Start with a farmhouse from the 1800s, set back off a gravely road seemingly pulled from so many movies. Don’t touch those captivating bones, they can’t be improved upon. Factor in a century and a half old potting shed, plus an artist cottage and some pool bungalows. Decorate the interiors with whimsy and a will to host in an unexpected hybrid of hip and historical, countrified and contemporary. The result is something infinitely intimate, farmland sprawled, and vintage electric. The destination is The Frenchie.
I had been to Round Top, Texas, population 87, barely a square mile, once prior. It’s a tiny town that stayed with me in a big way – think Cotswolds, with cattle. Something in that ship lapped, sun soaked, stone worked antiquing nirvana sent an internalized memo to my soul that yes, oh yes. I would be back. This was small town ecstasy.
The Arcadian entry is your first invitation. Just past the parked pastel blue Fiat 500 – a prop? A ride? Who cares, it’s perfect. Wagons are lined up for your luggage toting pleasure. That pop of turquoise on the barn door – your inclination that some efflorescent equivalent awaits you behind it. Inside, the daring, darling, and downright divine blend of rustic and ravishing, it radiates from every corner. All the while, the air is infused with something intoxicatingly lavender. In every room it greets you.
I love this part of visiting somewhere new. The heart starts beating a bit faster. Viscerally you feel yourself escalate and elevate around each corner. I am always on the hunt for places and moments that kindle creativity. This was definitely both.
Colors are bold. Primaries and pastels play like best friends. Aesthetics are antique and modern and updated and preserved and designed to surprise. They mess with scale. They mess with style. With century. They are bound by nothing more than their flair for fun and an artistic whim. And everything kind of feels that way.
In the Art Studio, where we stayed (“we” being myself, my sister, and my pal), a king bed is backed by a wall in the softest dove grey, petal pink silhouettes, and flanked by a set of fluorescent green nightstands. The marshmallow bed is banked by a tufted sofa in the deepest forest, beneath a gilded candlelit chandelier. Two twin beds face it, iron pink bedframes and signature bedding. Between it all, a gracious iron table with seating for four.
The bathroom is an homage to the hexagon, with schoolhouse pendants and a Venetian cut mirror lighting and reflecting the space. The floor tile, glossed pink hexagons, had to be vintage, reading very Paris Apartment. Outside those fabulous French Doors (too beautiful to have not been reclaimed), a pastel table and chairs, steps from a swimming pool that stepped right out of your Instagram feed.
Fire pits and pasture, roving rosemary and horses just barely beyond the vista. A gorgeous gourmet kitchen available to all guests should inspiration strike, a pink, stocked SMEG fridge, a hot tub hugged by a natural frame of palm fronds, and a bespoke collection of aqua and white umbrellas that positively pacify my senses from the outside in. The scenic and the serene comingle here as the best kind of extra.
Amenities are no exception. Chef Brenna McBroom, and her spectacular Culinary Institute of American pedigree, is available for private on-property feasts. In house massages are easily booked. And a driver is available for wine tours.
Round Top is midway between Austin and Houston, and an easy drive from either airport (just over an hour). The charm of this town is almost impossible. Little freestanding antiquaries brimming with salvage. A coffee shop that is open and is the one place open for breakfast, where everyone turns to say hello when they hear the screen door. It is a flea marketers mecca. It is original everything. It is the quintessential girl’s trip.
The Frenchie promises paradox in every inspirational way, the pastoral backdrops pop art, vintage prints contrast wild wallpapers, chevrons, mounted moose and mosaic tiles. It’s so much fun. Unapologetically girly. Owners, pals and powerhouses with a vision – Katy Bader and Kristin Light have created a destination so dynamic it holds hospitality to a higher calling, answering it with an accessible amalgam of history and haute design.
The Details
The Frenchie Boutique Hotel, 311 N Live Oak St, Round Top, Texas 78954, United States.
Tel: +1(979) 208-9851
Website: www.roundtoptxhotels.com
Email: info@thefrenchieguesthouses.com
Round Top is midway between Austin and Houston, and just over an hour’s drive from either airport. From Austin-Bergstrom Airport take HWY 71. You will find plenty of free parking available at The Frenchie.
Type of Hotel: Boutique Hotel
Number of Rooms: 13 rooms in total. 6 rooms in the main house, the cottage (2 story house), 3 rooms in the bungalows and 3 rooms in the art studio. Plus, that perfect little potting shed. There is also free Wi-Fi throughout.
Price Band: Medium
Insider Tips: Round Top is an antiquing haven, truly. Plan on doing some shopping, if you’re local, bring a truck. Keep in mind most everything shutters Monday to Wednesday.
A quintessential small town, Round Top has a population of 87. Most restaurants and vendors are only open Thursday to Sunday, so best to check ahead based on when you’re visiting. The town shuts down for the most part outside of that window.
Everything about this place says Girls Trip! And, if you’re here on a Wednesday, do dinner at Duo Modern: The Restaurant at Market Hill. You dine inside an enormous design house (which stays open for shopping and browsing), and both the service and the vibe is relaxed and fun.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8/10
Author Bio:
Jolie Loeb is a Luxury Lifestyle columnist based in Los Angeles.
