I popped over to see this perfectly renovated prairie at 4834 Worth St. this past weekend and was lucky enough to meet with the brains behind the transformation.
Stacey Warnix of Restoric Properties has always had a passion for architecture and design. She also has a passion for rescue, whether that rescue is an adorable three-legged Labradoodle or a neglected historic two-story house built in 1913.
Warnix fell into renovating homes, although it was always in the back of her mind. She has accounting and law degrees and as life was moving her in those directions, she was also regularly helping friends with their homes.
“I should have been an architect,” Warnix said. “I wanted to be one as a kid. I’d hide in the closet and draw floor plans. There was always this creative tendency. I was an insane DIY’er. I would jump out of bed on the weekends and be at Home Depot or Lowes when they opened, ready to tackle a project.”
Warnix relocated from London to Dallas in 2009, never intending this to be a permanent landing place. Then, of course, she met someone and settled into the city.
“My boyfriend was active in real estate and has been flipping for decades,” Warnix said. “I got a front seat view into how he does it. Watching him gave me the courage to try what has always been my passion. I’d saved money and just decided it was time to take some risks and finally do what I loved.”
Her first foray into transforming a historic home was in Hollywood Heights.
“Hammond was trial by fire,” Warnix said. “I had a vision for the house and I decided this was my chance to see if renovating homes could be a career for me.”
Warnix not only blew the top off of renovation standards for the neighborhood, but also prices. The sale of 6934 Hammond, in 2015, was the highest price for an existing home in Hollywood Heights to date. It’s evident Warnix made the right career choice.
“For my next renovation, I wanted to stay in east Dallas and I wanted old and historic,” Warnix said. “I want to save the unloved houses and build them back in a way that preserves the exterior and stays close to the true architecture but I want to make the interior approachable for modern life.”
Warnix has done just that in this 2,836-square-foot home listed by listed by Joe Kacynski with David Bush Real Estate for $560,000. It was originally a single-family home, but was later converted to a duplex. She converted it back, creating a new floor plan with four bedrooms and three bathrooms as well as a dramatic little powder bath.
“I’m not a 100 percent open floor plan concept person,” she said. “I like a little nook or cranny where you can have a moment to yourself.”
Warnix has a strong signature style. One of her hallmarks is building furniture into walls, creating a purposeful use of wall space.“I’m big on functionality and storage,” Warnix said. “As I’m building my floor plan I’m thinking of storage, function and flow.” She uses classic materials in a more contemporary fashion and a controlled use of white. “I also like to use gray but in a European way. I will gray down colors to give a sense of history.”
“My approach in general goes back to the kid that sat in the closet, I’ve always imagined myself in the space, and how I would live in it. I try to envision the feel of the house around me and create a moment in each room,” she said. “That inspires the decisions that go into it. I want to build a versatile home that a family will love again. It should have another hundred years and no one should want to tear it down.I don’t want to put a band-aid on a property, I want to fix the problems and make that home lovable again.”
Warnix has clearly found her calling — renewing the life of old homes and inspiring new generations to fall in love with them.
