Holly

Architect: FAB Architecture

Structural: Polvado Engineering Services, LLC

Photography: Leonid Furmansky

This simple home nestled into a verdant East Austin neighborhood has been in the owner’s family since the early 1910’s. The great-grandson of the original owner and his wife decided to downsize from their suburban family home and transform the original 700 square foot cottage into a functional 2100 square foot home where they could age comfortably – all the while enjoying an active lifestyle that Central Austin has to offer. 

Strict municipal guidelines and the site’s multiple heritage Pecan trees posed constraints on where additions could be built. The existing footprint of the original 4 room structure was reorganized to create an open living/dining/kitchen space, as well as functional laundry + powder room. An addition to the rear of the house, consists of a primary suite that is linked to the original structure via a glassy back-entry/mud room and the stairway to the second-floor guest suite. A small home office occupies the upper landing where it has commanding views into the towering tree canopies and views to Ladybird Lake.

The quintessential roof line, front porch, and teardrop siding were preserved from the original structure and the 2-story addition in back is dressed in dark painted board + batten siding. Both the Living/Dining and Primary Bedroom ceilings were vaulted and clad in custom stained poplar tongue + groove boards, as is the kitchen island. Reclaimed pine boards from the original home line the stairway. The remainder of the palette was kept simple: white oak flooring, patterned tile, limestone fireplace surround, soft hue painted cabinets and gypsum walls were used on the interior. 

Creating a new life for this ancestral home.