Inside a $17 Million Penthouse in Downtown Austin That Could Double as Your Favorite Art Gallery

From the playful stuffed ostrich in the primary bedroom to a modernist-abstract portrait of Groucho Marx composed of painted bagels in the living room, this soaring 37th-floor penthouse in downtown Austin, Texas, is as much a modern art gallery as a comfy abode.

Indeed, so integral is the curated collection of art and furniture—the stunning crystal and taffeta chandelier dominating a guest bedroom is another standout piece—that the owner is offering all of the furnishings to a prospective buyer for $3 million. This property is “where art meets real estate,” says Kumara Wilcoxon, who’s representing the listing with Kuper Sotheby’s International Realty.

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Of course, that’s in addition to the $17 million being asked for this 3,617-square-foot three-bedroom contemporary design atop the Residences at the W Austin tower on Lavaca Street, downtown close to the banks of the Colorado River.

The owner, described as a European entrepreneur and art collector, reportedly bought the penthouse in 2017 and commissioned award-winning German American interior designer Thomas Schoos to do a complete makeover.

Schoos, whose West Hollywood studio has worked on homes for Ellen DeGeneres, Courteney Cox, Will Smith and Nick Lachey, is said to have spent more than two and a half years reimagining the penthouse, which arrived as essentially a blank box.

Penthouse bathroom in Residences at the W Austin
If you like the bathroom’s soaking tub, you’ll love the marble steam shower.

The result is a vibrant, light-flooded space with 20-foot-high ceilings, oversized living and public areas and some decidedly funky nooks and crannies. Take the open, glass-edged, loft-like meditation zone reached by scaling a ladder. Here you can relax in the rope-suspended leather swing chair while gazing through a trompe l’oeil window that appears like a futuristic take on a classic nude.

It’s one of the home’s many headline-worthy spaces, which include the kitchen with its huge polished-concrete center island, sleek, dark wood cabinetry, multitude of fridges and high-end Gaggenau appliances.

Then there’s the indulgent primary suite, which features another custom swing at the foot of the bed—along with a unique steel sliding door lined on both sides with vintage leather belts. Step into the bathroom and, in addition to the oversized marble steam shower, you’ll find a custom free-standing fabric-wrapped soaking tub crafted from colorful composite.

The penthouse has a pair of balconies, long and slender and glass-sided, where you can gaze upon the Colorado River–fed Ladybird Lake, the city skyline and the famed Congress Avenue Bridge. Grab your binoculars to watch the daily sunset spectacle of an estimated 1.5 million Mexican free-tailed bats swarming out from under the bridge.

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