It takes a lot to get my attention. Writing about the luxury home market means I continually set the bar higher. But, it’s going to be hard to surpass this Frank Welch contemporary home in Turtle Creek. It’s my new standard for comfortable elegance.
This home lies in an enclave of only 14 residences along a bluff in Turtle Creek. The neighborhood was developed in the 1970s. You’ll find Bud Oglesby and Jonathan Bailey designs here, as well as our Frank Welch contemporary.
Intentionally private, it’s accessed by a bridge over Turtle Creek. You can saunter over to the Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek for a cocktail or access the Katy Trail (on your designated day, of course) through the private community gate. It’s like living on a lush island with complete privacy and yet total proximity to everything you want.
How do you improve upon a Frank Welch contemporary? After all, Texas Architect Magazine called Welch the standard-bearer of Texas regional modern architecture. He designed homes throughout the state, as well as commercial and religious buildings. Known for his use of native Texas material, embracing the light, and the landscape, he’s a tough act to follow.
However, the beauty of superior design is creating good bones and maintaining an ability to update interior spaces easily. Architects think about these things. They create timeless spaces, but they know they must always keep an eye to the future because, as the years pass, the way we live always evolves.
The homes here don’t change hands often. Interior designer Michael Lee is only the second owner of this Frank Welch contemporary. He’s a Texan who is based in Malibu, California. You can imagine his well-guarded celebrity client list (and his parties). I’ll only name-drop what’s already been in print: Ray Romano, Matthew Perry, and Owen Wilson are rumored to have tapped Lee for his design expertise. Architectural Digest reported Halle Berry loved Lee’s beach house so much she persuaded him to sell it to her. Lee simply moved on down the beach and transformed another home.
Texans always come home, if only to visit regularly. When Lee spotted this 3,400-square-foot, two-bedroom, two-bathroom Frank Welch contemporary, it seemed to be the perfect Dallas base. He got to work transforming this home into the best example of how to live in style, comfortably.
“What strikes me is you have glamor in this home, but it’s so relaxed,” Briggs Freeman Sotheby’s listing agent Ann Henry said. “Michael is not interested in precious. He wants a home to feel livable. When you walk in you go, ‘Oh, My Gosh,’ but you also see how easy the house lives.”
Photos generally tell the story in these gorgeous homes, but what you can’t see and don’t notice is just as important. Lee installed a state-of-the-art HVAC system.
“He has a good friend who is the conductor of the Dallas Opera,” Henry said. So, the plan was to have concerts here, and you need a quiet HVAC for that. You can’t hear it at all.”
Another brilliant idea was installing 220-volt electrical outlets in the air-conditioned garage, so that it can double as a prep kitchen for caterers. “He thinks of things that don’t occur to anyone else,” Lee said. “He’s one of the most gifted people I’ve ever worked with, and this house is now a perfect marriage between Frank Welch and Michael Lee.
Henry has 2837 Park Bridge Court listed for $2.595 million. Homes here rarely come on the market because this is a little slice of paradise in the heart of Dallas.
