A spacious 350-square-foot wraparound porch with handmade wrought iron railings set the stage for a new ADU built for a family in Tarrytown/Pemberton Heights by McKinney York. The outdoor space was a nod to the property owners, one of whom is a writer—a devoted Texan who considers a sizable porch an essential family gathering place. “In a way, the porch set the tone for the feel of the whole place,” explains Heather McKinney, founder of McKinney York and the project’s design collaborator. The generous porch was one of many design tools used to increase the perceived spaciousness of the four-room cabin along with large windows and varying ceiling heights ranging from nine to 15 feet.
Replacing the main house’s carport created the opportunity to build the upstairs ADU with 549 square feet of conditioned space to serve as a guestroom and writer’s retreat. The terrain—a steep woodland hill combined with a sloping driveway and utility lines—was the biggest challenge.
“In order to maximize the project, we tucked it into the hillside and flared one wall of the cabin/carport,” explains Aaron Taylor, the project architect and project manager. Taylor points out that durable materials including wood and fiber cement siding and asphalt shingles were used for the exterior. A winding path and bridge help navigate the terrain height difference between the carport and the upstairs porch.
While McKinney York designed the interior architecture, the owner handpicked the finishings and furnished the cabin herself with a combination of found pieces and family treasures, such as the dining chairs and the oak gate-leg table tucked between the living room’s leather chairs.
Authenticity was the driving factor for the color and material selections, from the door hardware to the post-oak flooring and soapstone counters. Nine different paint colors ranging from pale greens and blues to soft whites were used throughout the space to reflect harmony with nature.
A custom color covers the living room walls while Benjamin Moore’s White Dove was used for the woodwork and bookshelves. The porch ceiling was coated in Benjamin Moore’s Province Blue while the railings are Narragansett Green, also by Benjamin Moore. Interior pops of color (including the red handmade Clé tile kitchen backsplash) add character.
The full kitchen—outfitted with a Summit cooktop, Bosch oven, and Fisher & Paykel refrigerator and hood vent—is one of McKinney’s favorite spaces. “I love the pop-up ceiling in the eat-in kitchen,” she says. “It is childlike and captures a view high into the woodsy hillside.”
The painted cedar bridge connecting the hillside to the porch is another standout feature. “It is like going aboard a boat and casting off the land,” McKinney says.
The post McKinney York Designs a Writer’s Retreat in Tarrytown appeared first on Austin Home.