The Giving House

Dining table with light coming from windows

“Once there was a house”

Words by Jess Hagemann Photos by Casey Woods

Architect and homeowner Erica Heroy compares East Austin’s “Chestnut Bungalow” to Shel Silverstein’s beloved children’s book, The Giving Tree. “I think the kid was mean to the Giving Tree,” she clarifies, “so it’s not about that. It’s just, this house has such good energy and keeps giving and giving. If it’s the only project I ever get to do for myself, I’ll keep loving it to the end.”

Erica and her husband bought the bungalow that they and their daughters now call home in 2015. Although Erica was initially looking for a midcentury fixer-upper, when the real estate agent showed them the 1916-era house, Erica says, “We both just had that yes feeling. We knew this was our home.”

It took a year or so to renovate, including the whole-kitchen remodel, moving a hall bath, and a master suite addition that turned the 2-1 house into a 3-2 home. The first big change was switching a front door and window to create a better flow from the porch into the home. Next, the Heroys added a wood-burning stove and new window treatments and removed several layers of wallpaper and sheetrock to expose pine shiplap walls. Almost everything else, from the wood floors to the dining room’s pocket doors and built-in bench seat, is original.

Kitchen and dining area in the Chestnut Bungalow

Preserving architecture

“The house was never overly remodeled or added onto poorly,” Erica explains as a bonus to purchasing such an old home, “and that’s why it was such a good candidate for our budget-conscious project. It already had such generous spaces, good light, good flow.” She did opt for fresh paint—a playful palette featuring white walls and moss-colored trim, plus a striking gold ceiling and navy hutch in the kitchen—and new light fixtures throughout the home.

As for the addition, an airy master suite now abuts the rear hall bathroom. Erica explains,“In preservation architecture, you want to show the changes to the original structure.” So here, a new window layout and a siding change on the exterior demarcate the otherwise invisible line between new and old.

In June 2016, the Heroys officially moved in, right around the house’s 100th birthday. Today, Erica’s favorite family tradition is eating nightly dinners together around the dining room table. “It’s such a gracious room,” she says of the well-lit, six-windowed dining area. But they make easy use of the whole house, because it’s a ‘Giving House.’ Each room offers something beautiful and comfortable.

“Sit down and rest,” it seems to be saying. And the Heroys did. And the house was happy.

Erica Heroy Architecture & Design

After graduating from UT Austin’s School of Architecture and honing her chops at firms like Houston’s Glassman Shoemake Maldonado, Erica launched her private practice in 2012. Since then, she’s worked out of her home, though the Chestnut Bungalow’s large backyard has plenty of space for a studio: Erica’s next design challenge! In the meantime, she’s accepting new clients. Erica’s design work includes “mostly remodels and additions to old Texas homes.”

UT Austin and Hillside Farmacy Connection

The Chestnut Bungalow was originally built on what is today the site of UT’s Texas Memorial Museum. In 1934, as the university was expanding, the house was auctioned and sold to Viola Young and then relocated to its current East Austin address. Her husband was “Doc” Young—Austin’s first African American pharmacist and former owner of Hillside Drugstore (now Hillside Farmacy).