A Downsizing Couple’s New Digs in Austin Boasts a Rental Unit Upstairs

Swapping suburb for city, a pair of empty-nesters start a new life in Austin with the help of a homestay unit.

A wall covered in graphite-colored Ann Sacks tile runs from the kitchen out to the covered porch. Similarly, the sheetrock ceiling and the concrete flooring are extended from inside to outside—a cost-saving measure that provides visual continuity. The Hot Mesh outdoor dining chairs are by Blu Dot.

An idea popped into Dana Baruch’s head one sleepless night in 2012, upending the plans she and her husband, Mike Krell, had laid for their new house. At the time, the two were partway through designing a 2,300-square-foot, three-bedroom residence in the Bouldin area of Austin. But as Dana lay awake, she thought about their home-to-be and suddenly envisioned something more, a multitasking second level that could adapt to at least three configurations—guest suite, rental unit, and home base for their two sons, who were nearing adulthood—if Kevin Alter, Tim Whitehill, and Ernesto Cragnolino of Alterstudio Architecture could figure out how.

The geometrically disciplined facade is composed of blonde cypress, white stucco, and cedar that was charred black by Delta Millworks.

Photo by Casey Dunn

Up to that point, Mike and Dana had been methodically ticking off items on their downsizing checklist. It was time, they had determined, to move out of their energy-guzzling 3,500-square-foot house in the suburbs, where a car was needed to go almost anywhere. With one son nearly finished with college and the other soon to enroll, they no longer needed as much space as they did before. As Mike puts it, “We wanted to ‘right-size’ our life and reduce our carbon footprint.”

A fence made of concrete masonry units and wood provides Mike and Dana with a secluded outdoor space that they can access from their bedroom.

Photo by Casey Dunn

Dana, a life coach and educator, and Mike, a tech industry analyst and consultant, had also carefully calculated what they could afford: $220 per square foot.