December 08, 2025
Several times a year, I head to Lockhart, a BBQ town 45 minutes southeast of Austin. Its small-town charms include a handsome courthouse square with art galleries, restaurants, and shops, many run by young creatives priced out of Austin or looking for a slower pace. The town also has quite a few big old homes, grand but fallen on hard times, that have been snapped up by newcomers in recent years and brought back to glory, many as Airbnbs but some as private homes.
Lockhart’s Holiday Home Tour offered a peek at 8 houses in Christmas finery last Saturday. Here are a few of my favorite moments on the tour.
The Judge’s House
At The Judge’s House, a 1907 Greek Revival mansion, a toy train chugs along a track encircling a Christmas tree — a fun surprise.
The dining room features an enormous wood-plank table, cowboy art, and forest wallpaper. The home is owned by restaurateur Travis Tober, owner of Austin’s Nickel City and Lockhart’s Old Pal, one of my favorite spots for a drink and a bite to eat.
Dining room decor
Magnolia Mansion
A 1932 Tudor Revival called Magnolia Mansion (formerly the Adams Estate or Glosserman House) was packed with visitors, in part thanks to a generous spread in the kitchen. I saw people happily noshing from full plates as they climbed the grand old staircase to the upper floor.
Downstairs, elaborate tile flooring and ornate doorways caught my eye.
A tiki-esque solarium is a groovy space with velvet lounge seating…
…and a translucent Santa-cowgirl mannequin.
A library features blue-floral wallpaper on the bookshelves (but not many books).
An upstairs bathroom is equally vivid with pink-and-black tile and glossy green walls.
Outside, a life-size alligator sculpture basks poolside.
Birdie House
Birdie House, an 1898 neoclassical Victorian, is a bed-and-breakfast. The owner has a private suite on the 3rd floor and rents out the rest of the house.
A Christmas tree adorned with colorful ribbons brightens the living room.
A moody reading nook is wrapped with ghostly forest wallpaper.
Grandfather clock in the hall
The dining table is decorated for Christmas dinner…
…including leafy place cards for guests.
A wolf’s head mask on the hall coat rack made me do a double-take.
I spotted one of Christy Stallop‘s grackle-and-tumbleweed paintings in a bedroom, with a coordinating blackbird lamp and green wallpaper with bare branches.
In the owner’s suite on the 3rd floor, a copper tub by a picture window offers bathing with a view. Black-and-white forest wallpaper frames the window.
Behind the swimming pool glows a Birdie House neon sign.
The Caroline
The Caroline, a 1910 Colonial, also operates as an Airbnb. The owners are Lockhart real estate mavens Tamara Carlisle and Donna Blair, who own Commerce Gallery and Get Lucky Gallery.
An under-the-stairs nook
Christmas balls on the tree perfectly coordinate with a wasabi chair.
A Matt Kaplinsky floral painting adds color to white walls.
A Commerce Gallery framed poster
A folk-art cowboy painting declares, “The only way to deal with death is to transform everthing [sic] that precedes it into art.”
The back of the house steps down into a spacious screened porch.
A big beaked yucca peeks in.
So does a prickly pear.
A folded western belt makes a unique leather handle for the screen door.
In the yard, a steel fire pit with boulder benches…
…is tucked near the porch.
Beyond is a raised swimming pool with a metal screen at one end. A glowing neon Imagine nods to the neon Soul at Hotel Saint Cecilia in Austin.
Market Street House
A new-build was also on the tour, Market Street House, which operates as an Airbnb — a common theme in tourist-destination Lockhart.
A Christy Stallop tumbleweed painting and a Marfa to-go bag sculpture decorate a bedroom. Wouldn’t Gardens of Texas be a perfect addition to this stack of books? Every Airbnb in Texas needs one!
Cibilo Street House
Cibilo Street House, a 1918 Craftsman, is decorated with a tall Christmas tree…
…and animal sculptures crafted out of costume jewelry.
Upstairs, a tree topped with peacock feathers adds Victorian style.
The Rock House
At The Rock House, a 1910 cottage and Airbnb, colorful botanical wallpaper pairs with a vintage chandelier and deer taxidermy for that distinctive Lockhart style.
More botanical wallpaper in a bedroom
Outside, a minimalist aesthetic rules.
Lockhart courthouse
After the tour, we strolled around the courthouse square, ate at Old Pal, and popped into a few shops that were open late.
Gardens of Texas at Get Lucky Gallery
Speaking of Lockhart shops, I was in town on Friday evening too for a book signing at Get Lucky Gallery. Here I am with owner Tamara and my new book, Gardens of Texas.
I signed a big stack of books, and we sold a bunch of them that evening.
But there are still some signed copies at Get Lucky. If you or someone on your list is into gardening or just appreciates the natural beauty of Texas, Gardens of Texas is for you.
At my signing on Friday, I was delighted to run into garden maker Gina O’Hara, whose beautiful Cedar Creek garden is featured in the book.
It was great meeting everyone who stopped by to check out the book, and big thanks to Get Lucky for featuring Gardens of Texas!
If you’d like to see more of Lockhart’s annual Holiday Home Tour, check out my post about the 2024 tour.
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Digging Deeper
My new book, Gardens of Texas: Visions of Resilience from the Lone Star State, is here! Find it on Amazon, other online book sellers, and in stores everywhere. It’ll make a great holiday gift for anyone who loves gardens or the natural beauty of Texas. More info here.
Come see me on tour! I’ll be speaking and hosting book events across Texas this fall and into next spring to celebrate the release of Gardens of Texas. Join me to learn, get inspired, and say hello!
Learn about garden design and ecology at Garden Spark! I organize in-person talks by designers, landscape architects, authors, and gardeners a few times a year in Austin. Subscribe to Garden Spark by clicking here to email — subject line: SUBSCRIBE.
All material © 2025 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.
