This bucolic neighborhood of rolling hills, winding lanes, and historic homes in Oak Cliff is still a pretty well-kept secret. Although the word has slowly slipped out, people still don’t appreciate just how much you get for your money here, even now.
In fact, a former owner of this Ravinia Heights storybook Tudor said, were he not settled in a new area, he’d purchase it again in a heartbeat and that the present list price was a steal. I agree completely.
Ravinia Heights is west of Winnetka Heights, just south of El Tivoli Place (another hotter than hot neighborhood), a few minutes from Bishop Arts, and 10 minutes from downtown Dallas. It’s filled with beautiful homes on huge lots. Many are an acre or more. That’s the real surprise here. How often can you find a home within minutes of everything you need on this much land?
To the best of my knowledge, this 1925 Ravinia Heights storybook Tudor was built for Mr. Thomas A. DeVoss, a veteran railroader. Former residents have related that family members lived in not only this house but also in the two next door and installed gates in the fences so they could visit each other more easily! According to information in the Dallas Morning News archives, members of the DeVoss family lived here until at least the mid-1970s.
The truly unique thing about this home is how beautifully it has been maintained and how flawlessly it’s been updated over the years. It almost looks like a perfect time capsule because the restoration was so well executed. The landscape, however, is what catches your eye first. The only other place I’ve seen front lawns this deep are those huge homes surrounding White Rock Lake.
John Bivens owned this Ravinia Heights storybook Tudor from 2006 to 2009 and is responsible for the lush fairytale surroundings. He’s always loved landscaping, and when he finished his years in the corporate world, he purchased McNamee Landscapes and Nursery in Corpus Christi and commuted between Dallas and Corpus for a few years while he completed his design here.
“When I discovered the neighborhood, I was living on Thomason and looking for something bigger,” John said. “I fell in love with it at first sight, and I still love that house to this day. I did all the gate work on the font, the columns, the landscaping, the boulders, and the giant boulder with the address engraved on it. I had an overall vision of what it would look like.”
The present owners, Anthony and Ashly Atkins, moved into the home in 2016.
”We were in East Kessler and did not even know about this area until my Realtor showed us the house,” Ashly said. ”We went to see it and fell in love with it. It’s really like a fairytale storybook house with cute nooks and crannies. The windows crank open, and everything has been beautifully maintained over the years. I’m a huge gardener, so the lot was what really sold me. I wish I could pick up the entire home and garden and take it with me. My daughter is an equestrian, so we need a bit more acreage, or we’d never leave.”
That’s been the resounding response of every homeowner I could find who has lived in this fairytale setting, so you know this 2,189-square-foot, three-bedroom, two-bath home is extraordinary.
Trina Rothwell of Dave Perry-Miller Real Estate has this Ravinia Heights storybook Tudor at 3001 Irwindell Blvd. listed for $679,000.
