'It's a difficult thing to nail, that feeling of timelessness and originality in a new build' – but that's exactly what designer Vanessa Alexander achieved in this European-inspired Texas home

Neutral kitchen with wooden cabinets and marble countertop. The main kitchen is through an arch and there is an arched window to mirror this.

There is an air of tranquility about this Texan home that surrounds you as soon as you walk through its steel-arched door, with its enviable position close to the state's Lake Austin and its idyllic waterside views in one direction and downtown Austin and the sprawl of the University of Texas campus in the other.

The interior designer on this new build, Vanessa Alexander of Alexander Design, says her clients wanted a 'fresh and edited language' to balance its Spanish Revival architecture, the work of the classicist San Antonio-based architect Michael G Imber.