Houzz Tour: A Design for Better Outdoor Living in Texas
Extensive remodeling allows a family to live large in less space
Annie Thornton
July 10, 2016
Houzz Editorial Staff
They say everything is bigger in Texas. Not so for architect Craig McMahon, whose home he shares with his wife and youngest child is 2,000 square feet, more than 1,200 square feet smaller than their previous home. Less square footage was high on their list of priorities when they decided to move. “Our older children were off, and we wanted a smaller modern home,” McMahon says.
The home needed extensive remodeling, and what started as a simple downsizing move evolved into rethinking what makes a home successful. “It became a personal goal to show how to live in a smaller footprint in a one-story home that engaged the outdoors as much as our longer homes — especially ranches — where the outdoors is part of every home design,” says McMahon, who also acted as the remodel’s architect and contractor.
The home needed extensive remodeling, and what started as a simple downsizing move evolved into rethinking what makes a home successful. “It became a personal goal to show how to live in a smaller footprint in a one-story home that engaged the outdoors as much as our longer homes — especially ranches — where the outdoors is part of every home design,” says McMahon, who also acted as the remodel’s architect and contractor.
Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: Craig McMahon, his wife and youngest child
Location: Alamo Heights, Texas
Size: House is 2,000 square feet (185.8 square meters) with a studio of 220 square feet (20.4 square meters); three bedrooms, 2½ bathrooms
From the street, the house looked like any other 1950s two-bedroom, one-bathroom suburban home. It also looked as if it had seen its fair share of awkward renovations over the years, including trompe l’oeil painted Greek columns on it. “It was the lemon of the street,” McMahon says. Walking through the house, he noticed that the walls appeared to be concrete block, nothing he couldn’t work with.
Only when McMahon started tearing down interior walls, something he’d planned to do to open up the space, did he realize that the entire house was made of concrete. Ten-inch-thick, tilt-up panels made up the exterior walls and 4-inch solid walls were used for the interior walls, with 1⅛-inch rebar running throughout. “I had no idea it was all concrete,” he says.
Who lives here: Craig McMahon, his wife and youngest child
Location: Alamo Heights, Texas
Size: House is 2,000 square feet (185.8 square meters) with a studio of 220 square feet (20.4 square meters); three bedrooms, 2½ bathrooms
From the street, the house looked like any other 1950s two-bedroom, one-bathroom suburban home. It also looked as if it had seen its fair share of awkward renovations over the years, including trompe l’oeil painted Greek columns on it. “It was the lemon of the street,” McMahon says. Walking through the house, he noticed that the walls appeared to be concrete block, nothing he couldn’t work with.
Only when McMahon started tearing down interior walls, something he’d planned to do to open up the space, did he realize that the entire house was made of concrete. Ten-inch-thick, tilt-up panels made up the exterior walls and 4-inch solid walls were used for the interior walls, with 1⅛-inch rebar running throughout. “I had no idea it was all concrete,” he says.
Before Photo
Before Photo
These construction shots taken during the remodel reveal the extra-thick concrete walls that made up the house.
BEFORE: The process of tearing down the concrete walls was slow and arduous, involving cutting the concrete pieces into 2-foot sections. “I was renting every concrete saw in town,” McMahon says. “Every time I turned around I had to rent more equipment.” He even had a Bobcat in the middle of the living room (see previous picture). “At one moment I thought about tearing the whole thing down, but I was too far into it,” he says. “It was very, very hard, but I wasn’t going to let it beat me.”
Throughout demolition McMahon noticed many of the concrete pieces had an “H.B. Zachary” stamp on them. Research led him to discover that H.B. Zachary, a well-known builder in San Antonio during the time this house was constructed, had actually experimented with an innovative prefab construction method on this house before using it to build the Palacio del Rio hotel along the famous River Walk in San Antonio.
After that discovery, McMahon’s vision for the house changed. “I had to use concrete as as a running theme to respect his experimental history,” McMahon says. It’s now a running joke in McMahon’s family that he lives in and has renovated a concrete house, as he left behind his family’s concrete business to pursue architecture.
BEFORE: The process of tearing down the concrete walls was slow and arduous, involving cutting the concrete pieces into 2-foot sections. “I was renting every concrete saw in town,” McMahon says. “Every time I turned around I had to rent more equipment.” He even had a Bobcat in the middle of the living room (see previous picture). “At one moment I thought about tearing the whole thing down, but I was too far into it,” he says. “It was very, very hard, but I wasn’t going to let it beat me.”
