Eclectic Homes
Top Ideabooks
- Wondrous Steampunk Style for a Massachusetts Victorian
- DIY Efforts Transform a South Philly Row House
- From Baseball Factory to Homey Loft in Toronto
- From Raw Space to Hip Home in a Converted Utah Garage
- Ted Danson and Mary Steenburgen's Guesthouse Brims With Charm
- Travel Treasures Personalize a Denver Comedian's Home
Before and Afters
Top Ideabooks
- Modern Style Converts an Empty Concrete Box
- Owners Find Their Bliss in a Wine Country Ranch House
- Double-Duty Function and Singular Style for a California Nursery
- Newly Open Style Updates a Contemporary Atlanta Home
- A San Diego Townhouse Gets a Bright Update
- Street Signs Become a Lively Kitchen Backsplash
My Houzz: From Train Depot to Family Home in Texas
Sleeping in a train station isn't normally an enviable affair — unless it's a remodeled 4-bedroom beauty filled with family heirlooms
Austin based home tour contributor for Houzz; freelance photographer.
Austin based home tour contributor for Houzz; freelance photographer. More »
| Share: |
|
Julie and François Lévy converted a run-down 1904 train depot into a family home using a judicious mix of traditional and modern elements. It's "modern in its scale and openness but traditional in its construction, detailing and materials," says Lévy. "It's a very welcoming home, filled with family heirlooms from France, pieces from Ikea and little pieces of salvaged shabby chic that got caught in our nets."
Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: François and Julie Lévy and their children, Olivier (15 years old), Chloé (13) and Eliane (9)
Location: Guadalupe neighborhood of East Austin, Texas
Size: 2,000 square feet; 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms
Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: François and Julie Lévy and their children, Olivier (15 years old), Chloé (13) and Eliane (9)
Location: Guadalupe neighborhood of East Austin, Texas
Size: 2,000 square feet; 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms
|
by Kara Mosher
»
Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
|
| AFTER: The family wanted to live in the Guadalupe neighborhood of Austin and kept an eye out for old schoolhouses or churches to convert. "One weekend I took the kids up to Dallas to see family, and Julie later joined us by train — a foreshadowing of what was to come," says François Lévy. "We drove home together along the same route, stopping at the houses she had spied along the way on the train. None of them really bore close scrutiny, but in Granger, Texas, we saw that the train depot had been moved about a block from the tracks." |
| Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
|
| BEFORE: The station was in pretty poor shape when the family bought it. "As far as we know, the train station was built around 1904, perhaps even a decade later. When we moved the house, a train aficionado approached us and shared the one-sheet set of working drawings for the building from 1904," Lévy says. "In 1986 it was no longer in use, and the railroad sold it to the town of Granger for $10 if they would move it off the rail line." |
|
by Kara Mosher
»
Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
|
| AFTER: The family moved the home from Granger to Austin and gave the exterior a facelift. Lévy rebuilt the roof and added six dormers for daylight and natural ventilation. He also added a half basement underneath the living room. "We replaced two of three missing windows with some salvaged ones we found and moved a door and its transom from the west end of the house to the east facade to replace the third window. It's now the Juliet balcony in the kitchen," says Lévy. |
| Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
|
| BEFORE: "When Julie and I decided to move a house and renovate it, we struck a deal: Julie would pick the neighborhood, and I'd pick the building," says Lévy. After buying the structure, Lévy completely gutted the interior. |
|
by Kara Mosher
»
Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
|
| AFTER: The new kitchen now sits along the east wall of the building. "The railroad had added a couple of bathrooms at that location, which we tore out. Coincidentally, that's where I decided to place the kitchen," says Lévy. The location was largely determined by the desire to maintain an open-plan layout, since the couple loves to cook and entertain. The kitchen has no dead corners. A cast-in-place concrete counter that's all one height provides a large work area to spread out on. The cabinets were all salvaged from a downtown law office renovation. Bar stools: Lyon Workspace Products |
by Kara Mosher
»
Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
"I designed a counter that ended up being a bit long. What can I say? I love to cook," Lévy says. As a result, the table needed to be rather narrow to fit in the leftover space. "We've been through three or four dining tables, trying to find the right one. The one we have now is a reused glass top from an Office Max desk, sitting on a pair of $10 trestle legs from Ikea," he says.
by Kara Mosher
»
Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
The curio cabinet contains many treasures, such as the children's ceramic projects, a collection of Quimper faience from Brittany, France, and wineglasses.
