This typical Austin 1940's bungalow was strategically remodeled to transform an awkward arrangement of dark, low-ceilinged rooms into a single continuous space with kitchen, dining, and living areas. Custom clerestory windows provide indirect daylighting throughout the day, and a tall window slot in front of the kitchen sink frames a mature crape myrtle. Built-in cabinets maximize storage along both sides of the room.

What building methods were used? Our intention was to work with the existing building typology, the modest post-war stick frame construction. Stick frame construction is the most common building system used in residential construction and its inherit beauty and elegance is often hidden, buried underneath sheetrock and other finish materials. For this project we wanted to reveal and work with the stick framing as a finished product and to allow it to shape the character of the interior space. The even distribution of load paths through the building form give the stick framing a light and delicate quality. We introduced a balloon framing technique to support the roof and placed a custom window unit on the outside of the framing. In doing so we eliminated the need for a large header and were also able to conceal the window stops and other glazing comments behind the continuous wooden balloon frame studs. This technique reduces the amount of components that are visible so that the simplicity of the framing is revealed.

What was the brief? Designed for the editor in chief of the Texas Tribune, Emily Ramshaw and her filmmaker husband David Hartstein this remodel transformed a modest midcentury bungalow into an open light-filled space. The couple was determined to maintain the modest and understated character of the Austin streetscape while being able to create an open and contemporary interior.