Before & After: How an Ugly Den Became an Enviable Sunken Living Room in a Family’s Texas Midcentury
The ’70s add-on was a blight against the O’Neil Ford–designed residence. Now it’s a glowing gathering space that melds with the refinished home.
The ’70s add-on was a blight against the O’Neil Ford–designed residence. Now it’s a glowing gathering space that melds with the refinished home.
In a particular San Antonio, Texas, neighborhood, one home has long stood out. Surrounded by towering, traditional-style homes in neutral colors, it has a low-slung profile, metal roof, and red brick exterior.
"It’s an iconic house in the neighborhood," says architect Vicki Yuan of Lake|Flato Architects, who isn’t necessarily referring to its appearance. Built in 1949, the midcentury-modern home was designed by "Texas’s godfather of modern design," O’Neil Ford. His interest in the English Arts and Crafts Movement was flavored with an appreciation for International Style, which resulted in homes that combined local handicraft, a connection with the landscape, and streamlined detailing. He was also an enthusiastic preservationist, and was recognized as such by actually being named a National Historic Landmark himself in 1974, an honor only he has achieved to this day.
Yet in spite of Ford’s stature, this home "was being marketed as a teardown," says its newest owner, reflecting on the first time he and his wife walked through the property in 2021.
Before: Exterior Front
Before: A 1949 midcentury-modern home by Texas modernist O’Neil Ford stood apart from its neighbors with a low profile and brick build.
Courtesy of Lake Flato Architects
After: Exterior Front
Lake|Flato Architects updated the residence in part by relocating windows and doors and subsequently patching and painting the brick in a terra-cotta tone. The firm added mahogany accents for a motif that recalls the red trim the home had before. Ceramic house numbers fixed to a concrete plinth are by Los Angeles artist Ben Medansky.
Charlie Schuck Photography
By that point, the home had been tweaked substantially. The attached carport had been turned into additional living space, the front door had been moved, and a sunken den with several awkwardly angled walls was added toward the rear. There was plenty of square footage, but the bedrooms and kitchen were small, while the living rooms—including a formal one, the sunken space, and the converted carport—were large and redundant.
Before: Living Room
Before: Windows overlooking the yard, an idea original to Ford’s design, remained intact. Other elements, like the marble fireplace, felt incongruous.
Courtesy of Lake Flato Architects
See the full story on Dwell.com: Before & After: How an Ugly Den Became an Enviable Sunken Living Room in a Family’s Texas Midcentury
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