Scrolling through the newly listed homes on Friday, I was elated to see luxury and history intersect in an original 1930 Dines & Kraft Spanish Eclectic two-story home on Lakewood Blvd. It’s beautifully preserved, updated, and expanded, and it gives us a much-needed dose of hope.
We need that hope right now because, just down the street, bulldozers are preparing to demolish one of Lakewood’s most iconic Clifford D. Hutsell homes. Fortunately, this Dines & Kraft Spanish Eclectic lies within Lakewood’s conservation district, so there’s little fear of it ever being razed. But more to the point, this stunner offers us a shining example of the possibilities that render arguments for demolition moot. Many people revere our history and do their utmost to preserve, protect, and properly update and expand these historic homes.
Making a Dines & Kraft Spanish Eclectic
This Spanish Eclectic was not only built by the prolific Dines & Kraft team, but it was also the Albert Dines family home for many years.
Albert Dines (1886-1980) and Lee R. Kraft (1889-1970) were Dallas business partners and developers. The Dines & Kraft Building Company was instrumental in developing much of Dallas’ Lakewood neighborhood west of White Rock Lake, and many of the historic homes found in Lakewood and the surrounding neighborhoods were Dines & Kraft spec homes. The company had a knack for hiring talented designers, resulting in high-quality, stylish homes that are still very sought-after today. The company built houses in a variety of architectural styles, including Tudor, Dutch Colonial, and some Prairie styles. Dines & Kraft also developed the Lakewood Shopping Center and owned the Lakewood Theater (now a City of Dallas Landmark) until 1983.
Jennifer Anderson, City of Dallas Office of Historic Preservation
I always feel bad for the wives of builders. When you take a deep dive into the many homes the Dines family owned over the years, you realize Mrs. Dines probably kept the packing boxes handy. However, the family did stay in this beautiful Lakewood Spanish Eclectic for about 20 years.
They were very socially active, and there are over 20 pages in The Dallas Morning News archives on the parties, teas, poetry readings ( Mrs. Dines was a poet), and general celebrations held here.
When the Dines moved out of this home, it briefly became the parsonage for Grace Methodist Church in the 1950s.
Preserving a Historic Lakewood Home
Lakewood Blvd. represents the best architecture of the 1920s and ’30s. It has always set the tone for the entire neighborhood, and these homes have generally been revered, as you can see by the example of this fine Dines & Kraft Spanish Eclectic.
But how do you live in a historic home? I asked neighbors John and Lisa Moreno, who have lived in a Dines & Kraft down the street from this one for over 25 years.
“A big part of buying a historic home was our approach,” John said. “We were humbled that we got to live here. We felt like caretakers and wanted to honor and preserve it for the next owners.”
The Morenos also did a lot of research, spoke to former owners, and found one of the many excellent resources in town that understands historic homes and how to update them, architect Greg Lorie, owner of Architectura.
The Morenos did what most lovers of preservation do. They modernized their home seamlessly, mimicking the span and dimensions of interior arches and recreating details in the additions and remodeled areas that honored those of the original part of the home.
“We get a kick out of our house,” Lisa said. “There are so many eclectic things in a historic home that you want to keep, like the telephone niche, the original doorbell.” The Morenos did such a good job they were honored with a Preservation Achievement award by Preservation Dallas. “Historic homes can be very livable and have everything a modern family wants,” John said.
And this Dines & Kraft Spanish Eclectic certainly does have everything a modern family could want. There are 4,183 square feet, four bedrooms, and four-and-a-half bathrooms, with one bedroom presently used as an exercise room. There is even a cleverly placed elevator that ascends into the primary closet upstairs.
The home’s reinvention was beautifully thought out to take the best of the original features and masterfully blend them with modern convenience and layout.
I think Mrs. Dines would be elated that her family home is not only standing but has been so beautifully cared for and sensitively updated to serve the family needs of this era.
David Bush Realtors has this original Dines & Kraft Spanish Eclectic at 6711 Lakewood Blvd. listed for 2.795 million.
