Before & After: In Austin, a New Life Out West Starts With a First Remodel for $176K
"When you have a beginner’s mind, you don’t know what you don’t know."
"When you have a beginner’s mind, you don’t know what you don’t know."
"When I first started my career, I was in the military for a while and was deployed several times, and that was for sure exhausting," recalls Amber Schleuning, who’s reminiscing about what surprised her the most about remodeling her own home in an eight-month stint starting in 2019. "But this was also very, very exhausting, and I did not expect it to be."
Amber grew up the daughter of a career military officer, to eventually become an Engineer in the U.S. Army herself, earning a Master’s in Public Health, and later working for the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs. By 2017, she had lived in Washington, D.C. for a decade and was ready for a change.
On a visit to Austin, Texas to see friends, she fell in love with the city, its pace of life, nearby hiking trails, and the music scene. "It just felt like a really interesting and growing and vibrant place to be," says Amber. After making the move and renting for the first two years, she was ready to buy, setting her sights on a 1962 home in the Riverside neighborhood, where there was a pocket of midcentury builds that had survived recent development. "It felt like an area where time was standing still a little bit," she says.
Before: Front Exterior
Before: Amber Schleuning bought this 1962 home in Austin, Texas in 2019, with the goal to remodel the interior to her liking, while the front exterior was kept much the same.
Courtesy of Amber Schleuning
After: Front Exterior
The siding received a coat of Emerald Shore by Sherwin Williams.
Photo by Avery Martin and Scott Hamilton
Just as the neighborhood was stuck in time, so too was Amber’s house, which was being sold "as-is," from the peel-and-stick vinyl tile, to the mold behind the living room’s wood paneling. Still, the plumbing and foundation were solid, making her think: "Okay, this is a project that I could probably tackle as a newbie."
The first hurdle was financing, securing a bank loan to cover the mortgage and remodel budget. During that process, Amber found contractor, Joey Melgoza of A&J Moving & Contracting. "He served two primary roles: being the GC but also being my teacher in a way," she says. "I would sit with him and ask lots of questions about everything."
$3,400 Insulation | $27,420 Windows + Doors | $3,630 Flooring (concrete) |
$11,655 Flooring + Tile Labor | $860 Interior Door Hardware | $13,400 Electrical |
$7,500 HVAC Equipment | $6,364 Fencing | $2,044 Faucets |
| $1,647 Lighting | $12,100 Wall Finishes | $2,400 Millwork |
| $924 Tile | $7,650 Landscaping and French Drain | $14,750 Cabinetry |
$10,076 Kitchen Appliances | $3,350 Demolition | $16,700 Structural Framing |
$11,200 Exterior Hardie + Trim + Paint | $19,634 Miscellaneous | |
| Grand Total:$176,706 | ||
Before: Living Room
Before: "The wood paneling on the walls I actually liked," says Amber of the living room. "But once the contractors took a look at it again, there was some mold in the back, so they were like, ‘This definitely has to go.’"
Courtesy of Amber Schleuning
See the full story on Dwell.com: Before & After: In Austin, a New Life Out West Starts With a First Remodel for $176K
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