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OMG -- that’s in Texas? Peek inside this mushroom-shaped home on the market

819 Mariner, Lakeway, TX 78734 (HAR)

Whatever the reason you’re here, whether you’re honest-to-goodness house hunting, you’re searching for images to tack to your dream home vision board, or you just need something to gawk at to pass the time cooped up indoors, enjoy a virtual tour of this jaw-dropping Texas home on the market.

Nestled on a wooded, waterfront lot overlooking Lake Travis, the structure at 819 Mariner, best described as an otherworldly mass of organic shapes and undulating curves, has long attracted special attention. The structure goes by many names: the Mushroom House, the Nautilus House and the Sand Dollar House, it’s official title.

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Frank Lloyd Wright’s apprentice John Covert Watson designed the home for artist Eugenia Hunt back in 1979. A 2,240-square-foot structure that is as much a work of art as it is a home, the domicile seeks to strike a harmonious relationship between humanity and nature.

“This house is iconic,” home owner Liz Bradford, told Austin360.com in August. “To me, it’s probably the most iconic house on the lake. You can’t miss it.”

The dwelling is made of gunite and steel. Most of its bright white walls are curved and it’s rooms offer commanding views of the lake. Viewed straight on, the house resembles a mushroom. Viewed from above, it looks like a massive sand dollar.

“One of the home’s most interesting features is the fascinating spiral staircase with wood treads. When you look up to the teardrop-shaped skylights, it feels like you are inside a sand dollar,” the listing reads.

In August 2020, the home was featured the Austin Weird Homes Tour. Now, it’s up for grabs.

Contemporary architecture aficionados with deep pockets and an affinity for the odd can finally escape the banality of everyday architecture for a retreat that forsakes restrictive right angles and straight lines for fluid curves and organic forms -- for a price, that is.

If you’ve got $2,200,000 burning a hole in your pocket and you’re ready to pony up the big bucks to call this one-of-a-kind estate your forever home, give listing agent Michelle Jones a ring at (512) 470-3173. Click here for more information on the home.

Now, enough with the words. Why blab on and on about this iconic abode when we can let these photos talk the talk for us? Scroll below to take a peek inside this wacky, weird, and incredible space.

819 Mariner, Lakeway, TX 78734 (HAR)
819 Mariner, Lakeway, TX 78734 (HAR)
819 Mariner, Lakeway, TX 78734 (HAR)
819 Mariner, Lakeway, TX 78734 (HAR)
819 Mariner, Lakeway, TX 78734 (HAR)
819 Mariner, Lakeway, TX 78734 (HAR)
819 Mariner, Lakeway, TX 78734 (HAR)
819 Mariner, Lakeway, TX 78734 (HAR)
819 Mariner, Lakeway, TX 78734 (HAR)
819 Mariner, Lakeway, TX 78734 (HAR)
819 Mariner, Lakeway, TX 78734 (HAR)
819 Mariner, Lakeway, TX 78734 (HAR)
819 Mariner, Lakeway, TX 78734 (HAR)
819 Mariner, Lakeway, TX 78734 (HAR)
819 Mariner, Lakeway, TX 78734 (HAR)
819 Mariner, Lakeway, TX 78734 (HAR)
819 Mariner, Lakeway, TX 78734 (HAR)
819 Mariner, Lakeway, TX 78734 (HAR)
819 Mariner, Lakeway, TX 78734 (HAR)
819 Mariner, Lakeway, TX 78734 (HAR)
819 Mariner, Lakeway, TX 78734 (HAR)
819 Mariner, Lakeway, TX 78734
819 Mariner, Lakeway, TX 78734
819 Mariner, Lakeway, TX 78734
819 Mariner, Lakeway, TX 78734
819 Mariner, Lakeway, TX 78734
819 Mariner, Lakeway, TX 78734 (HAR)
819 Mariner, Lakeway, TX 78734
819 Mariner, Lakeway, TX 78734 (HAR)
819 Mariner, Lakeway, TX 78734
819 Mariner, Lakeway, TX 78734
819 Mariner, Lakeway, TX 78734
819 Mariner, Lakeway, TX 78734
819 Mariner, Lakeway, TX 78734
819 Mariner, Lakeway, TX 78734
819 Mariner, Lakeway, TX 78734
819 Mariner, Lakeway, TX 78734 (HAR)
819 Mariner, Lakeway, TX 78734 (HAR)

Got any thoughts, feelings, declarations? Share them all in the comments below.


About the Author
Briana Zamora-Nipper headshot

Briana Zamora-Nipper joined the KPRC 2 digital team in 2019. When she’s not hard at work in the KPRC 2 newsroom, you can find Bri drinking away her hard earned wages at JuiceLand, running around Hermann Park, listening to crime podcasts or ransacking the magazine stand at Barnes & Noble.

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