The choice of contrasting colours is very interesting. I don't remember ever seeing anything like that in Australian buildings of similar age. Would that building have been heritage protected and forced to use original colouring or is that a modern decoration style?
I also like the decorations on the stone work at the top (one of the blocks to the left by the top window makes it look like the grill and headlights for a Jeep Wrangler) and the lintels (or whatever they are called) jutting out under the guttering.
Sorontar
The Germanic national origin of the owner counts too. I can't comment on the darker colors used, but the "chunkiness"of the decorations is interesting. I don't think those would be "new additions," though they appeal the modern eye.
Do you remember the 5 Scherer houses in Mexico City, a few pages back? One or two of those were called "chalets" by the German owner. In this case, below, the Scherer Chalet was built in 1906, which is about 20 years after the Hirschfeld house. In the later case, Scherer was nostalgic about his former country's architecture (Bavaria, I believe), typically involving half timber construction, and that was a common theme among Germanic migrants when they commissioned late 19th century architects - Not forgetting about Art Nouveau and Jugendstil design influences (note asymmetrical placement of tower and filigree below) which led back to many changes to architecture around the turn of the century, to what I'd call "American Arts and Crafts bungalows." All those "bungalows" were timber houses, including decorations. It's common to see some of that in the lesser, turn of century homes in Austin.
However, steel handrails and columns are found in "French" style architecture, some in Austin's fancier Victorian homes which you've seen before (Littlefield House), but more commonly as you move eastward through the Texas coastline into Louisiana, where you'll find all that fancy metal work everywhere, with filigree- usually painted black, I might add.
Fifth Scherer House, 1906, Mixcoac Borough, Mexico City
As far as protecting colors, no. In Texas,at least, there's no such protection,as far as I know. It's mostly s private citizens' designation with backing from the State, so there's no regulation on keeping original materials or paint colors.
