The co-owner of Texas’ 3 Springs Ranch designed its interiors to reflect the surrounding great outdoors and to provide comfort and luxury for lucky guests.
In the unincorporated Central Texas community of Zephyr lies a 1,240-acre ranch and resort designed for both luxury and adventure. Dodie Mills, co-owner of 3 Springs Ranch, has made it her mission for the last five years to create and maintain a world-class destination for gatherings, hunting trips, weddings, girls’ getaways, and more. And it’s in a prime location, centrally located between Dallas, Austin, Waco, and San Antonio.
The ranch has recently gone on the market. Potential buyers would certainly be intrigued by the commercial travel potential — an Olympic-sized skeet range, a resort pool, a lake, five ponds, cell towers, a 10,000-square-foot event pavilion, and so on — not to mention six houses on the property totaling 16 bedrooms.
Design lovers, though, might focus more on what Mills has done — or not done — with the spaces and rooms throughout. Linda Plant of Sotheby’s International Realty says that Mills’ design restraint and devotion to the natural surroundings impressed her greatly when she took on the listing.
“It’s all in the materials and in the way everything opens up to the scenery — that’s your decoration, basically,” Plant says. “It’s a notch above, as far as design goes. There’s certainly nothing lacking in luxury and comfort for the hunters and visitors, but you could also host a high-end event. The Mills have built something that stands the test of time.”
Bringing The Outside In
Mills set out to balance interior colors and textures with the natural beauty of 3 Springs’ outdoor oases. She didn’t see the need for too much distracting décor. The owner’s residence sets the standard for every other part of the ranch in that respect. Features in the kitchen and main sitting area were selected to bring brilliant natural hues inside.
“The colors here are unlike any colors you’ve ever seen,” Mills says. “Even throughout the winter, the greens are just everywhere. So, the green island … it had to happen. It’s kind of the anchor for the whole side of the house.
“And then, without fail, the sunsets here are very pinkish. So, I told my contractor, ‘We have to have pink granite.’ It took three years of hunting and searching, but we found it.”
Colorful chairs in the sitting area also reflect shades of nature. And Mills has created additional focal points elsewhere in different rooms with art and glassware, including a piece in the kitchen inspired by a sable antelope Mills often spots in the wide-open spaces on the ranch.
Design As A Through Line
Mills wanted certain signature textures and materials to tie the owner’s residence together with the guest houses and other buildings on the property. “Every single ceiling in every building — whether it’s in a pavilion, an outcropping, inside every house — has the same ceiling of rusted old barn tin. No matter how modern or how old, there had to be a common denominator.”
She took a similar approach with exterior features: “When we originally bought this ranch five years ago, there was a big ol’ lodge up here. It already had all of the stone, which is from a local quarry. It already had the pillars established. I wanted to carry that throughout, whether it was columns or entire little buildings.”
A Lodge Fit For Living
In a ranch custom made for big group hunting trips, the lodge space is as important as the main residence, and Mills spared no expense to make 3 Circle’s lodge as comfortable as humanly possible. That meant plenty of cushy seating, open spaces for gathering, and, yes, views of the land everywhere you look.
“The lodge is for the guys. They go out for their hunt, they come in, [and] they want to just get in a big chair and sit and talk about their hunt,” says Mills, noting that the taxidermy on the walls all came from hunts in the area.
“If it’s a Saturday, they’re all into their football,” she says. “And in winter, further along in the season, there’s a big fire going.” She also made sure there were fun interactive elements such as the shuffleboard table made from barn wood.
And when it’s time for a large group dinner, the lodge’s simple but elegant dining room is the go-to space. “That’s actually two tables, just end to end, and they’re super-heavy. They’re solid handmade mesquite, and they’re amazing.” It took a stroke of luck to find equally amazing matching chairs. “They were tearing down a hotel in New York City, and they put all of these chairs on eBay. I got 22 of them — just what I needed. They had to be ancient, because they’re worn, but I didn’t want to redo them, make them pretty, clean, or new. I wanted them to be old like they look.”
A Dream Realized
The entire ranch and its minimalist take on comfort are a wonder to behold thanks to Mills’ design work. And here’s the kicker: She’s not a designer by trade — just a do-it-yourselfer with exquisite taste and an interest in human experiences.
“I just put my heart into things that would please people, whether it’s lodging, a home, a barn, a pool, a house,” she says. “What would make them feel like they had just been on the greatest vacation without even leaving the state of Texas?”
You’d think after achieving her vision, Mills would want to stay awhile. But for her, the joy was obviously in the journey. Asked if she feels trepidation putting 3 Springs on the market, she’s quick to say no. Why? Because she wants another design challenge in her next home. “I’m going to do it again.”
Get the Look
Between Heaven and Earth ($295), timcox.com; Rye Rocks/Double Old Fashion with Deer ($32), hines-gold.com; 18 Light Elk & Fallow Antler Majestic Chandelier ($23,140), antlerworx.com; Antler Bottle Stopper ($8), montanarusticaccents.com; Blue Aztec Dinnerware ($65), hfcoors.com; Derry Dining Chair (inquire for pricing), thearrangement.com
Find out more about 3 Springs Ranch at 3springsranch.com.
Photography: (Get the Look images) Courtesy vendors; (all 3 Springs Ranch images) Courtesy Sotheby’s International Realty
From our February/March issue