Text by Tiffany Adams
Goodbyes are never easy. That’s part of the reason this Dallas family decided moving to another neighborhood wasn’t an option. However, style updates, as well as the need for a separate in-law quarters, pressed the desire for more space. “We had lived in the same house for 20 years, so we knew the value of the street,” the homeowner says. “Not only was it well located within the city, but it also held a lot of memories for us, such as walking our three children to elementary school. It’s really a small town in the midst of urban sprawl. We didn’t want to leave that.”
Lucky for them, the house next door, which belonged to a family who had lived in the neighborhood for 40 years, became available. “They gave us their ‘blessing’ to tear the house down and start fresh because they loved our street and knew we would build the type of home that would fit into the neighborhood,” the homeowner says. And, while they first considered remodeling the original home, in the end, this was the easiest way to achieve all of their goals.
Creating a new-construction home that appears to have been around for a century is no task for a novice. A friend of the homeowners who had recently worked with Leslie Jenkins of Jenkins Interiors connected them to the designer, and plans began to fall in place. “The owners wanted it to look like the house had always been there,” says Leslie. “Details were also super important to them,” adds Haley Powell, senior design associate at the firm, who worked alongside Jenkins on the project.
Much as they loved their street, the owners also loved the floor plan of their previous home and used it to begin designing the new residence with architect Paul Turney. “The house has so many millwork details, which the architect was very involved in creating,” Powell says. “From the fretwork over the doors to the series of arches in the entry that lead into the home, everything was custom. It makes it feel very intimate and much like an older home.” Jenkins adds, “The owners wanted it to be understated but also wanted to make the details shine; it is pretty and timeless but in an unassuming way.”
Jenkins, who is also co-owner of a popular Dallas home store, Blue Print, notes that her personal design style varies from traditional to contemporary with a number of transitional projects that blur the lines between both. However, there always seems to be a common thread and attention to detail that flows throughout them collectively—as with the rooms of this home. For this particular family, one common thread was acquired pieces, which can be found in every room. “The homeowners had collected a lot of pieces through the years, so we were constantly thinking about placement of these things in the design process,” the designer says.
The homeowners also requested that some casual pieces be paired with the refined elements of the design. “They wanted the house to still have a sense of comfort,” Powell says. A natural fiber rug in the dining room takes the feel of a traditionally formal space down a notch. Other features such as the practicality of storage under the staircase and the use of easy-to-clean vinyl and outdoor fabrics in the kitchen point to the family’s desire to fully live in the home. Accomplishing this, perhaps, is the truest distinction of a beloved, long-established residence.
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