Does the name Ralph Wade ring a bell? Me neither. But he sure built a hec of a house –no wait, make that a compound behind gates! — at 5656 Cedar Ridge Drive in south Dallas, just north of Duncanville and I-20.
Look at this place, will you? The master suite alone is 2000 square feet, as big or bigger than the average home.
First of all, the whole main house get-up is 7806 square feet. That includes that master which, with the gigantic bedroom, private sitting area, and huge spa bath, is a house unto itself. I joke about having a massage table or bed in the master bath, well, this one has one. Of course there is a coffee bar in there, too, probably a wet bar as well, or certainly room for. Look hard enough you’ll find the lady-in-waiting. (Yes, I’ve been watching Downton Abbey and my closet is a mess and I would love a lady-in-waiting. I would love a First Footman!) The master bathroom is really one of the most amazing I have seen, and includes a huge marble steam shower besides that fabulous to-die-for free-standing tub.
I do think the master bath is the most important room in the house, don’t you? Without it and all that action, life in the rest of the house is oh so dull!
Next comes the kitchen.
The kitchen has freakin’ mother-of-pearl and marble backsplash, marble, granite and an Earth Glitter Quartzite counter top. The handsome chocolate cabinets were designed and custom built by “Mike” of Euro Decor, the same “Mike” who did work for the Sultan of Brunei and several Los Angeles area celebs, so we are told by the darling agent, Agent Alicia. We sure hope “Mike” survived. Apparently the Sultan considers all this criminal behavior, punishable by fines, jail, amputation of limbs, public flogging or death by stoning: absence from Friday prayer services; becoming pregnant out of wedlock; wearing indecent clothing, and for women, refusal to wear a hijab (got me there!); employing a non-Muslim baby sitter (really?); the use of the word “Allah” by Christians and the discussion of faith by any non-Muslims; publicly eating or drinking during Ramadan; theft; homosexuality; and adultery. No comment.
But hey, those are great cabinets!
There is a dual fuel Wolf stove and appliances, warming drawers, built-in coffee-maker, but I wouldn’t cook too much in here — those counters are stunning! Tomato sauce, red wine = I kill. The floors are Italian marble, limestone and wood everywhere.
There is a basement, which Agent Alicia has cleverly advertised as a dungeon, but we think it’s more of a wine cellar family room.
BTW, we are liking this Agent Alicia even though she, too, has clearly been watching too much Downton.
So you get four bedrooms, four full and one half bath, two fireplaces, two living areas, and, are you ready? There is an over-sized 3 car attached garage, a 3 door detached climate controlled garage, golf cart parking, and a 3359 square foot guest house, which you don’t have to buy. There is a full time gardener who lives in private quarters and keeps up the place. (I’ll take one of those, too, will he raise my illegitimate child?) Materials used in this home were scouted from Italy, France, Israel, Australia, Honduras, as well as locally.
Now all this is great and sits on 11 really pretty, wooded acres, as the terrain in southern Dallas is breathtaking. Remember, the Texas Hill Country starts here. Property close to the home is so manicured, you’ll think the polish is still wet.
So all this is said to be appraised at $5.7 million, but it available to you today on this beautiful 70 degree Monday morning in January for $3,495,000. So $3.5 million. That’s a lot of house and a lot of dirt for $3.5 in Dallas county! Add in the guest house and three more acres, your price tag goes up to $3,920,000. Which means you can get that guest house and 3 acres for all of $425,000.
Now about this Ralph Wade guy — some kind of businessman in Dallas. Here is what Agent Alicia tells me about him:
“The home was originally built by inventor and business persons Ralph and Ruth Wade,” she wrote in an email. “The home is designed to provide utmost privacy with no need for window coverings, which would obscure views of the magnificent secret garden in the back.”
A secret garden? We may have to re-run this house for Valentines Day and the opening of Fifty Shades.Apparently Ralph Wade auctioned off this home, which he called “Uncommon Ground”, in 2012. The place was outrageous and the talk of the town in the 1980’s, but Wade loved the land more than the structure. The home, they said, came in second even though it was/is fabulous.
“This was an undeveloped property when we bought it, and we’ve spent a lot of time perfecting every detail to make it the place it is today,” said Wade, whom, with his wife, has transformed the property into a secluded retreat in the middle of the city. “I love this place; it’s not the kind of property you find in a major metro area. It has the feel of country, and that’s the appeal it always had to me. These properties have so much natural beauty,” Wade said. “When you think about a place like this, I think most people consider a flat piece of land. I’m a Texan, and when my wife and I decided to build this type of property, we assumed it was going to be flat, but this property is rolling, hilly and wooded. It just has a great lay to it that you don’t see very often in Texas — especially in this location.”
The home was auctioned off on June 12, 2012. The owner is now listed as a mortgage company in Sherman Oaks, California. Looks like they tried to sell it for $5 million and did not succeed. I’m sure they’d love to unload this giant home to a happy new buyer.
Deion Sanders, have you seen this?
Don’t know about you, but I’m pretty fascinated by 5656 Cedar Ridge Drive. Listed for $3,495,000/$3,920,000 with Agent Alicia Chmielewski of Keller Williams Frisco, a gal who knows her stuff. Clever gal: highlighting that “dungeon” was brilliant!
