Charming Highland Park Home Blends Sophistication with Family-Friendly Design

“There are six or seven homes that we designed within walking distance of this one—all with really nice character,” Stocker notes. In accord with this, he drew a distinctive L-shaped house that opens toward the lot’s corner. “It is a traditional form in a somewhat contemporary execution,” he says. “They are a young family, but it’s still Highland Park; so there’s an air of sophistication.”

Early in the process, Stocker recommended his clients reach out to interior designer Erin Sander. “We like to have a hand in all the finishes, and I think that’s prevalent in this house,” says Sander, who has helmed her own Dallas-based firm since 2009. “They wanted a place that felt established to host friends and that they could be proud of—but they are also raising their family here, so it had to be comfortable,” she says. While the home’s shape seeks to accomplish that goal with defined areas for receiving guests on the smaller end of the structure and a larger, more family-oriented corridor that is revealed as you turn its corner, Sander used visual cues to further its story.

Steel windows open to the street, giving a view of the lantern-lined entry that leads past a wood-paneled gentleman’s study and into a large great room often used when entertaining. Here, multiple conversation areas offer an abundance of seating and seem to invite a crowd, while a light palette adds to the spacious feel. Further into the home, pocket doors allow these gathering spaces to be closed off from the kitchen and adjoining family room. Sander notes there’s also an indoor-outdoor moment, where glass doors fold back to connect this more private living space to the outdoors, thus extending the room’s footprint. “There’s green grass and a place to run, which is really perfect for them at this season of life,” she adds.

At the end of the day, the couple can unwind in the primary suite, which Sander says was designed to be “a retreat for solitude.” A well-concealed sitting area and coffee bar that is accessible through a jib door near the head of the bed serves as respite, while the icy blue palette seems to invite calm. “The wife has an affinity for peaceful blues and greens, so there are different riffs on this throughout, but the whole effect is very serene,” Sander notes. Within the suite, a generous-sized bath was also a priority. “They wanted a grand, hotel-type experience here,” Sander says of the layout, which features separate bathing, dressing, and vanity areas all clad in marble. “It’s very understated and tasteful,” the designer says of the monolithic approach.

Equal attention was paid to the kids’ spaces, located in the rear of the home. Such features as playful mosaic tiles, custom tables for toys and crafts, and palettes reflective of their favorite hues make them personal to the children. “The girls’ room is not just pink; we went with periwinkle and mint and brought in a wallpaper that has a sense of organic energy,” Sander says.

“The joy of architecture is working with a family who loves it, too,” Stocker says in reflection. “If you want to make life easy, you buy a home someone else built and live with those decisions. But those who really love it spend their time and energy to create a home all their own.”