Having just returned from Maine, I was OD’ing on Italianate design, as it was the preference of many a ship’s captain for his grand home. We sure have a lot of Italianate design in Dallas, too, sometimes, I think, too much (eeck!). The style was one of the most popular Victorian-era housing styles from the mid- to late-1800s. That’s why they are all over the coastal areas of Maine. Homes in this style ranged from a modest two-story town house to those ornate sea captain and magnate mansions. They were inspired by the villas of Italy, or at least what people thought the villas looked like. At that time, few American architects traveled abroad. The style is defined by the use of single or paired decorative brackets under wide cornices.
Add a clay tile roof, and you’ve got Santa Barbara.
What I really love about 6229 Tulip, marketed by Marc Ching at Allie Beth Allman & Associates, is that it somehow does Italianate right. It’s not like having a giant bowl of pasta with too much parmesan thrown at you until you want to gag. It’s clean, simple, elegant and beautiful. This home creates an oasis in Preston Hollow, on a great street, that makes you want a Limon Citron at the end of the day whilst you pamper your tomato vines in the garden, just like Don Corleone did in The Godfather when he was retired. I can hear the signature music in the background, can’t you?
Sellers, take note: this home also serves as a primer for what today’s buyers want: clean lines, not overdone kitchen, dark or painted wood cabinetry, a feeling of relaxation and comfort, but no kitsch. Study these photos, home sellers, there will be a quiz tomorrow! See those uncluttered tables? Note how every bedroom was so well put together the sellers could show them off immediately. Can you say the same of your secondary bedrooms? The kids are in school, so it’s time to get their rooms together and if they don’t keep them tidy, well, crack the whip!
6229 Tulip was built in 2007, but looks like it just got the last item on the punch list completed. You get 6936 square feet including a downstairs master and guest bedroom, which is so necessary now with aging parents. Three additional en suite bedrooms are upstairs, along with two more living areas and a media room. The home is incredibly organic and foam insulated for low utilities: there is a fresh air HVAC system and concrete stucco construction. Also, the study is downstairs as well, along with the usual formals, plus a wine closet, two wet bars, and a kitchen loaded with all the right name brand appliances: Wolf & Subzero, dual dishwashers, great counter space. I absolutely love the covered back porch/outdoor kitchen and would add in screens. No pool, but with .39 acres, you’ve got the room.
Besides, those gardens and the fountain are so lovely and relaxing to the eye and ear… maybe go swimming at the Club and let this be your pastoral retreat in the city, Italian-style.
Asking $2,095,000. The house does NOT back to Royal, but is walking distance of St. Mark’s and Preston Royal. Talk to the good folks at Inwood Mortgage who almost never say, “no gratzie” when you need money, honey. Ciao!