Throughout demolition McMahon noticed many of the concrete pieces had an “H.B. Zachary” stamp on them. Research led him to discover that H.B. Zachary, a well-known builder in San Antonio during the time this house was constructed, had actually experimented with an innovative prefab construction method on this house before using it to build the Palacio del Rio hotel along the famous River Walk in San Antonio.
After that discovery, McMahon’s vision for the house changed. “I had to use concrete as as a running theme to respect his experimental history,” McMahon says. It’s now a running joke in McMahon’s family that he lives in and has renovated a concrete house, as he left behind his family’s concrete business to pursue architecture.
AFTER: The home’s new facade greets the street at much the same scale as it did before, with McMahon preserving the footprint and general California bungalow appearance he originally appreciated about the house. In fact, it’s even more modest than the original street view, as a former enclosed room is now a walled patio in front. “We felt that the 50-foot lot really deserves a more sympathetic scaled one-story home,“ McMahon says of their 50-by-150-foot lot.
The driveway, which connects to a detached garage in the backyard, also doubles as an entry path. Concrete pavers are used by cars and humans, and they are also pet friendly, McMahon says.
To add a little more green to the space, and also give their two dogs a place to run, they installed a front-yard lawn, which survives off drip irrigation for two to four minutes a day. A small reflecting pond cools and lightens up the front room, and also gives the dog a place to play and cool off.
The driveway, which connects to a detached garage in the backyard, also doubles as an entry path. Concrete pavers are used by cars and humans, and they are also pet friendly, McMahon says.
To add a little more green to the space, and also give their two dogs a place to run, they installed a front-yard lawn, which survives off drip irrigation for two to four minutes a day. A small reflecting pond cools and lightens up the front room, and also gives the dog a place to play and cool off.
Inside, McMahon opened up the floor plan, converting the two-bedroom house into an open dining, kitchen and living space. The home’s original fireplace remains, now freestanding and two-way, as a focal point and room divider, separating a front seating area from the kitchen and main living area. “This fireplace is monumental,” he says.
The fireplace also limits what people can see from the street, an attractive, architectural solution to privacy.
On the other side of the fireplace, the open living room flows into the kitchen and adjacent dining area, with the private bedrooms in an addition at the rear of the house.
McMahon renovated the home with an open, yet adaptable design approach. “The spaces are easily adjusted,” he says. For example, the dining room can be closed off to create a bedroom. The dining room could move to the current living room and the living room could move to the front sitting area, with the ceiling fans and light fixtures all easily moved to correspond to their proper use. “It’s sort of an Ikea approach to flexible living,” he says.
McMahon renovated the home with an open, yet adaptable design approach. “The spaces are easily adjusted,” he says. For example, the dining room can be closed off to create a bedroom. The dining room could move to the current living room and the living room could move to the front sitting area, with the ceiling fans and light fixtures all easily moved to correspond to their proper use. “It’s sort of an Ikea approach to flexible living,” he says.
Off the kitchen, the dining room sports polished concrete floors and a vaulted Douglas fir ceiling, as does the rest of the house. During the remodel, McMahon removed the interior concrete walls and ceiling joists in order to reveal the existing pitched ceilings. Fir plywood panels cover the ceiling.
The polished concrete floors are new, which is surprising given the fact that the rest of the house was concrete. While McMahon was doing demolition work, he also removed the original floor and foundation with a Bobcat. He then poured a new concrete foundation and floor, which he sanded himself and then sealed.
The polished concrete floors are new, which is surprising given the fact that the rest of the house was concrete. While McMahon was doing demolition work, he also removed the original floor and foundation with a Bobcat. He then poured a new concrete foundation and floor, which he sanded himself and then sealed.
The hall between the kitchen and dining room is part of the 800-square-foot addition McMahon built on to the original 1,200-square-foot house, which also includes the new master bedroom and second bedroom. As the home was designed to make the best use of available space, most rooms, including the hallway, feature built-in storage and nooks.
Additionally, the rooms feature a lot of windows and access to livable outdoor spaces to increase the rooms’ usability and expand their perceived size. “We wanted to live large,” McMahon says.
Additionally, the rooms feature a lot of windows and access to livable outdoor spaces to increase the rooms’ usability and expand their perceived size. “We wanted to live large,” McMahon says.
At the end of the hall, the light-filled master bedroom overlooks the outdoor terrace, surrounded on all sides by trees and covered in a rich Douglas fir paneling. “I feel like I’m camping,” McMahon says
The material, which is used throughout the project, was something McMahon fell in love with while working in California some years back. He knew it would play a major role when he renovated his own home, but he discovered it was not as easy to source in Texas as it had been in California. “I went to every lumberyard in town and hand-selected the wood piece by piece. I turned each piece of wood individually to make sure I had clear vertical grain in each,” McMahon says. “The main lumberyard called me ‘Mr. Douglas fir,’ as I seemed to be the only person spending hours and hours hand-selecting each piece of wood.”
