Balcones – Barton Riley

You may remember this house from the listing & photo set from last February.   At the time, there was much concern that this lovely home would be torn down due to the location (views out over the lake) and the general trend of the neighborhood.

Thankfully, Robert Williams stepped up and purchased this place with an eye towards restoration and preservation.  The home has new electric, plumbing, sheetrock, and flooring. All the baths have been updated as have the appliances and kitchen fixtures.  The artful wood used in the kitchen original cabinets was restored to their original gleaming color.

There was no floor-plan change though the master bedroom has been opened up (by removing a barrier wall) and now sports an updated bath and dressing room.

The pool was refurbished and converted to more environmentally friendly salt-water and the drive was made more friendly to enter and exit (it was pretty hazardous to the sides of your car before).

The home has a classic Palm Springs style, not something commonly found out here.  It was designed by Barton Darrell Riley and built in 1957.  Riley graduated from UT in 1950 and was a partner in Niggli & Riley until Niggli’s death in 1961.  Major works of Riley include:

• Texas Motor Transportation Building, Austin, 1956
• St. John’s Elementary, Austin, 1958
• School of the Deaf, Austin, 1954-57
• LCRVA Building, Austin, 1951

Thanks to Kevin Alter, Associate Dean of UT School of Architecture, of Alter Studios, for digging out the background.

Links

Listing info.  Dana Dean, Avenue One

Virtual Tour with many more pictures

Flickr Photo Set with photos from before and after.