This Baker Uses a Delightful Vintage Item as a Kitchen Island in Her Cozy ADU

Hannah had been living in a 1942 vintage bungalow located on this property in the Cherrywood neighborhood of Austin, Texas, since purchasing it in 2009. “My parents and I decided to build an additional dwelling unit (ADU) and rent out the whole front house,” she begins.

“With Blair [Langlinais], my architect friend, we wanted to use all of the legally usable square footage in the backyard and where the garage used to be, which I love because it lends itself to being the most economical use of the space, with a slightly wonky footprint,” Hannah continues.

“The builder, Casey Miller, is well versed in green building, so we did as much as we could to be efficient and environmentally aware. One thing that I love is how well insulated it is; not only for temperature, but for sound barrier,” she writes.

Hannah’s parents are creatives — her father is an Episcopalian priest and a sculptor, and her mother is a painter — and they helped a lot when it came to this building project. “My artist parents had built or renovated several buildings in their lives, so we worked as a team to figure out all the details that were important to us, and had our hands and creative decisions in all of the aesthetic details,” Hannah explains. “I love that I feel like my soul is in the concrete and wood because I took part in the process.”

Hannah went to the Culinary Institute of America for pastry/baking and restaurant management and also got another degree in nutritional sciences to become a registered dietitian. She’s also a sculptor and collager. And she lent her artistic skills to the ADU, as well. “… Casey Miller, a builder neighbor, is a beautiful craftsman, and he built it,” Hannah writes. “I helped him the last few months with wood finishes, concrete staining, and sealing and wall painting.”

Thanks, Hannah!

This tour’s responses and photos were edited for length/size and clarity.

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