This 1952 Brentwood home sits on a third acre corner lot and is the architect’s personal residence. Although we loved the area, the home was dark inside and the floor plan did not work for our family. We wanted to strike a good balance between urban living with a need for privacy and appreciation for the outdoors.  The first thing that attracted us to this house were three mature Live Oaks surrounding the home so we designed around them, hoping to capture canopy views from almost every window.

We removed most of the interior walls to create an open plan in this once boxy house.  We expanded the house off the back to accommodate a galley kitchen. A tall slider opens onto an exterior wrap-around Cypress deck and draws our family to the backyard.  We incorporated built-ins in almost every room to save space and ensure a consistent look throughout the house.  We kept the original Austin cut limestone at the front of the house and the Oak flooring, but updating the windows, finishes and stained the floors ebony to bring in a current esthetic.  Our preference for quality of space and rich materials outweighed a dramatic square footage increase.  Now, with canopy views from every window, great neighbors and a wonderful piece of land, we have been quite happy here.

Featured on Apartment Therapy 

Built by Cass Cheesar, LLC

Photography by Adrienne Breaux