The tight real estate market in Dallas and surrounding suburbs means that for many the cost to buy is much higher than the cost to totally redo their current house. Trendy Greenway Hills (West of the Dallas Tollway between Mockingbird and Lovers Lane) is no exception, and the market comparables and prime location motivated this Dallas family to expand right where they were. Originally a 1550 square foot house, this family aimed to more than double their space while slightly expanding the footprint of their home which was built in 1948. Thus our goal was to achieve the beauty of a brand new home and a more luxurious home size (now 3100sf) without foregoing the original home’s charm.

BEFORE

AFTER

Of course what motivates a decision is not always what inspires. While they approached the decision to take the home to the studs and build up in a logical manner, they were inspired by something else entirely. Their growing family needed a place to congregate and be together in a grand, open floor plan. They loved pictures they saw that were in a modern craftsman style, and their aspiration in all rooms was for a light and airy feel, for clean lines and for a timeless appeal. Through excellent architect’s plans, including careful design of window and sunlight placement, we achieved just that.

Here’s how we did it:

We accomplished the task by taking the original home down to the studs and foundation on the first floor. We built an addition off the back of the existing home so that the kitchen and great room would be spacious and open. We installed new drywall, modern texture and paint. New hardwoods and carpet went in throughout. New baseboards, new trim, a new fence and a new gate completed the overhaul. We built stairs and moved all the bedrooms upstairs, where all the family bedrooms would remain together. Three new full baths were created upstairs in order to accommodate future family growth. The master ensuite boasts a sunlight and some modern-traditional frameless shower glass. This family chose all tile for the bathrooms to be clean, but still interesting: some has a diagonal herringbone pattern that is interesting, but not loud.

By moving the living quarters upstairs, we left over 1550 square feet downstairs for entertaining and for congregating. The brand new kitchen location opens onto an informal dining space and living area with a new brick fireplace. The rear wall of the home is almost entirely french door windows, which the family chose in order to lighten this living area and to soften the transition from indoor to outdoor living space. It is comfortable and unpretentious; the home is more beautiful in person even than it is in photographs! The family made every decision in order to live in their beautiful new home, and not just show off their beautiful home — which is the best type of client. Clients like this want to weave themselves through the space and the results are astutely personal.

Under the surface, the “bones” of this home are still good. This is Summey Industries’ specialty, and is why we cater towards a more premium consumer: many flipped homes would show gorgeous new bathrooms while hiding shortcuts that were taken. Pictures of shower pans won’t go viral, but those are the images that reassure this family that they made the right choice in selecting our team to design their new home. Our building practices are above reproach. Our workmanship guarantee is a boon to our clients. So while you won’t see the new HVAC, the new plumbing, the added electrical, or the shower pans, our clients rightly trust they have been installed properly.

Building Right,

Tim Summey