A place where kids can hang
Austin Chapter of National Association of the Remodeling Industry tour will feature 9 local homes.
Susan Terrell and Don Brode moved into their Zilker neighborhood house in 2003 with just a dog. Their family grew to two dogs and two kids, George, 9, and Lily, 11. Ten years after moving in, Terrell and Brode realized they needed more space than the 1,750-squarefoot house.
They went on a search but realized how much they loved their neighborhood. Instead, they decided to remodel and build an expansion that would satisfy their criteria: to create a house that was true to the 1956 era in which the house was built and create a space for their children’s friends to congregate. “We decided to have the house where people would come to our house instead of the kids always wanting to go to Joey’s house,” Terrell says. She says she wanted her kids to grow up with her and her husband instead of growing apart.
And unlike many home remodeling projects where walls are torn down to open space, Terrell and Brode decided to define the space, much like the original 1956 home, but with a better flow. They worked with CG&S Design-Build and architects Stewart Davis and Gregory Thomas and project manager Jay Schaefer and interior designer Mark Evans.
The redesign grew the tri-level house to 2,977-square-feet by adding a better-planned living room and dining room and a functional, spacious kitchen on the main level as well as a master bedroom and bathroom.
Downstairs they added a laundry room, bar area, family room and reconfigured office space. They also added covered and screenedin porches.
During the remodel, CG&S took the house down to the studs and updated electrical and plumbing, added insulation and solar panels. They now pay less on the electric bill for almost twice the house.
The home will be on the Tour of Remodeled Homes by the Austin Chapter of the National Association of the Remodeling Industry next month.