal chair and a vintage Noguchi light sculpture. “The challenge was to create a warm, inviting residence, rich in texture and color, that didn’t compete with the art,” says Vaughn Miller. Her palette featured natural greens—ranging from emerald to olive—woven throughout the upholstery. Ivory-colored custom rugs and shearling pillows provide a soft contrast to the cool white-oak flooring, while rose mohair and crimson velvet add depth and multidimensional texture. “The idea was to bring the outdoors in, creating a calming canvas with colors authentic to the landscape,” she says.Benjamin Moore’s Onondaga Clay paint, a vintage Oscar Torlasco brass-and-nickel pendant, and tactile materials balance the room’s bold narrative artwork by Simon Haas and Carrie Mae Weems. McFayden considers Weems’s Portrait of a Woman Fallen from Grace (1987) something of a self-portrait. “I was raised in a religious household,” she explains. “Like me, she appears to be reveling in sin.” The sink is by Kast, the fittings by Waterworks, and the mirror is from Garde. ART: Carrie Mae Weems. Simon Haas / Marianne Boesky Gallery.The design set the stage for much of the art, but specific works ultimately dictated the room’s design. One of the most significant pieces to consider was the colossal Ebony G. Patterson diptych, which now anchors McFayden’s upstairs study. A vintage Gio Ponti desk is positioned diagonally from the entrance, with the seat angled to face Paul Anthony Smith’s A Sense of Familiar, installed above a Pierre Augustin Rose sofa. The Haas Brothers Wooly Nelson chair, which straddles the divide between functional seating and contemporary sculpture, adds warmth and whimsy.The media room features black-glazed terra-cotta wall tiles by Elgin Butler, forming a custom black-on-black unit designed by Lamb. Above the fireplace hangs Derrick Adams’s Style Variation 12 (2019), while Simone Leigh’s stoneware sculpture The Village Series #14 (2019) sits to the left. A custom Polaris rug by Woven anchors the seating area, which includes a sofa covered in a Pierre Frey fabric, chairs upholstered in Capri II Felce, a Roche Bobois Apex ottoman, a George Nakashima Slab oak burl coffee table from 1stDibs, and a rubber credenza by Brian Thoreen. Lighting includes a Hallworth Odyssey chandelier and a vintage brass-and-leather floor lamp from 1stDibs. The ethereal mood shifts in the powder room, evoking a sultry underground disco. Here, a vintage brass, nickel, and glass orb casts moody light on Carrie Mae Weems’s Portrait of a Woman Fallen from Grace and Simon Haas’s voyeuristic Padam Padam from his celebrated glory-hole Grottos series. In the media room, McFayden’s desire for “a wall that represents Black joy” comes to life. Lamb designed a seamless, black-on-black ceramic structure sealed with brown mortar—an installation that draws the gaze upward while reflecting light, momentum, and ebullience.Lamb selected the painting for the living room as a “perfect cosmic pairing” with the Sagitta Constellation ceiling fixture by Hallworth. McFayden calls the 1957 Sergio Rodrigues Mole sofa—accented with a pillow from Wildflower Organics—her “cat perch,” where she enjoys morning tea. The space features a 1960 Hans Wegner Ox chair from Galerie Half, a 1960s Charlotte Perriand stool from Gallery Roth, and a custom solid-bronze buffet. The custom coffee table’s base, crafted by local Austin woodworker Mark Maček, supports an antique Moroccan door McFayden found on a trip. The room, finished in Domingue lime paint, is illuminated by a 1950s Isamu Noguchi Akari floor lamp and surface-mount spotlights by Lucifer Lighting. Biedermeier candlesticks by Ted Muehling, window treatments in Pierre Frey Sanjana fabric, and a custom silk-and-wool rug by Woven complete the space. Akari 33NW Ceiling LampCB2 Mayon Reactive Glaze BowlThe residence, like its owner, is both strong and feminine. “Feeling is first,” Lamb says. “There are no rules; there is no syntax.” This philosophy mirrors McFayden’s internal landscape. In the guest bedroom, conceptual artist and Black feminist Lorraine O’Grady’s The Fir-Palm hangs. This surreal photomontage, a hybrid of a Caribbean palm tree and a New England fir that grows from a woman’s torso, challenges the rigidity of a binary world with a fluid, inclusive identity. “This is me,” McFayden explains. “This says, ‘I exist.’”The custom ceramic dining table by Hun Chung Lee from R & Company was intentionally positioned closer to the wall rather than centered in the room, maximizing floor space for guests to mingle. Featured paintings include Nick at a Mirror (After Rubens’s Venus at a Mirror) by Mathenge and Sanogo Messenger (2021) by Raphaël Barontini. “She’s sort of the muse of the house,” says Lamb of the artwork. Seating includes upholstered H Chairs from Estudio Persona and a Metropole bench in shearling from Monc XIII. Pierre Frey’s Mendes Meringue