Our Monday Morning Millionaire at 3649 Maplewood Avenue is a gorgeous eclectic prairie home in the heart of Old Highland Park. You seldom see a house built in 1921 that has been updated this beautifully, and with such regard for the original charm.
The earliest residents I can find are the Van Valkenburghs. John C. Van Valkenburg partnered with Werner Vogel in Van Valkenburg & Vogel Inc., Landscape Architects. In 1957 Van Vogel came up with an idea for a plaza between Harwood and Ervay, and Commerce and Main with a square pool of water on the Harwood side cascading beneath St. Paul street to an octagonal pool on the Ervay side. The idea was inspired by what was being done to the river in downtown San Antonio, with an eye to drawing State Fair visitors into the downtown area of Dallas. Unfortunately, there was no budget, but wouldn’t that have been something?
This eclectic prairie-style home was completely transformed by Underwood Custom Homes and Angela Thompson Design, who used some of the most innovative lighting choices on the market. From the barrel-vaulted entry ceiling, with a Lindsay Adelman chandelier, to the antique Belgian limestone floors, every inch of this two-story, 3,798-square-foot home has been lovingly restored and updated.
Original glass windows have been retained as well as louvered French doors, and a corner cabinet in the dining room. While the distinctive touches, the owners have added, like antique French firebrick and an early 19th-century French fireplace, along with reclaimed wood shelving and tiles are not original to the home, they feel as if they have been in place since the house was built.
The kitchen in this eclectic prairie was redesigned with gorgeous statuary marble walls. Yes, you read that right, marble walls. There is really nothing more beautiful than entire walls of marble. The counters are also marble, but the real show-stopper is the island topped with a colossal, waterfall, live-edge slab of walnut. It looks like chocolate dripping off of a giant dish of vanilla ice cream. Cabinetry mimics the prairie-style windows, which were installed in 2017 with phantom screens. Antique brick and another French fire surround have been added to the breakfast area wall.
The house has four bedrooms, three bathrooms, and one powder bath nestled under the staircase with an original copper wall-mounted sink. There are two interior fireplaces and one on the large private balcony overlooking the backyard and pool. If you’re counting, that’s four fireplaces on the property.
I think Van Valkenburgh would be thrilled that future generations cared as much about landscaping as he did. The present owners have created a retreat reminiscent of the East Coast with the help of Complete Landsculpture. It’s designed beautifully for entertaining with stunning terraces, a pool with a spa and fountains, low-maintenance turf, and a Pennsylvania bluestone privacy fence. There’s also a two-story 1,053-square-foot guest cottage. Be careful who you invite to stay, as they may never leave.
Allie Beth Allman’s Christine McKenny has this Old Highland Park Eclectic Prairie listed for listed for $3.75 million. I suggest you give her a call, as these elegant homes are hard enough to come by today. To have one on offer that is completely updated is quite a find.
Karen Eubank is the owner of Eubank Staging and Design. She has been an award-winning professional home stager for more than 25 years and a professional writer for 20 years. Karen is the mother of a son who’s studying music at The University of Miami. An ardent animal lover, she doesn’t mind one bit if your fur baby jumps right into her lap. Find Karen at www.eubankstaging.com
