Austin Proper Residences

I bought this 1971 midcentury home knowing it would be a long conversation, not a quick renovation. Once a group residence for adults with disabilities, the house was divided into six bedrooms, 2.5 baths, and a series of disconnected additions that had lost any sense of flow or gathering. There was no dining room, little light movement, and no clear heart to the home. But I could feel what it wanted to become.

The transformation began by undoing years of patchwork decisions and rethinking how the house should live. I replaced all of the windows, changed the flooring throughout, and rebuilt the kitchen entirely, tearing down the wall that separated it from the addition and extending the fireplace wall to ground the main living space. A former front bedroom became a dining room, opened to the entry with a soft arch and connected to the rest of the home through a second arch, allowing light to move from the front door all the way to the backyard. I removed the awkward step at the entry and replaced the front door with a steel three-panel door that finally gives the house a sense of arrival.

The kitchen now anchors the home, finished with custom white oak cabinetry and soapstone countertops chosen for their depth, durability, and timelessness. The secondary bath and powder bath were fully gutted and rebuilt, continuing the slow, intentional process of giving the home back its dignity and warmth.

The work is not finished yet. The primary suite, a large new slider to the backyard, and the landscape beyond are still to come. But the house is already breathing differently. What was once a highly segmented, utilitarian structure is becoming a soulful family home shaped by patience, instinct, and the belief that houses, like people, can be restored when someone finally listens to what they need.