This 768-Square-Foot Austin Bungalow Got a Cool and Classic Refresh | Architectural Digest

Charlie Rice is the type of individual you’d want for a neighbor. Not only due to the fact his bungalow is usually brimming with joyful gatherings, freshly reduce flowers, and the occasional swing band on the entrance porch, but also because—if you’re lucky—you could even clinch an invite to a person of his popular 5-system supper events. “A real-blue Renaissance male, he is a consummate host, entertainer, and bon vivant with impeccable personalized model… Obtaining a position to rejoice community and host pricey good friends was paramount to him,” says Avery Cox, founder and principal designer of her eponymous Austin-based interior design company, who was tapped by Charlie to support give his recently obtained (and rapidly falling apart) 1930s create a present day update.

When Avery took up the venture, Charlie was a bona fide bachelor. “But when he located his match in Leanne, just about a few yrs in, the aesthetic we had produced took on various a lot more layers—all when remaining rooted in their shared like of cooking, internet hosting, and entertaining,” Avery shares. This would be Leanne Valenti, chef proprietor of Austin’s Bento Picnic, who moved in with Charlie and introduced her possess contact to the house.

Continue to, with the home’s compact footprint (it was all of 768 sq. ft, with only a person bed room and one particular lavatory), Avery experienced her function minimize out for her—not that she minded. “As is frequent with outdated houses, there were being no straight strains or right angles, so demarcating the common parts from the non-public kinds in a way that every single was spatially optimized was a challenge,” she suggests. The answer, it turned out, lay in optical illusions. “With the aid of our common contractor, Richard Present, we employed clever millwork and intentional scale to job the most important place as a substantial, exquisite drawing home, inspite of its confined dimensions.”