When you travel to Tuscany, you cannot help but fall in love with the lifestyle, the landscape, and the architecture. It never leaves your soul. If you’re very lucky, you can take the latter two elements and recreate them. That is what the owners of 4655 Meadowood Road did, and they accomplished it in my opinion. They created a perfect Italian villa in Old Preston Hollow. In fact, when the photos first rolled across my desktop, I was certain someone had sent me an Italian SecondShelters.com property for consideration. I’ve spent a decent amount of time in Italy, and I’ve never seen anyone get the look and feel quite so right before.
This gorgeous Italian villa is the result of a number of talented individuals. Cy Barcus built the home. Architect William Briggs planned the five-bedroom, six-bathroom, two-and-one-half-bath villa. David Rolston recreated a Tuscan landscape for almost two acres. However, it was the present homeowners that brought the Italian villa to life. The thought, care, and detail that went into this home are unsurpassed.
Authenticity does not come easy. You must have a great eye and an intrepid desire for the hunt. That is what turns a house into a villa!
The home had the standard drywall ceilings and hardwood floors when the present owner purchased it. They brought in architectural elements from the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries. Among those fabulous finds are antique terra cotta tile floors, brick ceilings, and wood beams. Natural pigments were blended into the stucco to create the look of ancient walls. Talk about turning back time!
It’s not just the architectural elements that were sourced. You’ll find chandeliers from France and antique Fortuny fabrics as well. The owners collected antiques for almost two decades, always with an eye towards building their dream of an Italian villa.
“It’s rare to see anything this authentic,” Dave Perry-Miller Realtor Molly Malone said. “The minute you drive in, you’re transported by the setting.”
Rolston used Italian cypress to line the entrance, added fountains, streams, and even added a berm to give some definition to the landscape. “We tried to interpret the landscape in a way that the owners could truly feel like they were in Tuscany,” Rolston said. As you’d expect there are magnificent gardens, loggia, and elaborate outdoor entertaining areas that surround this Italian villa.
“The home is gated and sits back from the street quite a bit,” Malone said. “When people arrive at the front door, they stand out in the driveway quite a while before they ring the bell just taking in the atmosphere. It’s a wonderful home.”
Malone has this one-of-a-kind Italian villa listed for $6.475 million.
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
