Tucked away in the Austin countryside sits a 19th-century home on a picturesque three-acre plot of land. “For some reason, we decided it was a good idea to choose a 150-year-old project as our first house,” jokes homeowner and interior designer Reagan Struble. She’s speaking of the abode she shares with her husband, musician Sloan Struble.

“If we weren’t in this particular stage of life, I don’t think we would’ve bought a Victorian farmhouse,” admits the singer of the indie pop band Dayglow. But, according to Reagan, the home—like the family living in it—is built to last and became the right place for them to articulate the next chapter of their lives

Looking past some previous exterior paint choices, the duo found themselves captivated by the possibility of a quiet, private life. “We couldn’t even find it on a map,” Sloan shares.

“I benefit from going home to a serene place…. It helps me source creativity more purely.”

With that in mind, Reagan began a renovation that was not for the faint of heart. “No surface went untouched,” she notes. The actual structure of the home, including the original windows and pine floors, did however evade major construction. “We wanted to honor that this was a Victorian home without exaggerating it too much,” the designer notes. The couple therefore chose to embrace the feeling of a Texas farmhouse while introducing a sense of romantic softness.

“I wanted it to be apparent that two artists live here,” Reagan says. “We also wanted to play with the fact that it’s this unassuming house, but when you open the front door, it [feels like] a jewel box.” Personal touches—like a painting the couple made together—add a sense of playful wonder to the space, a sentiment that is nicely complemented by the duo’s desire to breathe new life into secondhand finds. “Facebook Marketplace in Austin is insane…. So is Round Top [Antiques Fair],” Reagan says. “85% of this house is secondhand,” she adds. “It’s important for us to be sustainable and just make things work.”

Comfort and approachability were also key. One non-negotiable was making sure the home was designed with the couple’s lifestyle in mind. “We feel like people design their homes just to host,” Sloan says, “but we didn’t want to do that. We were like, ‘How can we make this space as comfortable as possible for us and [maybe a few of our friends]?”

As for the home’s style, “I wouldn’t say I’m a minimalist, but there is nothing that’s overdone,” Reagan says. “I always try to fight against a room being too ostentatious.” But while avoiding an overcluttered aesthetic with arguably too many pieces of furniture might have seemed simple, she admittedly ran into some challenges. “Getting my vision across in such petite, rectangular rooms was definitely difficult,” laments the designer of the home’s layout. “[It’s why] we keep all of the doors open,” Sloan explains.

Limitations aside, the farmhouse is deeply meaningful to the couple. “This house represents young love,” muses Sloan of the home, which is filled with personalized touches created by him and his wife. Reagan, for her part, views the home as being her “science lab” during the early stages of her design career. “This house has completely changed my life.”