It was the start of the COVID lockdown in 2020 and Steph Steele and her wife, Margaret Tucker, were in the backyard of their rental property living in a yurt. It was a decision that surprised their friends, but then again, Steph, who founded Austin’s bespoke Tiny Grocer market, and Margaret, a family law attorney, had long loved making the short drive from their shared home in East Austin for weekend staycations in the property’s backyard.

It was during their time quarantining in the backyard’s yurt that the couple had a revelation of sorts, realizing that this property was where they wanted to be long term. However, they couldn’t live in a yurt forever. Before they could move, they needed to renovate the main home on the plot.

$45,427 Sitework	$80,692 Concrete	$24,049 Masonry
$8,965 Metals	$226,419 Wood & Plastics	$55,647 Thermal & Moisture
$59,113 Windows & Doors	$103,015 Finishes	$2,190 Hardware
$74,904 Mechanical	$56,705 Electrical	$117,940 Builder fee
$86,000 Architect fee	$42,000 Solar	$26,000 Rainwater tank
$27,506 Appliance package	$80,350 Roof
Grand Total:$1,116,922

A then-single Steph had purchased the 4 bed, 2 bathroom home in Austin’s Oak Hill neighborhood in 2011. While not a fan of the dimly cordoned rooms, she loved the look of the old ranch-style longhouse and the 1.77 acre property it sat on, which she asserts is a virtually unheard of lot size for the area. Soon after making the purchase, Steph met her now-wife and moved into Margaret’s East Austin abode, opting instead to rent out her own home for the next seven years. She sectioned off an acre of the property for visits, over time adding a pool, yurt, and platform tent to accompany the existing metal workshop.

The couple approached local architecture firm Side Angle Side with what Steph admits, given their design goals, was a low-ball budget of roughly $350K. “We were excited they wanted to keep the house. Oftentimes these Austin ranch homes are completely raised,” says Annie-Laurie Grabiel, who co-founded the studio with Arthur Furman.

The design approach was largely informed by a visit to the couple’s then-current home. Steph and Margaret are fans of concrete floors, so those were a given. Their furniture collection, a mix of classic and midcentury pieces, along with the artwork and objects they’d gathered over the years, were also important considerations. “We had a sheet with all the sizes to make sure there was a place for everything.” That sheet led to the many built-ins that define the open-plan living space.

Grabiel and Furman came up with a plan to drastically open up the existing footprint, transforming the home’s 2,315-square-foot cloistered layout into a 1 bedroom, 2 bathroom haven. “People scoffed at us for downsizing the number of bedrooms,” says Steph. “But we don’t have kids. It’s perfect for us.” The entire ceiling was vaulted throughout the home, which meant the roof had to be reconstructed—a significant, unexpected expense that cost the couple $80K. Five pairs of newly inserted skylights are another defining addition.

The couple had sold their former home for $950K and were using those funds to finance the project. Their to-be-renovated home was paid off and they were happily living in the yurt, which has air conditioning and heating. Then, the 2021 polar vortex and subsequent rolling blackouts hit Texas: “We heard the power go off at 5 am and we quickly realized that we were living in a glorified tent,” remembers Steph.

After the experience, the couple prioritized protecting themselves against future storms. In addition to the $26K they spent on a rainwater catchment tank, they invested $42K into rooftop solar panels—a price that excludes their new Tesla Powerwall for storing the accumulated energy: “There’s already been an outage where our power stayed on,” notes Steph. “And we run our entire house off rainwater.”

With the renovation complete and the couple plenty busy with work, they still have more visions for their beloved backyard: “I dream of building a geodesic dome,” says Steph. Until that happens she’s staying plenty busy with work—teaming up with the architects once more to design her second Tiny Grocer location.

More Budget Breakdowns:

In the Netherlands, a Historic Thatched Cottage Meets a $97K Prefab

Two Designers Lean on Friends to Build a $740K Home During The Pandemic

Project Credits:

Architect: Side Angle Side

Builder/General Contractor: PB Construction

Structural Engineer: Duffy Engineering

Solar consultant/Installer: Freedom Solar

Rain collection: Harvest RainCivil Engineer Comp

Interior Design Consultant: Mark Ashby,Ashby Collective

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Budget Breakdown: This Austin Couple's $1.1 Million Renovation Started With a Yurt