One of my favorite movies and books as a kid was the original version of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory with Gene Wilder from 1971. No doubt the greatest scene is when Wonka takes the golden ticket winners to his factory and opens the door into this magical candy land unlike anything you’ve ever seen.
I know you are wondering what my childhood memories and fascinations have to do with Tarrant County Tuesday — stay with me here. No, I’m not going to report that there is a home with a chocolate river flowing through it. And I’m not going to tell you about a property with short orange people with green hair and funny overalls. However, I found a home that had a similar entrance to Wonka’s chocolate factory — you open the door and “presto!” — a land of enchantment and possibilities.
A Respite in Ridglea Hills
Ridglea Hills is a fan favorite neighborhood of mine. It’s close to Camp Bowie Boulevard, Interstate 30, and has a great mix of Midcentury Modern homes and traditional styles.
There is quite a bit of topography in the area and plenty of curvilinear streets and mature trees. There is even a lake — Luther Lake — within the neighborhood that has its very own pirate ship and I’ve heard is a good place for fireworks.
The home is designed in a California Contemporary style and is hidden by trees and a privacy wall from the street. However, when you open the front gate you are immediately engulfed by lush greenery and shade as you happen upon a pool and spa, your very own private oasis.
Now do you see the correlation between Willy Wonka and this home?
What The Interior Could Be
The home, built in 1987, has wonderful large windows that look onto the interior pool or the canopy of trees in the backyard. With a total of 5,470 square feet, six bedrooms, five full bathrooms, and three living areas, this home is certainly unlikely to be replicated in a neighborhood like Ridglea Hills ever again.
As with many things that are nearly 35 years old, the interior can easily be freshened and updated to be one of the more impressive homes in the whole community. Not only is the layout on the property one of a kind, but the entire envelope of the home is big enough to take the existing home and transform it into a 2021 masterpiece.
Opportunities are endless for this home.
All it will take is a little imagination and design style. Rooms are spacious and with so many windows, there isn’t a bad view anywhere. Three sides of the home have private decks for morning, noon, and nighttime enjoyment.
Sorry, there is no chocolate river or glass elevator or room where you can fly around with fizzy lifting gas, but this home certainly has that surprise factor. Besides, if you had a home made of candy you’d get pretty sick and tired of that — and it would be pretty sticky in this Texas heat.
Carley Moore of League Real Estate has listed 4140 Tamworth Road in Ridglea Hills for $925,000.