The material, which is used throughout the project, was something McMahon fell in love with while working in California some years back. He knew it would play a major role when he renovated his own home, but he discovered it was not as easy to source in Texas as it had been in California. “I went to every lumberyard in town and hand-selected the wood piece by piece. I turned each piece of wood individually to make sure I had clear vertical grain in each,” McMahon says. “The main lumberyard called me ‘Mr. Douglas fir,’ as I seemed to be the only person spending hours and hours hand-selecting each piece of wood.”
Large picture windows and operable awning windows enclose the master bedroom. “Every room we have is directly connected to the east and southeast,” McMahon says, making prevailing breezes especially effective at cooling.
As the bedroom doesn’t directly overlook any neighbors or the street, and 20-foot-tall bamboo surrounds the lot, no window treatments were added to the large picture windows. In areas where privacy was a concern, McMahon installed smaller windows.
As the bedroom doesn’t directly overlook any neighbors or the street, and 20-foot-tall bamboo surrounds the lot, no window treatments were added to the large picture windows. In areas where privacy was a concern, McMahon installed smaller windows.
The gravel courtyard next to the master bedroom can also be accessed from the front driveway, just past a sliding gate. A car can drive over the gravel to the detached garage in back, or the space can be used as an outdoor living area. A new EcoSmart outdoor fireplace enhances the outdoor living experience and ties in with the massive indoor fireplace. A sliding wood gate can open or close off the courtyard from the front of the house.
Part of maintaining a smaller footprint meant that the homeowners also wanted to create a usable outdoor space that would give the house room to breathe on the lot. Additionally, mature oak trees on the lot became a landscaping challenge, as McMahon wanted to preserve them during construction. Now, the gravel courtyard is not only open and easily accessible from the house, it also can function as a driveway, if needed. It also enabled the oak trees to stay, creating a truly usable outdoor space.
Part of maintaining a smaller footprint meant that the homeowners also wanted to create a usable outdoor space that would give the house room to breathe on the lot. Additionally, mature oak trees on the lot became a landscaping challenge, as McMahon wanted to preserve them during construction. Now, the gravel courtyard is not only open and easily accessible from the house, it also can function as a driveway, if needed. It also enabled the oak trees to stay, creating a truly usable outdoor space.
The home’s original detached garage gained an adjoining 220-square-foot studio with a guest bedroom and bathroom during the remodel. A spiral staircase leads to a roof deck on top of the garage.
The deck atop the garage provides the family with even more outdoor living space and overlooks the property. “Every surface we could, we wanted to walk out and use,” McMahon says.
The view from the roof also provides a better sense of how the home occupies the property, with the original home in the background and the addition in the foreground. The buildings hug the lot’s west boundary, and the open gravel courtyards provide more usable living space.
BEFORE: The original 1,200-square-foot home and original garage with its two-bedroom, one-bathroom layout.
AFTER: The new floor plan includes the 800-square-foot addition and 220-square-foot studio, shown in purple, as well as the now-open original house.
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The home featured is really special and you can see that it was a labor of love. Be grateful that you gutted the interior from the start. I sympathize with the labor intensive work required with concrete construction. I'm near the end of a remodel in Puerto Rico where concrete is the standard material used for building construction which makes it extremely difficult if you're not doing a complete gut job.
We enlarged the kitchen, created a new full bath, moved a laundry room and used a hallway to enlarge an adjacent closet. Unfortunately, every concrete wall was textured so in addition to tearing up concrete to move plumbing, electrical and walls, we had to spend a month to refinish every wall and ceiling to create smooth surfaces (level 5), otherwise every patch would be evident. In addition, the ceilings are concrete so we had to create soffits for recessed lighting.
I used 70 USAI recessed lights (each with a transformer) which was probably a mistake because the housings are 12" x 12" x 5" high. They are gorgeous lights but took a lot of time and effort to install. Klus strip lights were used in several areas and these also come with challenges (the flange lip is so slim that the mud has to be applied in several stages to get a perfect installation).
A project like this would have taken 1//4 of the time with standard gypsum and the frustration of having to drill concrete to move something as simple as a receptacle can be overwhelming. After 6 months and a new contractor, we are in the final weeks of work and there is light at the end of the tunnel.
Congratulations on a fabulous finale.
This house is great
I love everything about this home. It's very modern, sleek, and clean.