A Very Austin Home Renovation for the People Who Have Everything

There are no doubt many cities where people have to find stylish ways to put away (or at least store) childish things when they grow up. But certainly none finds itself in that place more often than Austin, the Peter Pan of the Texas cities, prone to holding tight to our first-edition comic books and vinyl copies of Daydream Nation (or whatever), borne back ceaselessly into the future, etc.

That was the case when local design-build firm CG&S was tapped to remodel this South Austin home.

Among the owners' priorities for the total home renovation, according to designer Stewart Davis, AIA, was storage for their extensive collection of comics, graphic novels, CDs, DVDs, books, and (of course) guitars. Davis and team added square footage to the ground floor and built a second story onto the 1,048 square-foot home. They converted the garage into a media room, where they installed custom, three-deep track shelving for DVD storage.

They also built red-oak cabinetry and installed a Vernon rolling library to access upper shelves in a new library, where pocket doors with Warwick tempered glass and a steel contraption turned into a side table add a slight industrial feel.

More shelves were installed in the atrium-like central hall, which also allows for ample air circulation.

Upstairs is a new master bedroom, a craft room, and a music room, which is functional and has storage space for the guitar collection.

In addition to installing cypress paneling in combination with fiber cement panels on the exterior and a new, front door made of white oak and adding a custom-designed second story, the design team updated two bathrooms. One—a dramatic, white-tiled guest bath—is warmed up with an oak-trimmed shadow box window fitted with glass shelving.