You can’t tell a book by its cover, so if you think you know what’s behind the doors of this Midway Hills ranch home, I’ll place a bet you’re wrong. This 2,716-square-foot traditional ranch, at 3880 Whitehall Drive, was the American dream in 1962 when it was a custom build for some lucky homeowner.
It passed through several hands over the years including Hugh Mullins. Mullins, you may remember, if you’ve been here a spell, flew through CEO positions at St. Johns Knits and Neiman’s before landing at the preppie paradise, Harold’s, now long gone, but never forgotten.
This Midway Hills ranch was Mullins bachelor pad after a divorce and rumor has it the bathroom is so large because he had a tanning bed installed. Move over George Hamilton! But we know he fell for this baby for the same reason everyone does, there’s a big, beautiful surprise when you step through those candy apple red front doors.
There is a 1,100-square-foot architect-designed screened room with cathedral ceilings that opens off the family room. It overlooks a sparkling pool and backyard oasis reminiscent of Palm Springs.
“It’s tremendous,” the seller said. “It’s the size of an apartment. You could never dream up a space like this. Even if it is raining, you can sit back there and enjoy it and watch a thunderstorm.”
We’ve included a few photos of what this Midway Hills ranch looked like when the present owners purchased it, to show you how little these great homes need to bring them up to speed. Of course, it helps when you have homebuyers in creative industries, like our sellers.
“The house had some midcentury bones, but it was traditional,” the seller said. However, once they installed their collection of midcentury furniture, it came to life.
The first order of business was painting the three-bedroom, two- and-one-half-bathroom home. They could not handle any more taupe! I want to point out the Roman brick fireplace that was the same color as the walls. It’s a beautiful fireplace, but it blended right into the room. All it needed was a contrasting color, and it became outstanding!
After a few coats of paint, they turned their attention to internal and structural items. A new roof was added, fencing redone, and that fantastic screened room was renovated. The pool was a bit frumpy, so they updated it and added pebble tech, then wired everything for sound.
The house backs up to a creek, so it’s not only private but also quiet. There are walls of glass around the entire backyard overlooking the pool, so you feel a part of nature regardless of where you are in this Midway Hills ranch.
The location could not be better. You can walk to Withers Elementary, a dual language Dallas ISD school. There are multiple private school choices including Good Shepherd, Hockaday, Saint Monica’s and Ursuline. Northaven Park is seconds from the front door, and the Town North YMCA is a hop, skip, and a jump away.
When you see this Midway Hills ranch in person, you know it has always been a hip and hot party place from the moment it was built. You can just imagine the sound of a cocktail shaker, barely audible over some cool jazz wafting through the backyard.
If you share the vision, give Briggs Freeman Sotheby’s International Real Estate listing agents J.L. Forke and Jennifer Shindler a call. They have this Midway Hills ranch listed for just $629,000. Open house Sunday, November 18, 2-4 p.m.
