Hyde Park Renovation... Framing it up

Feels good to see it start to look more like a house again. My brilliant builders Spaller + Glover created this cathredal-esque hallway leading to an iron and glass custom window at the end to allow for more natural light and (of course) a little more glamor.

Future kitchen. (remember, used to be the bathroom) That door leads out to a courtyard.

This is the main living area... with high high ceilings. It's a small house, but won't feel that way thanks to all of the high ceilings.

Hyde Park Austin Home - Stunning, yet Practical Renovation

Yet another Hyde Park Austin beauty.... The quintessential family home nestled on sought after Avenue C in Hyde Park. The home boasts 4 bedrooms, 3 baths, and 3000 squre feet and is priced agressively at $233/sf. It's a stunning example of how to tastefully bring a vintage Austin home into 2010. Also zoned exemplary Austin ISD Lee Elementary.

Rich maple hardwood flooring throughout the house. Designer paint colors, high ceilings, period details... and wide open spaces.

Cook's kitchen with granite, stainless appliance package (including built in fridge and wine refrigerator).

Lovely Master bath with Kohler undermount sinks, subway tile, and frameless glass shower giant soking tub. All this and still a shady backyard with plenty of space to relax, play, unwind. An oasis in the heart of the city... just a few miles north of University of Texas and downtown Austin.

Listed at $699,999. Open house 8/29 from 1 PM - 4 PM.

Austin Home: Quaint American Bungalow in North Hyde Park

Quaint, darling, charming, picturesque... you get the idea. This little 2 bedroom, 1 bath Austin home in North Hyde Park, at the corner of 52nd and Avenue G just came on the market this week. A typical 1920s American bungalow, the house is small, but the space is used efficiently. Also typical of bungalows, the rooms are centered around a central living area with no connecting hallways.

Most Austin homes of this era in this particular Austin neighborhood have already gone through massive renovations and remodels (some tastefully done, some not quite). This Austin home however, maintains much of it's original charm and original floor plan. It has been updated moderately throughout the years and is perfectly darling and workable as it is, but would be ideal for someone to add on or modernize themselves.

The Austin home has a living room, dining room, corridor style kitchen, utility room (!), 2 bedrooms, 1 bath, and a picture perfect front porch. Many original 1920s design elements like a claw foot tub are still present in the home.

Another plus in this Austin home is the enormous corner lot with spacious, private backyard. There is a massive walnut tree in the front yard along with pecan, oak, crape myrtles, mountain laurels, and fig trees scattered about. Also in the backyard is a bonus 200 square foot storage unit with electricity, ideal for use as an artist studio or workshop.

List price is $289,000. For a full list of features and updates please visit http://www.5200avenueg.com/.

Best Wading Pool in Austin

I love Eastwoods wading pool in Hyde Park, just north of the university. It's cool. It's clean. It's shady. It's free. It's almost never crowded. It's open 3-7 Tuesday - Friday. 2-6 on Saturdays, Sundays. Closed Mondays. ...and closes for the winter August 24th...so sad. Oh - and here's a little secret if you live in the area and you have a water-lovin' dog...casually show up at closing time and the lifeguards will let your pooch go for a dip before they drain the pool for the night.

'Walk Scores' for Austin's Neighborhoods

I found this website ** http://www.walkscore.com/ ** where you can plug in any address, and it will calculate that address's "walk score". A high walk score means less dependency on automobiles to go about one's daily life and judges distances to grocery stores, gas stations, fitness centers, hair salons, post offices, restaurants, etc ... a low walk score means high dependency on the car. I plugged in addresses for some of Central Austin's neighborhoods and here's what I got:

(possible total score = 100)

Travis Heights *55* - somewhat walkable
Bouldin Creek *78* - very walkable
South Congress (SoCo) *80* - very walkable
Rollingwood *52* - somewhat walkable
Westlake *45* - car dependent
Zilker *75* - very walkable
Downtown *94* - walker's paradise (obviously)
Clarksville *86* - very walkable
Tarrytown *63* - somewhat walkable
Rosedale *72* - very walkable
Allandale *55* - somewhat walkable
Crestview *62* - somewhat walkable
Northwest Hills *40* - car dependent
Delwood *58* - somewhat walkable
Hyde Park *78* - very walkable
French Place *72* - very walkable
Central East Side *58* - somewhat walkable
Holly Street District *69* - somewhat walkable

...next up... SCOOTER SCORES!

(thanks to Sister72 @ flickr.com for the pic!)