Our Monday Morning Millionaire at 3601 Beverly Drive is an iconic, architecturally significant, Highland Park Italian Renaissance mansion that has a rich dramatic history. Designed by legendary architect Hal Thomson in 1923, this house has so many stories to tell you better grab a big cuppa, turn off the phone, and sit down.
Formerly known as the Ferris Mansion, it was built for Tom Ferris, who was a successful broker at the Dallas Cotton Exchange.
Thomson brought in the best craftsmen from Europe and North America to help him create this Italian Renaissance mansion. Those talented artists included one of Thomson’s favorite collaborators, Peter Mansbendel, a Swiss master woodcarver. Mansbendel is responsible for the elaborate wood columns and the leaded glass windows enhanced with engraved rural scenes.
Listed 11 days ago by Allie Beth Allman for $12.5 million, it’s worth every penny. There are 12,834 square feet, six bedrooms, five bathrooms, and three powder baths, but those are just the basic stats. What you really need to know is that not only was this home built to the highest standards of the 1920s, but it was also renovated to the highest standards of this century by the Buntings. You may know that name. Remember, I told you there would be stories!
The Buntings spent the better part of three years renovating, updating, and adding the most incredible 3,000 square feet of underground living space you’ve ever seen — with light entering it from two sides. I won’t call it a basement because that does not do it justice.
Mark Bunting is what we call a serial entrepreneur. He created SkyTV, the largest producer of computer and technology related video and television programming. He’s basically responsible for putting computers in our homes. Google him, seriously. Then, feel like you are not doing enough with your life, but I digress.
So just imagine what happened when Mark and his beautiful, and equally smart, wife Kelly got their hands on this property. They went to town. They had small children at the time, and they had to turn this iconic Italian Renaissance mansion into a kid-friendly haven. They did that and so much more. That underground living space includes a wine cellar, tasting room, and a home theater.
Talk about serendipity. Mark just happened to have family members in the millwork industry who built the two-story library from scratch, customizing it to look exactly like it was built in the 1920s.
Homes like this must have owners that appreciate history and understand how to update properly. The Buntings have been the perfect stewards of this home. They enlarged the Italianate loggia to create a gallery that tied rooms together and created a much-needed flow, which homes built in the 1920s don’t have. We’ve heard their kiddos roller-bladed through this limestone-floored loggia, so despite the grandeur of this Italian Renaissance mansion, the Buntings totally succeeded in turning this into a family-friendly home.
You must visit this home to appreciate it fully. It’s not easy to convey how spectacular this home is for both entertaining and raising a family because it is indeed one of a kind.
Karen Eubank is the owner of Eubank Staging and Design. She has been an award-winning professional home stager and writer for over 25 years. Karen teaches the popular Staging to Sell class and is the creator of the online course, The Beginners Guide to Buying Wholesale. Her love of dogs, international travel, history, white paint, champagne, artificial turf, and Tudor and Midcentury Modern homes, and any house designed by Clifford Hutsell knows no bounds. Her father was a spy, so she keeps secrets very well! Find Karen at www.eubankstaging.com
