Before & After: They Gave Their Fussy Hill Country Cabin a "Subtractive" Makeover
In Texas, where everything is bigger, a couple bring a 1908 home back to basics by paring away the decorative excess of past remodels.
In Texas, where everything is bigger, a couple bring a 1908 home back to basics by paring away the decorative excess of past remodels.
John and Kelly Rainey had lived in Texas their whole lives before they moved to Chicago in 2011. "It took us one winter to decide we needed an escape," says Kelly with a laugh. It wasn’t just a knee-jerk reaction, though—they knew they eventually wanted to return to the Lone Star State to be close to their families, so the following year they bought a sprawling 92-acre ranch in Hill Country.
Located near San Antonio airport, and an easy flight from Chicago, the property came with several buildings—including an old goat barn converted into a crash pad, and a 1,000-square-foot cabin originally built in 1908. "It worked for about seven years as it is," says Kelly—although over time they began to notice its constraints.
For instance, there was no dedicated dining space for spreading out Thanksgiving meals, the living room was too cramped for football watch parties, and with no buffer between the bedrooms and the common areas, the shouts from late-night Rummy Cube games were liable to wake up the house. "You try to stick 14 people in a thousand-square-foot house and that’s a lot," says Kelly. "We were all kinds of on top of each other."
Before: Exterior
Before: John and Kelly Rainey bought a 92-acre ranch in Texas Hill Country in 2012, which came with this 1908 cabin. They think it might have originally been a kit home. The couple worked with Jobe Corral Architects to strip away the fussier elements, such as the excess trim, ornate columns, shutters, and decorative exterior brickwork.
Courtesy of Jobe Corral Architects
After: Exterior
The cabin’s original screened porch had been enclosed for additional living space, but it wasn’t very usable, so Jobe and Corral converted it back to its original purpose. Now, it serves as a mudroom and a transition space leading to the living room. The preserved board and batten siding is painted Benjamin Moore’s Kendall Charcoal and the ceiling fans are from Schoolhouse. Board-formed concrete replaces the brick, and the new steps are limestone slabs taken from the tops of quarries so that the top surface is natural.
Photo: Chase Daniel
Kelly found Jobe Corral Architects after reading about a barn they converted in a magazine. She liked their aesthetic—and that they were familiar with the area, and willing to travel to the cabin from their office in Austin. "It was a good partnership because, if left to our own devices, we would’ve probably just done what they call a standard Hill Country home," says Kelly. Think: lots of exterior limestone, big columns, and chunky proportions. Adds Kelly: "They really pushed us on everything."
Before: Living Room
Before: The redesign streamlined the interiors. The footprint of the living room stayed the same, but the firm widened the opening to the kitchen and turned the porch door into a window.
Courtesy of Jobe Corral Architects
See the full story on Dwell.com: Before & After: They Gave Their Fussy Hill Country Cabin a "Subtractive" Makeover
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