Round Top’s Grandest New Lodging Is a Study in Artful Texas Minimalism

Interior designer Emily Seiders long dreamed of making her mark on Round Top, the famed Texas antiques-shopping destination that sits about halfway between Houston and Austin. 

When she and her husband, Rick, both generations-deep Texans, happened upon a twenty-one acre property close to the crossroads of downtown, the couple knew just what they wanted to do with it. “There’s so much growth in Round Top, and more people are coming to the fairs year after year,” she says. “I wanted to build something that felt appropriate to this place, so when visitors come, we can share a little about the culture and history of Texas.”

The couple’s recently opened lodging, Hideaway Round Top, feels like both a step back in time to a quiet Texas ranch and a foray into your chicest family member’s art-filled home. Some early guests have booked the entire property (that’s fun but not required). With one main three-bedroom farmhouse and two additional rentable cottages connected by paths through native Texas grasses, the Hideaway is a master class in serene minimalism. It’s all clean lines and comfortable nooks, a haven set apart from the bustle of the shops and antiques vendors.

“There’s so much joy and fun and sensory overload at the fairs,” Seiders says, referring to the regular winter, spring, and fall shows, “and I love retreating back to Hideaway where it’s quiet, you can think, and you can go through your photos and think about what you really want to get—tomorrow.”

Drawing on childhood memories of weekends at her family farm in nearby Schulenburg, Seiders picked every fabric, artwork, and piece of furniture to tell a story. “As kids we were just free to go explore, pick blackberries, and get dirty,” she says. “It was freedom and creativity, and I’ve always carried that with me, which gets me fired up about a project like this.”

At the farmhouse, oak reigns—from the exterior cladding to the natural-face white oak of the walls and cabinetry to the hand-planed white oak flooring. “I don’t chase perfection,” Seiders says. “I wanted things to feel lived in and real, with character here and there.” She sourced fabrics and furniture from vendors who focus on Americana, natural materials, and Mexican and European antiques—all the influences that have shaped Texas. And of course, she found plenty to work with just steps from Hideaway in Round Top. “The midcentury leather chairs in the primary bedroom are cool, a fresher take on Texas settler culture,” she says, “and I found them at one of my favorite vendors, Patternmill at Marburger Farm,” a market of high-end antiques dealers about a two-minute drive from Hideaway. 

Below, take a walk through the property.