By Starre Vartan / Source: EcoChick

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During our cross-country roadtrip with Hyundai, Lindsay and I had lots of opportunities to stay in some wonderful rooms—and we decided that the most fun would be to make each night and each place we stayed as different from the previous as we could. So, the night after we rested our jazz-jangled heads at New Orleans’ vintage-luxe Hotel Monteleone, we checked into a woman-owned, run (and built!) B&B in Austin, The Park Lane Guesthouse.

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The interior of the Garden Cottage, which has a large living room (shown above) with a pull-out couch and vaulted ceilings and a bedroom with a comfy queen-sized bed. Plus a very fun black-and-white bathroom!

But they just seem vintage, they were built just 20ish years ago: Shakti installed antique stained glass (which combined with the Austin sunshine created beautiful, colorful interior to the cabin we stayed in) to make it feel like an older space. As you can see above, the decor is homey and comfortable, without being boringly unstylish (like so many accommodations are these days), which as style mavens we really appreciated; colors and patterns are much unappreciated if you ask me.

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Just beyond the Tibetan prayer flags is the chicken coop; and notice the cool outdoor vintage chandelier on the left!

All of which draws attention to Shakti’s incredible design eye and attention to detail; every space, both indoors and out, was beautifully put together, but never precious. There were several spaces to relax (including our own little porch nestled in the greenery), a pool and the wonderful, grounding energy of the Oak. We didn’t want to leave, even though we were itching to explore Austin a bit!

The guesthouse provides bikes for guests to use; we took advantage of the location of the Park Lane to head on over the Barton Springs for a dip; it was about a 20 minute bikeride along the river, which allowed us a chance to see some of downtown Austin (without having to deal with traffic) as we biked over and back.

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Lindsay and I biked to Barton Springs from the Park Lane Guesthouse.

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A menagerie of adorable dogs upped the cute factor!

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Shakti is a consummate hostess, flexible and helpful with dietary restrictions, directions around town, or anything else you might need! Lindsay was genuinely looking forward to the grapefruit served with our breakfast; it was from a tree right behind us in the garden!

BONUS CHICKEN PIX!!

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