Clark Richardson Architects 

Austin, Texas
clarkrichardson.com

Location: Austin, Texas | Project Cost: $850,000
Square Footage before: 673 | Square Footage after: 2,411

The Newton renovation and addition in the Bouldin Creek neighborhood in South Austin was designed for a young couple and their newborn baby. The existing structure was a modest cottage built in 1920 on a corner lot. It consisted of a traditional hip roof structure with exposed rafter tails and sash windows. One of the most prominent features of the historic home was the front porch facing Newton which had a number of intact historical details. 

The design approach was to preserve the form of the original structure which included shoring up exterior walls, roof and foundation structure. They wanted an emphasis on maintaining the character of the historic structure, while making the home both larger and appropriate for the clients’ needs. Both the clients and the designers were interested in recycling and upcycling materials, not only as a way of keeping aspects of the original but of reducing waste.

In order to preserve the form of the original structure, they meticulously documented and reproduced the front porch to scale with an integrated screen that was recessed into the center line of the millwork. In the interior, what had been the original cottage was repurposed as the master suite, library, and laundry with the existing front porch serving as an outdoor sitting area off the master. 

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