 Celeste Elder had outgrown the tiny
two-bedroom house she had lived in for 10 years. Instead
of searching for
a new house in the increasingly expensive Austin area, she
and her husband, Jeff, decided to remodel.
Webber is an Austin-area architect who, with his partner, WIllard
Hanzlik, started Webber+Hanzlik Achitects about five years
ago. Webber met with Elder and listened to her requests. She
wanted to give the dark hallways and small rooms a more open
feel, but she didn't want to overwhelm the small 1940s house
with a large addition. She wanted more space but also wanted
the front elevation to remain the same. So Webber opted for
a rear expansion to house the new master bedroom instead of
a second story. And with the neighbors less than 20 feet from
both sides of the house, she needed privacy.
Webber
created paper models of several options. He makes models
for all his projects because it helps clients picture
the remodel. "It
also allows us to check if our massing concept has the right
proportions," Webber says. When a customer is spending
hundreds of thousands of dollars on a job, he says, it's
worth spending $1,000 on several models to make sure they
are happy
with the design.
 Elder and Webber had been working with a contractor during
the design stage, but his high estimate led them to bid
out the project (see "Bidding Time"). It was during
this process that they found local contractor Paul Balmuth,
owner
of PB Construction. Armed with Balmuth's construction expertise,
the homeowner and architect brought their interior and exterior
changes to life and turned this plain house into a stylish
home. INTERIOR ISSUES
The original floor plan had what Elder calls a "bowling
alley" hallway that stretched from the foyer to
the bathroom. "From
the front door, you could look right into the pink
tiled bathroom," Elder
says. She thought French doors would open up the hall
but keep the living and dining rooms separate at the
same time.
At first,
Webber wasn't sure this would work in the cramped space,
but after he incorporated her idea, he thought it worked
well.
On one side of the hall is an updated living room
with a new fireplace on the far wall. The masonry subcontractor
had problems
understanding the brick pattern and clearances of the
design, and he did not communicate well with his workers. "We
built it three times before we were happy," Balmuth
says.Because some of the problems stemmed from a misunderstanding,
he paid
the mason a few hudnred dollars extra to fix the problems.
The
fireplace replaced an existing window, so Webber
had to find a way to add light back to the room. He
fitted awning
windows above low bookcases that flank the fireplace.
Webber
also found ways to bring light into other areas. He
removed the wall between the dining room
and an
existing bedroom
to create an open entertaining area. He replaced
the wall with a divider that has base and upper
cabinets fitted
around an
open area that overlooks the new family room. A
convenient pass-through in the wall above the kitchen
counter
also provides additional light to the dining area
and
can
be closed off with
a small sliding door. |
