Location: Austin, Texas

Price: $2,400,000

Set among oaks near the banks of Lake Austin, this cottage-style house packs a lot of features into 4,200 square feet. Thanks to a high-peaked roof, the interiors enjoy soaring ceilings, including 28 feet of headroom in the living room. Wide, multi-paned windows let in light and allow views of an idyllic backyard, where a huge swimming pool is surrounded by old growth trees and a spacious patio. All of this casual luxury is rendered in a simple, if dull, style, but something certainly more subdued than one might have come to expect from Texas. The price, $2,400,000, is more in keeping with "everything's bigger in Texas."

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