Photographs By Jolie Loeb
Wow! Takes me back to my quaint Texas roots! What a great review. Thanks!
Looks adorable. Sounds like the perfect getaway and a unique experience.
Pure Jolie….
OMG this is the perfect destination for a girls’ trip with my sisters (one lives in Ft. Worth and one in Houston)!! Thank you for this!! I never would’ve known about this town let alone hotel. Love.
You had me at “Cotswolds with cows”!!
The most charming town and Inn. I loved every part of it. The PERFECT girls getaway!
Population 87! This tiny town sounds so cute!! What a fun weekend getaway!!
Packing my bags! Can’t wait for my next adventure!
I love this place! What a perfect getaway!! This is where I’m going to stay when I travel to Texas.
So vintagey and adorable!!
I love the excitement of new places…
What a gem.
How beautiful!
Girls trip here I come!
Sounds amazing! Will definitely check it out!
Round Top feels like another world in a million and one ways. I forgot what it’s like to throw a rock and not hit a Starbucks. It was a perfect change of pace!
Wow, you described it so beautifully, I am ready to go!!
Looks the an unusual vacation spot, that makes it worth the trip.
I don’t know how you find these gems. I’m ready to pack my bags with girlfriends and go!
Sounds like a perfect side trip when I visit my extended family in Houston and Austin.
You could entice anyone to go anywhere! Gorgeous!
Wow! You’re writing is truly so compelling and poetic! “Hybrid of hip and historical, countrified and contemporary.” Love love love! Would love to check this out someday. Sounds like the perfect getaway to spark creativity!
Adorable! Population 87 sounds so amazing, and relaxing…
Sign me up for the next road trip!
Something different. Very sweet and enticing
Thank you for drawing such a beautiful picture, I could smell the Lavendar! This sounds like the perfect bday trip!
Sounds Wonderful. Would love to go.
The Frenchie Boutique Hotel sounds exquisite. Just from the description and the photos make we want to book a trip to Round Top and stay at this hotel- immediately!
Looks entirely lovely!!!
Round Top is ridiculously quaint and beautiful. It’s the kind of place that (unless you’re an antiques aficionado) is a bit of a hidden wonderland. Small town, kind people, and what looks like amazing and unusual places to stay. The Frenchie looks like it’s worth the trip alone! Definitely a place to do a weekend if you live nearby or if you’re visiting the Austin or Houston areas. Also, if you’re in town over the weekend, pop by Royers for some food and awesome pie!
Hi Jolie! Thanks so much for sharing about your stay with us! You captured the essence of Round Top and The Frenchie so well!! We loved having you and hope to have you back soon!
Charm for days! Best option around, no doubt!
Ooh, Round Top is such a quaint spot! Forwarding this to my friends in Austin, and dreaming of the next time I visit them!
It looks like a place worth the visit friends to have a very relaxing day and night have a bottle of wine and forget the world exist.
I know where I’m going for my next girls trip. The Frenchie seems like a hidden gem that delivers an unbeatable experience.
This looks so cute! I love small towns, adding this one to my list.
I’m from Austin and had never considered this place. Looking into it for my wedding. Seems idyllic.
Looks like a perfect place for a girls trip! I enjoy reading your reviews and have been to many of the places you’ve written about–thank you!
Oh my goodness, this sounds divine! Your descriptions make me feel like I’m there with you. I’d LOVE to see this place in person!
Girls trip here I come!!
I know of RoundTop for its quarterly antique shows – which I’ve always wanted to attend. Now I know exactly where to stay!
Ferne Cassel
Tue, Oct 3, 10:13 PM (17 hours ago)
to Jolie
I don’t know how you find these fabulous
and unique places.
Texas had never been on any of my lists, but this may make me reconsider!
x Ferne
Now the chances that I would ever go to Round Top are pretty slim, but this review sure makes me want to!
Great insight to a little cozy home in Texas! This might finally push me to visit Texas!
A fun place to puton you list
Thanks. This is lovely – and on my list for the next time I visit Texas.
Will keep this lovely place in mind if ever in the area.
This is SO cool! A venue like this in a town of…EIGHTY-SEVEN?! That gives Stars Hollow a serious run for the money. This looks so very special. Will keep it in my mind for a girls trip. Thanks for the heads up!
This little gem sounds so inviting. What a wonderful, descriptive, and charming review. I hope to get to visit this place someday for a quaint getaway!
It’s always interesting to hear about out of the way places where all you have to do is show up, take in that little bit of Frenchie heaven on earth and just breathe. Sounds like an amazing place to get re-centered, re-energized and reacquainted with what is truly important in life. Great article. Thanks. My only conflict is with the “Our MAN On The Ground” name.
This place looks so cute! Guess I need to go to Texas now! 🙂
This would make a perfect gift for the woman in my life with some of her friends (You did say “girl’s trip”). And who’s to say that I wouldn’t enjoy it too?
Wow! A new discovery for me! Sounds like a great way to escape the hustle and bustle of city life. Note to self: go to Round Top and stay at The Frenchie!