Balancing the Past and Present in a Rosewood Bungalow
In Austin’s Rosewood neighborhood, Holly Beth and Matt Potter were drawn to a place that already felt like home. Friends lived nearby, and the rhythm of daily life felt established and welcoming. When a 1935 Victorian-style bungalow came on the market, the couple knew they had found something rare: a house rooted in history, set within a community they loved.
The home itself carried an undeniable presence. “It felt like a house with a lot of history. If these walls could talk…” reflects Holly Beth, homeowner and interior designer. To her, the home’s character and nostalgia were irreplaceable and worth preserving.
To restore and expand the home for their growing family, the Potters partnered with Annie-Laurie Grabiel and Arthur Furman, principal architects of Side Angle Side. What began as a restoration quickly revealed itself as something more complex. As demolition uncovered extensive structural rot, the project shifted into full reconstruction. “There wasn’t a question of redesigning the original house,” Arthur explains. “The goal was always to put it back together the way it was.”
The resulting 3,700-square-foot home thoughtfully reconnects old and new through both layout and materiality. A significant portion of the original home was salvaged and restored, including trim, crown molding, baseboards, longleaf pine floors, and interior doors, all elements that maintain the home’s historic framework while functioning efficiently for their family.
“You don’t have to tear everything down to build something new. If more people see that, it keeps these [older] homes and neighborhoods intact.”
The kitchen, anchored by quartzite countertops and custom rift-sawn white oak cabinetry, flows naturally into the dining room, the heart of the home. The dining room walls are clad in the original shiplap, painted a soft neutral yellow, creating a warm gathering space.
Beyond, the home transitions seamlessly into the living areas, where concrete floors, a plaster fireplace wall, and a hemlock ceiling define the newer portions of the house. Above the family’s media room is a kid’s play area accessed via a ladder, where a lofted net stretches beneath skylights, allowing daylight to filter through the netting and into the media room below, adding light, texture, and a playful layer to the duel space.
For the team, the project was about showing what’s possible with an old house. “You don’t have to tear everything down to build something new,” Annie-Laurie shares. “If more people see that, it keeps these [older] homes and neighborhoods intact.”
Hidden Gems
Hidden within the dining room walls, the original pocket doors had been perfectly preserved for decades. Once the carpet was removed and the doors were fully revealed, Holly Beth knew they would stay exactly as they were, with a little piece of the home’s history left completely intact.
