We know you love getting a sneak peek at properties as much as we do, so we’re giving you an inside look at 4517 Southern Avenue in Highland Park today. Jason Couch with Epic Direct Realty is listing this gorgeous three-story, five-bedroom, six-bathroom, 5,766-square-foot Mediterranean on June 30 for $2.449 million.
Every house has a story, and this one is no exception. The sellers were deeply involved in the design and construction of the home. The idea was to try to get as much square footage into the house as they could. After dropping their initial idea of a basement garage, due to Highland Park putting a moratorium on basements at the time, they decided to go up to a third floor instead. The house took five years to design and build.
“Early on in the process we took a carriage ride at Christmas,” the seller said. “The driver pointed out a house and mentioned the owners had been working on it for five years. I thought, ‘How can you take that long to build?’ Now I know. We took our time and made sure everything was done right.”
“Their attention to detail was so precise that when cabinets didn’t meet expectations, they had no qualms about ripping them out and starting over to get the quality just right,” Couch said. “All of the fixtures are hand painted, everything is customized.”
Flow and ease of entertainment were paramount to the family. The first floor was designed to create ease of movement and yet maintain intimate spaces for conversation.
The back of the house features the great room and kitchen, anchored by an enormous carved stone fireplace. The gourmet kitchen is one any chef would envy, with professional-grade Viking appliances and that great Kohler stainless steel sink. Even the Vent-a Hood is professional grade.
The second floor opens onto a huge open plan game room and entertainment space, bordered by bedrooms, laundry, and a home office.
The master suite is what the sellers are really going to miss. The master bedroom is huge, with a sitting area and another beautiful carved fireplace. The his-and-hers closets are the size of small bedrooms, and the master bathroom will remind you of a resort spa.
The house was built for kids because, of course, everyone moves to Highland Park for the schools inside Highland Park ISD. The third floor was designed with bedrooms large enough for two full-sized beds. There is a mini-kitchen as well, so you could easily lose sight of your teenagers for days. One bedroom is presently being used as an exercise room and the other as a craft room.
The sellers spent a great deal of time on research. It’s not just the appliances and storage that are well thought out. The home is extremely energy efficient, too. Having come from a comparably sized house that had outrageous electric bills, the couple pulled out all the stops during construction to ensure the home was well insulated. From framing choices, to radiant barrier, to installing a dehumidifier and sump pump in the crawl space, the house is an energy-saving dream.
There is an amazing economy of space inside and outside of the house, from the perfectly sized pool, to the design of the garage. Parking is always an issue in Highland Park so the sellers solved that by designing two single-car garages with 12-foot ceilings. That means you can use a commercial car lift. Very clever indeed. If you want to get in line to see this beauty in person, give Jason Couch a call and get on the list.