Lévy can't quite pinpoint his design style. He says, "I would use words like 'relaxed,' 'informal,' 'salvaged,' 'agrarian,' 'bohemian,' 'a little funky,' 'charming,' 'quirky.'"
Lévy can't quite pinpoint his design style. He says, "I would use words like 'relaxed,' 'informal,' 'salvaged,' 'agrarian,' 'bohemian,' 'a little funky,' 'charming,' 'quirky.'"
|
by Kara Mosher
»
Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
|
| Julie found the wooden mantel at a garage sale. The couple thought of using it for an indoor fireplace one day but decided to have an outdoor fire pit instead. The mantel then got a new life as the frame for an old thrift store mirror. |
|
by Kara Mosher
»
Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
|
| The couple worked with color designer Carol Burton to help determine the palette. "We asked Carol to be a neutral third party. She gave us a stack of magazines to clip from. We each individually clipped out swatches of pleasing colors, and Carol worked out a palette that represented the colors we had in common," says Lévy. "No fights about color!" The paint color on the accent wall is an original created by Carol that is similar to Ablaze by Sherwin-Williams. |
by Kara Mosher
»
Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
The wood floors are original. "With these old floors, Watrelox, a tung oil product that Julie discovered, was a godsend. We didn't want to urethane them, as that would require future sanding that they probably couldn't take," says Lévy. The couple just buffed the floors with the oil and added a few more coats to rejuvenate them.
| Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
|
| |
by Kara Mosher
»
Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
AFTER: The master bedroom is now peaceful, and its many skylights fill the space with a natural, almost heavenly, glow.
One of the most beautiful elements in the home is a staircase created of sheet-copper from Austin metal supplier Todd Campbell.
One of the most beautiful elements in the home is a staircase created of sheet-copper from Austin metal supplier Todd Campbell.
by Kara Mosher
»
Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
Among the other unique and cool elements in this home are the peek-hole windows that offer an eagle's-eye view of the living room and kitchen space as you walk up the spiral staircase.
|
by Kara Mosher
»
Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
|
| François Lévy, shown here, says, "My home is my architectural laboratory." |
Ideabook updated on Dec. 30, 2012.
Latest Ideabooks
People found the photos in this ideabook after searching for:
View over a million photos:
basements · bedrooms · dining rooms · entries · family rooms · garage and sheds · halls · home offices · landscapes · laundry rooms · powder rooms · wine cellars and more.
Find Local Pros by Category:
Architects & Designers · Carpet and Flooring · Closet & Home Storage Designers · Design-build Firms · Fireplaces · General Contractors · Home Media Design & Installation · Interior Designers & Decorators · Kitchen & Bath Designers · Landscape Architects & Designers · Landscape Contractors · Specialty Contractors · Tile, Stone & Countertops
Find Local Pros by Metro Area:
Atlanta · Austin · Baltimore · Boston · Chicago · Dallas · Dc Metro · Denver · Detroit · Hawaii · Houston · Las Vegas · Los Angeles · Miami · Minneapolis · Nashville · New Orleans · New York · Philadelphia · Phoenix · Portland · Salt Lake City · San Diego · San Francisco · Seattle · St Louis
Where do the kids sleep?
A couple questions I have are 1 - (as others have wondered) where do the kids sleep? and 2 - What happened with the old theatre-style chairs I see in the "before" pic? Oh, and 3 - bathroom? :)