Interior designer Holly Beth Potter has always been drawn to older homes with intricate detailing and period architecture, so when she and her husband, Matt, found a 1935 gem on Austin’s East Side, they were ready to pour some much-needed TLC into it. What ultimately convinced the longtime owners to sell? A promise not to tear it down.
“They loved the idea of us preserving the house,” says Potter of the family who had lived there for more than 80 years. “Yet we went into it not fully realizing what we were getting into.” Set on one of the largest heritage oak–dappled lots in the Rosedale neighborhood, the house had innate charm…and plenty of unforeseen challenges.
The goal was to retain as much original character as possible while updating it to fit the family’s daily routines. Now a mother of three girls under five, Potter enlisted architects Annie-Laurie Grabiel and Arthur Furman of Side Angle Side for a five-year renovation that would double the home’s square footage with a new backyard ADU and a thoughtful modernization of the main house.
“As much as we love an old house, they don’t always work for how we live today,” says Grabiel. Their solution: celebrate the contrast. The original white bungalow still welcomes you inside, but from there the house unravels into the new, modern addition—a seamless union that honors nearly 100 years of history. Ahead, Potter, Grabiel, and Furman reflect on this special renovation and sticking to the promise they made.
Grabiel: We wanted to highlight the friendliness of what life was like almost 100 years ago. When it was hot, people would sit on the porch, so we wanted it to still be just as functional with the new addition. Potter: We did the process and construction documents but realized building this massive house before we had any children wasn’t the wisest. Once we knew whether we would have kids, we could understand what we wanted in a space and how it would function. | Exterior paint, Greek Villa by Sherwin-Williams; Custom front door from Good Millwork finished with Rubio Monocoat. Potter: We wanted the old house to be what comes forward and for the addition to be modern, cool, a little more subtle in approach—more restrained and not glassy. | Exterior, Burnished stucco color-matched to Blacktop by Benjamin Moore. Potter: Our foyer is now filled with light from two skylights. I didn’t just want any credenza. I found this one from Croft House and got this mint-colored leather to put on the drawers with marble pulls. | Walls, Diamond plaster color-matched to Wind’s Breath by Sherwin-Williams; Custom credenza, Croft House. Furman: At some point, [the previous owners] sheathed the house in metal and the wood framing inside got warped. Gabriel: We had to reframe the whole thing and put it back together. We used the sanded original shiplap on the walls. | Dining table, Nickey Kehoe; Walls Paint, Downing Straw by Sherwin-Williams; Art (left), Raven Roxanne; Art (right), Blakely Made.Potter: We wanted the island to feel more like a piece of furniture, so we incorporated our breakfast table into it, while the sconces from Irish brand Mullan Lighting give the space an older feel. | Plumbing fixtures, Watermark; Countertops, honed Calacatta Ibiza Quartzite; Stools, Furniture Marolles. Furman: We wanted to showcase as much of the original house as possible. The rest is kind of secondary. As you circulate through, the lines of where the old is and where the new begins is evident but also blurred. Potter: The living room fireplace blends in with a concrete hearth that looks out to the courtyard. It feels great. | Chairs and sofa, Caffrey & Co; Art, Daniel Clesse from Eneby Home; Sofa, Nickey Kehoe upholstered with Designs of the Time fabric.Potter: During the construction process we were constantly looking for ways to use and repurpose the salvaged, original materials. Given that our primary bedroom remained in the same spot as the home’s original primary, I wanted to incorporate character elements that drew us to the house, including original floors, trim, and shiplap. I knew I wanted a built-in headboard, and cladding it in shiplap felt like another opportunity to honor the house. | Shiplap Color, Creamy by Sherwin-Williams; Art, Kate Zimmerman Turpin; Rug, Armadillo. Potter: The primary bathroom was once another bedroom, and we wanted to expand because we wanted a double vanity. When Annie-Laurie and Arthur presented the floor plan, we were like, yes, this is it! | Plumbing fixtures, California Faucets; Floors, custom limestone tile; Countertops, Cielo Leathered Quartzite; Cabinetry, rift-sawn white oak. Potter: I love the tub as a focal point. We thought about marble, but when we found this quartzite we loved the movement, veining, and all of the different tones. I didn’t plan for it to be this beigey-green bathroom, but I wanted a sense of calm. | Tub, Americh; Walls, Diamond plaster color-matched to Spanish Olive by Benjamin Moore.
Potter: We wanted our kids to have a space to expand their imaginations, be silly, and be creative. As we were thinking about play spaces, we thought about this netted structure. Our kids love it, and we put beanbags up there for them to read. | Walls, Birch plywood; Sconce, Schoolhouse.
Potter: I agonized over this bathroom. I wanted it to feel like it would age well and stay with them as they mature. It’s playful but in a subtle way and feels timeless with the checkerboard. I love the pinky-mauve color and when I found those scalloped baskets, I was immediately sold. | Sconces, In Common With; Countertops, Caesarstone; Floor tile, Clay Imports; Paint, Chelsea Mauve by Sherwin-Williams.Potter: Because we have all girls, we knew we wanted space to have them all in there. The shape of the room allows for larger bunk beds and we were able to incorporate storage. The window seat serves as a play bench, while the corner windows give the best view in the house. | Bunk beds and window seat, custom-made and painted in Summer Harvest by Benjamin Moore; Bedding, Bed Threads; Quilts, Schoolhouse. Potter: The landscape incorporates large boulders and is like a fairy garden, so to speak, that attracts a lot of butterflies. The pool itself—I wanted it to feel like a natural pond or a creek. Grabiel: They are in a neighborhood where a lot of their friends live, so their house is the hub to watch football or swim in the summer. While this project was a labor of love (discovering rot was a hard pill to swallow), we were never going to give up on it. | Deck, ipe wood; Pool plaster, PebbleSheen Desert Gold; Tile, Crossville Studios.
