Texas Ranch Life - "Home Sweet Recycled Home"

Few people have taken the notion of “reduce, reuse, and recycle,” to heart the way Taunia Elick of Texas Ranch Life, in Austin County, Texas has. Elick’s love of moving, and restoring old homes destined for destruction has helped her turn her passion for saving old homes into some of the most authentic, lovely and historic, lodging found in the Texas foothills.

Elick, and her husband John, own and operate three sprawling ranch properties that makeup not only a working cattle ranch but also an authentic taste-of-Texas, filled bed, and breakfast, known as Texas Ranch Life. Located south of Dallas, near Chappell Hill and Bellville, Texas Ranch Life, offers up grand scenic vistas, chuckwagon meals, barn dances, riding the range, and much more. Born of John’s passion for horses, cattle, and running a ranch, Taunia’s passion for preserving old homes, and lots of hard work, Texas Ranch Life has become a dream come true for this husband and wife team of lawyers.


“I can’t stand to see an old house torn down,” says Taunia, whose love of old houses is fueled by the feeling that salvaging and restoring an old home is saving an important piece of the past. “Some of these homes looked as though you should strike a match and throw it through the front door,” Taunia says, of what are now some of her most prized abodes.

Once Taunia has her heart set on saving an old house there’s no stopping her, not even if it means the dilapidated structure must be cut in half, loaded up, and moved for miles. While some of her precious homes have been given to her with the hopes she’ll save them from destruction, some she purchases for a few thousand dollars. However they arrive in her possession, she lovingly restores most of them to their former glory and cherishes the history each one holds within its walls.

Dating back to the mid 1800s most of the homes are of German-style construction with painted wood floors and wood-paneled walls and ceilings. The German settlers were known for their colorful painted decorations and hand stenciling. In each house Taunia uncovers layers of paint and old carpet in hopes of finding and preserving areas with beautiful hardwood floors, original painted decorations and hand-stenciled designs.

Restored to showcase their original old-fashioned character and charm each house lacks little when it comes to modern-day luxury and convenience, including central heat and air. The homes are luxuriously furnished with fine linens, antique furniture, oriental rugs, and plenty of unique Texas décor. Once you kick off your cowboy boots at the end of the day you’ll feel right at home.

Texas Ranch Life offers up a real working ranch experience but guests can plan their own itinerary from biking to birding, horseback riding to hunting, sight-seeing to shopping and much more.

For more information visit https://www.texasranchlife.com, call toll free, 1-979-865-3649, or e-mail texasranchlife@gmail.com.