I love this house. 7507 Baxtershire. It takes me back ever so far to my childhood, when I spent my summers frolicking with cousins and bicycling by Bruce Goff’s Round House in Aurora, Illinois, on the west side of that town. Yes, THIS house. My cousins lived nearby in a sprawling ’50s ranch:
I have been trying to write about this house since I first teased it, but travel, saying goodbye to a beloved pet, and illness precluded. Now, at long last, feast your eyes on the way the current owners, Julie Celum & Guillaume Garrigue, have so beautifully preserved and enhanced this truly iconic and architecturally significant home.
The “Dallas Round House”, as legend has it, was commissioned by a Dallas bon vivante named Eddie Parker. Built in 1961, the home is loaded with 1960s-era materials such as walnut, bamboo, rattan, onyx terrazzo that will knock your socks off, and Hawaiian mahogany. Amenities the last time it was marketed included an indoor pool that has now, thankfully, been taken outside; five bedrooms, four bathrooms, four living areas, and, at one time, a wisteria-covered steel dome over the circular motor-court. Additional touches include mosaic murals and 24-karat gold-dipped ceramic tiles in the main living area.
Listing agent Richard Graziano puts it thusly: “The Round House is a true masterpiece and an architecturally significant Mid Century Modernist retreat that was inspired by noted architect, Bruce Goff. This triumph of visionary design was conceived and commissioned by his protege, Eddie Parker. Situated on nearly half an acre, this architectural gem is a sophisticated mix of modern and vintage elements incorporating natural stone, wood, and glass with the extensive use of walnut paneling, onyx terrazzo, Frankoma tiled glass walls, brass inlaid concrete floors and intricate mosaics. This is a rare and limited opportunity to own one of the most iconic and architecturally significant homes in Dallas.”
No kidding. The asking price is $1,725,000 which sounds maybe high, but actually, comes to only $296.70 per square foot. The construction is rock and stone, there is a basement, and the home is now more than 5800 square feet. I am particularly amused by the bunk room, a throwback perhaps to the Atomic Age house bomb drills — “Duck under the desk real quick” — that was a part of my childhood? After all, the home was built in 1962.
Go ahead, drink these in. Sit on that round bed! We shall return shortly with more on this house, perhaps some design explanation. Ironically, I am once again a not-too-far neighbor of an (almost) Bruce Goff home.
