07/30/2026
Some trees are too important to treat as an obstacle.
When we first walked this property, this mature oak immediately became the centerpiece of the design. Long before the house, the furniture, or even the people who live here today, this tree was already doing its job. Providing shade. Supporting wildlife. Slowing stormwater. Cooling the surrounding air. Quietly improving life every single day.
At Mathis Designs, our first instinct is never to remove a healthy, established tree. It's to ask how we can design around it and make it even more valuable to the people who call this place home.
Throughout construction, protecting the root zone of this oak influenced nearly every decision we made. From grading and planting to material placement and construction access, preserving the long-term health of the tree remained a priority.
Today, what was once an overlooked side yard has become a gathering space beneath a living canopy. The tree provides shade for summer evenings, a home for birds and pollinators, and a sense of permanence that simply cannot be installed.
You can buy larger plants. You can build patios. You can install lighting.
But you cannot replace decades of growth.
That's why we'll always do everything possible to preserve existing trees, especially our beloved Central Texas oaks.
