Houzz Tour: Problem Solving on a Sloped Lot in Austin
Kelly Gonzalez, a contractor, an interior designer and a mother of four, likes to solve problems and make people happy. But when she set out to build her own home, she faced a few obstacles, namely: a narrow lot on a steep downslope, a live oak tree in the middle of the property, an eroding stream (with no promise of upcoming embankment), “McMansion” regulations on home size and the needs of homeschooled kids and a work-from-home husband. Oh, and she was pregnant.
The good news is, she and the team at her company, Silverthorn Contracting and Design, pulled it off. And there was only one thing from her request list she didn’t get: an indoor slide. “Once the walls were up,” she says, “the parts just didn’t fit.” She didn’t despair. The slide fit nicely in the side yard, and the allotted space inside fit an extra-large pantry — problem solved, and everyone’s happy.
Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: Kelly and Carlos Gonzalez; their children, Sofia (age 10), Lila (7), Jude (4) and Moses (2); Abbi the dog; and chickens Miracle and Ruby
Location: Austin, Texas
Size: 3,695 square feet (343 square meters)
Year built: 2012
Bouldin Creek is an established neighborhood, and there are only a handful of empty lots left. The lot Kelly Gonzalez found was one of those remaining few. “One of the main reasons it was there,” she says, “was because it had so many problems.”
Gonzalez called in Carina Coel of Restructure Studioto help with designing around the issues, and Coel converted restrictions into opportunities. Permits alone took nine months to be approved, but now the unassuming design fits nicely in the neighborhood, and around back the home extends outward to meet all of the Gonzalez family’s needs.
The house progresses down a sloped lot, with increased heft as it goes. It’s squeezed around the oak tree in the middle, and a deck wraps the tree, making it the centerpiece of the design.
A side yard provides space for play, and a pathway of loose rocks works as a swale to guide rainwater to the creek. The home also sits on piers sunk 40 feet into the ground, something Coel engineered to prevent the home from moving due to gradual creek erosion or flooding.
Custom steel windows were built onsite and stretch from floor to ceiling. Gonzalez’s husband lives by the mantra “The more light, the better,” but since moving in, they’ve added curtains. “Without them it’s reallybright,” Gonzalez says.
Coel designed the windows to serve as vertical structural supports in addition to forming the window frames.
More Houzz Tour: Problem Solving on a Sloped Lot in Austin
Houzz Tour: Problem Solving on a Sloped Lot in Austin
