The Frenchie Boutique Hotel

The Frenchie Boutique Hotel is an eclectic mix of 1800’s farmhouse bones with modern elements. Imagine a place where small town charm meets chic décor. The result is electric.

Round Top’s Stylish Hospitality: The Frenchie

Come for relaxation, stay for inspiration

FROM THE DESIGNER – “The Frenchie is designed to deliver the warm, personal hospitality you expect at a traditional inn with all the luxurious hipness of an urban boutique hotel. We tried to push the boundaries of what is expected in a small rural town because we believe it’s possible to be trendsetting in the middle of tranquility. Sometimes those hip urban destinations feel unattainable, but everybody can get to Round Top—and once they get here they want to stay.” – Kristin Light

FROM THE OWNER – “Sitting on the porch of the potting shed, in my opinion, is the most charming building on the property—and it’s more than 150 years old. Think about all the life that has been lived in that little shed while you watch the horses graze, and breathe in the scent of rosemary and lavender from the herb garden. It’s lovely. It’s worth remembering—and coming back for.” – Katy Bader

The Frenchie is composed of three buildings: a circa 1890s farmhouse, a cottage of the same vintage and an art studio built in recent years in the style of an earlier time with newly renovated pool bungalows. The property also features a potting shed that is older than the farmhouse. The main house includes a kitchen, dining room, living room and coffee bar that are used as common spaces open to all guests of the hotel. While The Frenchie is located within easy walking distance of downtown Round Top, it backs up to an open pasture providing country views and privacy. Guests may rent individual rooms, individual suites or any combination thereof.

Road to roundtop:

Katy Bader, who lives in San Antonio, discovered Round Top years ago as a shopper. In spring 2017, she opened Bader Ranch at Round Top. Bader Ranch includs a sit-down café open during the antique shows.

During that first hectic show, Kristin Light, also from Uvalde, came to help Bader (pronounced Bodder). The pair have been friends since their teenage years.

“I came to help out, but I ended up coming back again and again,” Light said. “Round Top does that to you.”

The next season, Light and her pop-up hat shop, Sissy Light, were part of the ever-growing mix of offerings at Bader Ranch.

“We work incredibly hard, but it feels right to work together…just like it did when we were 15 and cleaning guest cabins on the Frio River,” said Bader, who grew up as part of a family lodging business in Leakey.

In a Name:

“We spent a whole lot of time talking about the name. We tried lots of variations of Bader-something to tie it into Katy’s antiques venue. I kept saying, ‘Let’s call it The Frenchie’ because I just liked the way it sounds. Katy was open to it. Once we figured out the name, it drove everything else,” Light said.

The "antique" aesthetic:

When they were creating the “elegant but modern eclectic farmhouse,” the friends set out to defy expectations.

“The exterior and the grounds are 100 percent 19th-century farmhouse, which has people expecting one thing,” Bader said. “The only hint of what’s to come is the turquoise door on the front porch; we want that to be the portal to ‘wow!’”

To get to wow, Light mixed and matched with skillful abandon.

“We weren’t bound by any design rules,” Light said. “Instead, we focused on making it plush, elegant, fun and happy—and full of things we loved.”

The space is anchored by beautiful, statement-making European antiques sourced from Geldhof juxtaposed against thoroughly modern touches such as Melinda Buie’s artwork and the bathrooms’ tilework. Sometimes old and new meet on the same piece. The reupholstered antique Italian sofas in the main house’s living room are now bright and bold.

“We chose everything for a specific place and specific purpose,” Bader said.

For the duo, the hospitality lies in the details they obsessed over. Killer coffee bar. Modern door knobs on 19th Century doors. Over-sized custom pillows. Bathtubs as well as showers and canisters of fluffy Q-tips in every bath.

“As a host, your job is to care for your guests,” Light said. “Hospitality is in the details. When they sense the attention you’ve put into every aspect of the space, they know they’re being well taken care of.”

In a Word:

“Unexpected.” Katy Bader

“Rule-breaking.” Kristin Light

WRITTEN BY Lorie A. Woodward, The Round Top Review, www.roundtop.com