Our Saturday Six Hundred gives a new depth to the meaning of “a labor of love.” Wes Strawn discovered this midcentury modern tri-level at 1120 Easton Road in Lochwood Estates in 2011. Built by Rick Jackson in 1959 and nestled on an acre of land, he found the home the first day it was on the market.
Strawn grew up in a creative family. One grandfather, an architect and aerospace engineer, had a midcentury modern home built in Preston Hollow. His other grandfather and his father were both home builders.
“I’ve always been around creativity and always liked architecture,” Strawn said. “When I started looking for a house, I knew what I wanted and it had to be midcentury.”
This home was actually in foreclosure. Then there was a fire. Fortunately, the next-door neighbor was a firefighter and got to the house immediately. There was very little lost, but a lot of smoke damage. It didn’t matter to Strawn. “Once I walked in, I didn’t want to leave. It was my style, I saw the potential and knew exactly what I wanted to do,” he said.
Strawn didn’t just slap on a coat of paint and add wallpaper, he took the house down to the studs. “It’s basically the old shell with a new house built inside,” he said. “I went back with retro design and rebuilt original features.” Strawn is not just an aficionado of the era — he goes out of his way to find vintage items, rehab, rebuild, and recreate in period style — whatever it may take. He’s a master of resourcing and somewhat of a trendsetter.
The wallpaper for instance, which can only be described as groovy, really sets the tone in the home. “I found this vintage wallpaper before it was popular then started seeing it everywhere,” Strawn said. The family room wallpaper is Trippy Orange, by Graham and Brown. It can be seen in the office set on Mad Men, has been used on Two Broke Girls, and in the movie The Nice Guys.
Strawn’s creativity knows no bounds. Midcentury furniture pieces were put to clever use in bathrooms in place of cabinetry. He found vintage 1960s glass tiles to cover the wall in the billiards room. A glass grid pattern window in the living room is a find from a doctor’s office in Fort Worth. The dining area flooring was not worth saving so Strawn copied the pattern using new brick tiles. Everywhere you look, you can see the care and love that’s gone into the 3,898-square-foot home.
Tri-level homes are a rarity. This one is entered on the middle level with three bedrooms on the upper level. The sub-level, is essentaily a completely self-contained guest suite with a huge fourth bedroom, the home’s third bathroom, a large living room and a private door to the backyard. Talk about Airbnb potential!
Stawn has moved to the coast into, of course, another midcentury modern. And yes, he’s renovating, reinventing, and reimagining again. So now’s your chance to nab style, substance, and a lot of land in an area that is getting hotter by the minute.
Kitty Ross, with Ebby Halliday Realtors has the home listed for $675,000. We know you want to see this one, and you are in luck. It’s open on Sunday from 2 to 5 p.m.