fabric drapes the windows. Sculptural works, including Simone Leigh’s Untitled (Cowrie with rosettes) and Lynda Benglis’s QT (2023) in Everdur bronze, add rich textures to the room. H Chair by Estudio PersonaNordic Knots Grand Wool Rug“I’m not a big cook, but I do love to make breakfast,” McFayden says about her kitchen layout. The walls are lined with cork, creating a canvas for pinning and hanging small drawings. Custom cabinetry, painted in Farrow & Ball’s Tanner’s Brown, is illuminated by Lucifer surface-mount spotlights. The stovetop is styled with cookware from the local shop La Embajada. Black and brass pulls echo the hardware on the swinging door, and the lucite counter stools are from 1stDibs. oax-i-fornia Verde Circular PotVintage Midcentury-Modern Chiavari Side Chair“Max wanted his room to look like a store,” says Lamb of McFayden’s son. The bedroom pairs midcentury design with bold contemporary forms against walls painted in Farrow & Ball’s Ammonite. A 1950s George Nakashima for Widdicomb headboard anchors a custom Ambrose Upholstery bed base, set alongside a Sergio Rodrigues black leather Mole chair and a Gaetano Pesce Serie Up 2000 armchair. Lighting includes a 1960s Preben Dahl Symfoni Rhomboid pendant lamp and an Apparatus Metronome floor lamp. Castel Tulum window treatments, a custom rug, a Hermès throw, and Wildflower Organics bedding complete the space. Convertible guest bedrooms were essential to McFayden, whose three children visit often. In the girls’ room, a gold lumbar pillow from Wildflower Organics and a Hermès throw blanket rest on a custom Paul Mathieu Bianca daybed upholstered in Holland & Sherry fabric from Ralph Pucci. A vintage wood stool from one of McFayden’s trips to Morocco adds a personal touch. “I come into this room when I need to change perspective,” McFayden says. Lorraine O’Grady’s Fir-Palm and Kwesi Botchway’s African Style anchor the walls. The space also features a 1940s shearling lounge chair from 1stDibs, along with 1940s Swedish sconces and a vintage floor lamp with a fabric shade, both from PRB. The windows are dressed in Holland & Sherry’s Elie fabric in Pearl, and custom wall shelves by Paul Lamb Architects display collected objects. The room is painted in Farrow & Ball’s Elephant’s Breath, with a custom wool rug by Marc Phillips below. Vintage Camaleonda Lounge Chair by Mario BelliniSoho Home Margeaux Oblong Cushion“My daughters always find something they don’t have,” McFayden laughs about the closet, where her two girls spend time when visiting from New York. The room features a vintage Turkish rug from Chairish and custom Minotti La Michetta ottomans upholstered in a mix of Schumacher and Holland & Sherry fabrics. An Apparatus pendant and Sophie Lou Jacobsen table lamps provide a soft glow. In Common With Fazzo Table LampArhaus Tibetan Longwool Lumbar PillowThe bedroom sitting area features a nesting configuration of two Roche Bobois Bubble sofas in ivory bouclé and a 1930s Gio Ponti ebonized walnut coffee table displaying Elizabeth Catlett’s orange onyx sculpture, Nude Torso. “I love waking up and looking at this sculpture,” McFayden says. “She’s inspiring—look how she’s postured. She’s sexy and sassy. And strong. She knows she’s going to have to fight another day—and she’s ready for it.” The space is completed with Farrow & Ball’s Wimborne White on the walls, a custom mohair rug by Woven, and window curtain fabric by Rose Tarlow. Tavares Strachan’s neon glasswork You Belong Here (blue) (2012) hangs above a 1938 Swedish writing desk by Oscar Nilsson from Galerie Provenance, with a vintage brass floor lamp nearby. The room also features Kehinde Wiley’s Portrait of Kaysy J. Gotay (2020) and two 2021 works by Morel Doucet: The Garden of Eden (Adam Lives in Theory) and Last Time I Saw a Hero He Was Painted in Shades of Sapphire. Additional furniture includes a vintage clam chair from 1stDibs and a Marquesa bench by Oscar Niemeyer from Espasso. Lighting is provided by an Oscar counterweight pendant by RW Guild, set against walls finished in Domingue lime paint. The walls in the primary bathroom are painted in Farrow & Ball’s Wimborne White, complementing wall tile from Ann Sacks, which distributes light evenly. Two ottomans by Roche Bobois sit atop a custom Alpaca rug by Woven. The sconces and pendant are by Apparatus. In McFayden’s study, Ebony G. Patterson’s extraordinary diptych, ...sunsets and monarchs come to feast, snakes come to discover as she remains lost in plain sight... (2019), takes center stage. The room features a vintage 1950s Gio Ponti Executive desk paired with a vintage Eames desk chair. A Pierre Augustin Rose sofa in a Pierre Frey mohair and a custom-commissioned Haas Brothers Beast chair named Wooly Nelson offer additional seating. A glazed stoneware vase by Roberto Lugo sits atop the Standby cocktail table by Apparatus. The custom ivory rug is from Woven.