Avenue A

Some historic neighborhoods in Austin have a stringent set of design guidelines – such is the case for Hyde Park where Design Hound was asked to design a first and second floor addition to a historic home built in 1927.

Locating the first floor living and dining rooms and second floor bedrooms at the rear of the house, allowed the homeowners to maintain the original design of the front façade while growing the footprint to accommodate a more modern floorplan. The north and east sides of the addition mimic the regular window spacing of the surrounding historic homes while the west side has minimal windows to provide privacy from the close neighboring apartment house and balcony. A simple but elongated gable continues the language of neighboring historic roof slopes and provides double height space within the living room that is accented with a skylight, dormer and carefully placed mirrors that capture sunlight within the space. A pop-out in the dining room cantilevers over the side yard, while a second pop-out porch from the living room provides additional privacy from the apartment building next door. The existing master bedroom with an entry from the kitchen was reconfigured with a more secluded entry and hallway off the living room and a privacy wall that extends upward highlighting a new skylight.

The end result is a thoroughly modern home that retains great respect for the history of the original structure.