Texans like a place with space. Whether it’s a weekend getaway or where you live and work every day, we like to have room. Architectural designers Caroline and Matt Jarosz of Sport & Country specialize in the art of getting away. “It’s how you live every day, how ‘getaway’ can be a part of your daily life through architecture,” Caroline said.
The Jaroszes designed their own home with this idea in mind. When they moved from Austin to Fredericksburg, they purchased 16 acres out Old San Antonio Road. “Our home does not have large interior spaces. We have a strong connection to exterior spaces,” Matt said. “We focus on and celebrate being out in nature.”
Caroline loves that living away from town means no internet, and therefore, no TV. The dogs are happy without it. “We have three bedrooms, sliding doors that go out to the patio. When it’s nice outside we live with the doors open, dogs going in and out,” she said. “It’s not fussy architecture.”
Originally from Ohio, Matt has embraced Texans’ love of outdoor living—pools, spas, fire pits, outdoor bars and kitchens. “It makes for a more unique project because we’re thinking about how you live inside and outside all year long,” he said.
Matt and Caroline met on the first day of graduate school at Savannah College of Art and Design, where they both earned a master’s degree in architecture. Following graduation, they moved to Austin and worked in a firm that did large commercial projects. For a while they commuted from their Fredericksburg home, but on those drives, they discussed a different future. “We joked, ‘Why not start our own business?’” Caroline said. These discussions unfolded during the pandemic, when people were spending more time at home and finally launching projects they’d dreamed of for years. The timing was right, and Sport & Country began in 2020.
One of the things the Jaroszes like about Fredericksburg is its old buildings. “You can’t escape the historical architecture when you’re here,” Caroline said. “Whether we’re working on an actual historic home or not, we draw a lot of inspiration from what was done here years ago.
It makes for a more unique project because we’re thinking about how you live inside and outside all year long.
-Matt Jarosz
She says they try to find a balance between respecting what is already here and introducing what modern conveniences are appropriate. “It’s a good marriage of the two,” she said.
Sport & Country’s design approach is technology-based, using a program is very 3-D friendly. It can model topography or do sun studies at different angles at different times of the day. During the design phase the Jarosezes give their clients lots of renderings so there are no surprises. Although they are not involved in the physical building process, they continue to maintain close relationships with their clients even after a project is completed.
Matt is originally from Ohio, a place where the primary building material is brick from Chicago. He marvels at the abundance of natural building materials available right here, like rock and cedar — materials the German settlers used as well.
Caroline observes that the old homes they designed were full of contemporary wisdom. “They were smart. They took advantage of sun angles, wind angles,” she said. “They were doing things we’re taught in school about how to design healthy buildings.”
Some of the Jaroszes’ clients are empty-nesters who want to build a casita for when the grandkids visit — to be “the host-ers,” as Caroline says. That impulse to add smaller buildings to a large property echoes the way the early Germans built. “They had their house and then they’d add on to it as the family grew. Our projects take inspiration from that — that compound style. Little buildings connected by outdoor coverings. A dog trot. The Sunday house aesthetic with a front porch,” Caroline said.
She likes how this style draws people together. “We love good old-fashioned hospitality. That’s what we’re doing when we design,” Caroline said.
Some of the homes they have worked on are located in Fredericksburg’s Historic District, including The Narrow Nest, a new build on an empty lot. Within the small boundaries, the Jaroszes designed a 3-bedroom, 3-and-a-half-bathroom home with an open concept living and kitchen area. An exterior courtyard extends the space with an outdoor kitchen and seating area. “We’re very familiar with working with the Historic Review Board. They’re doing a wonderful job,” Caroline said.
Sport & Country doesn’t only design homes. They’ve also worked with a winery, a school, and both commercial and nonprofit businesses. They’ve designed builds in Boerne, Johnson City, New Ulm, Round Top, Stonewall, The Woodlands, and Wimberly.
In general, Caroline is the dreamer, and Matt is the detail guy. “I’ll think of something really cool, big picture at the beginning. Matt’s like, ‘How does that go together?’” she said.
What Sport & Country offers is not cookie-cutter projects, but site-specific, client-specific, project-specific designs. “Small details—intentional details—that’s what makes a project, in my opinion,” Matt said.
Learn more at sportandcountry.com.