Poppy & Rye Cottage; one block from Magnolia, walkable to everything!

Hi. I’m Dana, and this is Rye. We’re a mom-and-son duo who own, manage, and love on three awesome rental properties in Wacotown. We truly love making people happy during their getaways to Waco… hosting is in our blood! Dana lives in Fort Worth and runs a non-profit called The LV Project. She and her hubby Brett have been married 33 years. Rye is a Baylor grad (Sic ‘em!) and fell in love with Waco during his college years… so he decided to stay put and make it his home. Rye manages our little homes, and while he was at Baylor, he fell in love with woodworking while working his way through at Harp Design Co. He’s handcrafted many of the pieces you’ll enjoy while staying at Poppy & Rye.

Our houses kind of chose us, not the other way around. On a random visit to Baylor to see Riley — Dana noticed an old beaten down 1925 house for sale on Clay Avenue. On a whim, Dana took a look at it, and the next thing ya know, the family was in the house restoration business! That first home was taken down to the studs and completely renovated, restored and reimagined. Then we did it again… 3 times! Now we have four homes in Wacotown — and as it turns out, we really LOVE the hospitality business. Who knew?! We truly enjoy creating a cozy space for friends and families to make memories together. As our Poppy says, “making you happy makes me happy.”

Well — ours is a story of “broken to beauty.” Our family has endured some very hard things, which is maybe why that first house, in its broken dilapidated state, appealed to Dana so much. The first time she saw that house on Clay, Dana thought, “this house looks like I feel. Maybe I can bring it, and me, back to life at the same time.” So she did. Bringing things that are broken back to life is what we are all called to do… and we’re not just talking about houses. We call the place “Poppy & Rye” as a tribute to Dana’s dad (Rye’s grandpa) — whom we lovingly called “Poppy”. We lost Poppy back in 2011 — but his legacy of creativity, charm, wit, poetry and grace lives on through these homes. And — Rye has infused our homes with his woodworking artistry and handcrafted furniture — all created from reclaimed lumber. Our stories are being re-storied every day through Poppy & Rye… and we feel so lucky to be able to create a soft place to land for so many who travel to Waco.