A Design Enthusiast’s Guide to Austin
September 8, 2026
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When Austin-based architecture firm KRDB reimagined our 1920s Craftsman bungalow and designer Kasey McCarty worked with our team on the interiors, we made a deliberate choice to surround our guests with Austin artists, local makers, and hand-finished details from the original home. The result has been recognized by AIA Austin and featured in Apartment Therapy, Wallpaper*, Monocle, and Conde Nast Traveler.
Lucky for us, good design can be found on nearly every corner in this city. Austin’s creative community spans architecture and public installations, handcrafted goods, and design-forward retail. Here’s where we point guests who want to see it.
In this post:
Design Destinations in Austin
Austin Central Library
Named one of the World’s Greatest Places by TIME Magazine in 2018, Austin Central Library is still earning it. The six-story building, designed by Lake Flato and Shepley Bulfinch, is flooded with natural light and filled with mid-century modern classics from Eames, Bertoia, Saarinen, and Herman Miller. Beyond the furniture, there’s a rooftop garden with the largest solar installation in downtown Austin, reading porches with views of Lady Bird Lake, and a cafe that makes lingering easy. Free admission. Open Monday through Thursday 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., Friday until 5 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday noon to 5 p.m.
Ellsworth Kelly’s “Austin” at the Blanton Museum
On the University of Texas campus, the Blanton Museum of Art is home to more than 22,000 works and one of the most quietly extraordinary rooms in the city. Ellsworth Kelly’s “Austin” is a standalone stone building Kelly designed and gifted to the museum, its colorful glass windows shifting with the light throughout the day. It’s the only building Kelly designed in his lifetime and one of those places that’s hard to explain and easy to stand inside for a long time. Admission to the Blanton is $15 for adults, and the museum is free every Tuesday. Open Tuesday through Friday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., Sunday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The Contemporary Austin
Two locations, both worth visiting. The Jones Center on Congress Avenue hosts rotating exhibits of contemporary artists in open gallery spaces, including the Moody Rooftop Gallery. Laguna Gloria, about 20 minutes from the Heywood, is an outdoor sculpture garden on the grounds of a 1916 estate on the shore of Lake Austin, with modern sculptures threaded throughout trails under live oak canopy. Open Wednesday and Friday through Sunday 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Thursday 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Closed Monday and Tuesday. Thursdays are free all day.
Springdale General
This one is less well-known and worth knowing. Springdale General is a renovated industrial complex in East Austin that houses a range of creative tenants, including Medici Roasting (one of the city’s best coffee shops) and a rotating cast of makers and studios. The space has that particular East Austin feeling of an industrial building put to good work. Worth a visit if you’re already heading east.
Design Shops in Austin
Apartment F
Located on E. 11th St., Apartment F specializes in small-batch goods, designing original textiles in-house and working directly with artisans in Morocco and Turkey. Their collection runs from hand-woven rugs and pillows to organic apothecary and globally sourced pantry items. Worth a visit even if you’re just browsing. Open Monday through Friday 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Sunday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Take Heart
Founded by Nina Gordon, Take Heart is a retail boutique at 1211 E. 11th St. that stocks handmade and thoughtfully designed objects for the home and person. The emphasis is on Japanese design alongside local and American artists: ceramics by Ryan McKerley, Japanese incense, Donabe cookbooks, brass homewares. The kind of shop that makes you reconsider everything on your kitchen counter. Open Monday through Friday 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Sunday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Kindred Spirits
Kindred Spirits is a women’s shop focused on casual clothing in natural textiles, minimalist jewelry, and accessories. The clothing runs toward understated silhouettes, and the whole shop has the feeling of someone who knows exactly what they like. Worth stepping in even if you leave with nothing. Open Sunday through Thursday 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Friday and Saturday 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. at 1111 E. 11th St.
Women & Their Work
Just down East Cesar Chavez from us, Women & Their Work is a nonprofit visual and performing arts organization that has been supporting women artists in Texas since 1978. The gallery rotates exhibits of contemporary work and is always worth a look. Free admission. Open Tuesday through Friday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturday noon to 6 p.m. 1311 E Cesar Chavez St.
Stay Steps from East Austin’s Design SceneWalking distance from nearly every shop and gallery on this list, the Heywood Hotel is MICHELIN-rated and right at 1609 E. Cesar Chavez. Our concierge team can point you to the rest. |
Events Worth Planning Around
AIA Austin Home Tour
Every fall, AIA Austin opens 10 to 12 private homes across the city for a self-guided architectural tour. These are homes designed by AIA Austin architect members, ranging from new construction to thoughtful renovations, and it’s one of the best ways to see how Austin architects are working right now. This year’s tour takes place October 24-25, 2026.
Austin Studio Tour
Organized by Austin arts nonprofit Almost Real Things, the Austin Studio Tour is a free, self-guided tour of artist studios and galleries across the city, held over two November weekends. In 2026, the tour runs November 14–15 and 21–22. More than 300 locations open their doors, and our East Austin neighborhood is one of the most densely packed portions of the map. Canopy on Springdale Road is one of the major hubs, home to dozens of artists and local shops that are worth visiting any time of year.
The Heywood is a natural base for the east side portion of the tour. Most of the nearby studios are within walking or biking distance, and we keep bikes on-site for guests.
Design is At the Heart of the Heywood Hotel
We know it’s a little shameless to include ourselves, but this is a design guide, and we belong on the list. The original Craftsman bones of the 1920s home are still here: the street-facing facade looks like what it always was, a modest East Austin bungalow. Inside, the rooms mix hand-finished furniture, local art, and the kind of specificity that comes from people who live here making decisions about what belongs. We’ve earned two MICHELIN Keys, but what we’re most proud of is guests who come back, year after year.
Book Your Stay at the Heywood HotelMICHELIN-rated and walking distance from East Austin’s best design shops, galleries, and studios. Our concierge team knows this city and will help you make the most of your time here. |