I’d buy this week’s Highlight Home of the Week, sponsored by mortgage expert Lisa Peters of Cardinal Financial, for the fireplace alone. Like a small spaceship that’s landed in your living room or a wide-mouthed monster looking to eat you whole, this cone freestanding fireplace is a fantastic holdover of the 1960s in this 1971 Carrollton home listed by Brian Davis and Kay Woods of Briggs Freeman Sotheby’s International Realty.
Malm is the catch-all phrase for these freestanding fireplaces or indoor chimeneas, but there were three major makers in the early 1960s: Malm, Preway and Majestic. In fact, the Malm “Zircon,” which is still in production today, ranges from $4,000 to $10,000 new.
But why is there a 1960s-era design icon found in a production home built in 1971? The answer may be found in the history of this home’s neighborhood, Rollingwood Estates in Carrollton.
“Look inside the high fashion home, where there’s beauty and value in every room. Your property values stay high because you’re next door to the largest estates.” That was the promise of this new breed of affordable, yet high design, production homes in North Dallas in the mid-1950s.
By 1970, the concept had reached surrounding cities and suburbs such as Carrollton and Garland, Dallas Morning News archives show. This home at 2110 Bordeaux Dr., which Centennial Homes touted in newspaper ads as a fashion home, has 1,434 square feet with three bedrooms and two fully updated baths that feature all-new fixtures, lighting, flooring, and painting. And that glorious fireplace.
The living room here is the star with that vintage wood-burning fireplace. But the vaulted ceilings also stand out with those wooden cross-beams that were repainted from a dark brown color to a lighter brown. The owners pulled down the living room’s wood paneling and pulled up all the original deep-pile carpeting and replaced it with this new white oak luxury vinyl plank flooring.
The kitchen got a major overhaul, too. Original tan linoleum floors and Formica countertops were replaced with those new luxury vinyl floors and quartz countertops, plus all new kitchen cabinets, lighting, sink, and stainless appliances.
More updates to the home include recently-updated vinyl windows and doors, ceiling fans, door fixtures, and a full-size laundry room. The huge backyard has a large covered patio that features a real highlight of these fashion homes — a window serving bar to the kitchen, plus a storage shed and big mature trees that shade the ample grassy yard.
The updated home is located on a large and tree-lined lot in the middle of the neighborhood, with great access to the President George Bush Turnpike and close proximity to Martha Pointer Park and Greenbelt Disc Golf Park.
The home has been on the market for a few months and has gotten quite a few views and saves on Zillow, but let me let you in on a secret.
The last time this home was on the market in June 2022, it went under contract in just three days, and for tens of thousands of dollars above the asking price. And that was when the kitchen still had linoleum and the bathrooms were still orange. Now, it’s like new with all the updates already done and it’s priced very reasonably. Kind of like the original “fashion homes” of the ’50s, ’60s, and ’70s — high fashion for a low price.
This listing is sponsored by Dallas mortgage broker Lisa Peters at Cardinal Financial. Get started on your home loan for 2110 Bordeaux Dr. by reaching out to her at [email protected].
