Clean & Classic
There’s nothing worse than going on vacation and coming home to find that something has gone horribly wrong in your absence. Unfortunately, this is what happened to this central Austin couple. While they were sipping blender drinks and relaxing in the sun, a pipe burst in their master bath flooding their master suite. Talk about a difficult reentry to daily life after vacation, returning to that mess! CG&S initially consulted with them to repair and renovate their bath, but as the design developed they realized that they could turn this tragedy into an opportunity. Instead of making remedial repairs in a compromised space, they decided to “go for it” and transform their entire home.
“While we’re at it, we want to do it right.” This became our clients’ motto throughout the design process. Their wish list included an open kitchen with an island, a dedicated dining space, access to the backyard through a central living space, and a new upstairs master suite—all while maintaining the character of their historic 1940 home.
The original one story house, while charming, had awkward flow. Guests entered directly into the living room, the kitchen was cramped and closed off, had no dining area, and the master suite rested on a slab-on-grade addition that had been tacked-on to the back of the house. Complicating matters, the only door to the back yard was located in the master suite, which wasn’t exactly the ideal path for guests when entertaining.
To address the flow, the dining space was moved to the front of the home, next to the new kitchen island. A new living space was placed at the back of the house, with French doors that provide light, air and public access to the backyard. The new bright and open kitchen remained in the same place at the front of the house, but was opened to the other spaces making it feel brighter and more spacious.
The kitchen can now be comfortably used for cooking and entertaining. New white cabinets and classic subway tile with white Carrera marble counters exemplify the clean and classic tone the clients wanted. A butcher block work station adds warmth to the calm, monochrome space.
A new laundry/mudroom is just off the kitchen and skillfully nestled beneath the new stair. Unique features in this space include a pull-out folding table, pull-out pantry cabinets and a seating bench with lots of cubbies for tidy storage. It also has a door to the side of the house, which the homeowners use as their everyday entry. An additional bonus was a small exterior storage room tucked under the stair, allowing for easily accessible storage since there is no opportunity for a garage on the site.
Displaced by the living room, the master bedroom was located in the new second story as part of a master suite oasis. Easily closed off with a pocket door at the top of the stair, the new bedroom is painted in a calm Revere Pewter grey with a lofty tray ceiling and window wall overlooking the lush backyard. The new bath has his-and-her vanities, built in make-up vanity, and walk-in shower with luxurious rain head. The bath features classic finishes like Carrera marble vanity tops and floors and Ann Sacks Savoy tile in a warm, neutral dove grey. Finishing the space is a dream walk-in closet with dressing bench, island, storage and plenty of rack space. A fun capiz shell chandelier adds a touch of whimsy.
As with most major renovations, hidden challenges presented themselves. One of the main difficulties was the construction of the original home. Out of square walls made lining up the new work a challenge and resulted in some on-the-fly adjustments to ensure that designed alignments could still occur. Furthermore, the original one-story structure was never designed to hold a second story. To prep the house, additional piers and beams were installed under the home while saving most of the original oak floors. Then new LVLs were surgically installed in the existing ceiling by sliding them in from the outside – all to keep the original ceiling in place. Tricky! Additionally, in order to transform the old master suite into the new living space, the slab-on-grade addition was cut back. The new footprint of the home is actually smaller than when we started! New perimeter beams were poured and doweled into the existing slab. Finally, new framing and subflooring went in to bring the living room’s floor level up and even with that of the existing house. Where there once was a clear division between the original home and the addition (a step down from the old living room into the old master bedroom), there is now a single, flowing floor surface, and the line between new and old is impossible to discern without a set of floor plans.
Now, with the renovated downstairs and new addition, our clients freely enjoy hosting friends and family in their home while still maintaining their private and luxurious upstairs retreat.
“While we’re at it, we want to do it right.” This became our clients’ motto throughout the design process. Their wish list included an open kitchen with an island, a dedicated dining space, access to the backyard through a central living space, and a new upstairs master suite—all while maintaining the character of their historic 1940 home.
The original one story house, while charming, had awkward flow. Guests entered directly into the living room, the kitchen was cramped and closed off, had no dining area, and the master suite rested on a slab-on-grade addition that had been tacked-on to the back of the house. Complicating matters, the only door to the back yard was located in the master suite, which wasn’t exactly the ideal path for guests when entertaining.
To address the flow, the dining space was moved to the front of the home, next to the new kitchen island. A new living space was placed at the back of the house, with French doors that provide light, air and public access to the backyard. The new bright and open kitchen remained in the same place at the front of the house, but was opened to the other spaces making it feel brighter and more spacious.
The kitchen can now be comfortably used for cooking and entertaining. New white cabinets and classic subway tile with white Carrera marble counters exemplify the clean and classic tone the clients wanted. A butcher block work station adds warmth to the calm, monochrome space.
A new laundry/mudroom is just off the kitchen and skillfully nestled beneath the new stair. Unique features in this space include a pull-out folding table, pull-out pantry cabinets and a seating bench with lots of cubbies for tidy storage. It also has a door to the side of the house, which the homeowners use as their everyday entry. An additional bonus was a small exterior storage room tucked under the stair, allowing for easily accessible storage since there is no opportunity for a garage on the site.
Displaced by the living room, the master bedroom was located in the new second story as part of a master suite oasis. Easily closed off with a pocket door at the top of the stair, the new bedroom is painted in a calm Revere Pewter grey with a lofty tray ceiling and window wall overlooking the lush backyard. The new bath has his-and-her vanities, built in make-up vanity, and walk-in shower with luxurious rain head. The bath features classic finishes like Carrera marble vanity tops and floors and Ann Sacks Savoy tile in a warm, neutral dove grey. Finishing the space is a dream walk-in closet with dressing bench, island, storage and plenty of rack space. A fun capiz shell chandelier adds a touch of whimsy.
As with most major renovations, hidden challenges presented themselves. One of the main difficulties was the construction of the original home. Out of square walls made lining up the new work a challenge and resulted in some on-the-fly adjustments to ensure that designed alignments could still occur. Furthermore, the original one-story structure was never designed to hold a second story. To prep the house, additional piers and beams were installed under the home while saving most of the original oak floors. Then new LVLs were surgically installed in the existing ceiling by sliding them in from the outside – all to keep the original ceiling in place. Tricky! Additionally, in order to transform the old master suite into the new living space, the slab-on-grade addition was cut back. The new footprint of the home is actually smaller than when we started! New perimeter beams were poured and doweled into the existing slab. Finally, new framing and subflooring went in to bring the living room’s floor level up and even with that of the existing house. Where there once was a clear division between the original home and the addition (a step down from the old living room into the old master bedroom), there is now a single, flowing floor surface, and the line between new and old is impossible to discern without a set of floor plans.
Now, with the renovated downstairs and new addition, our clients freely enjoy hosting friends and family in their home while still maintaining their private and luxurious upstairs retreat.
Project Year: 2014
Country: United States
Zip Code: 78703
