Next weekend’s White Rock Home Tour will take you through some of the most fabulous modern properties throughout East Dallas, but we’re going to admit to having a favorite. We’ve watched Tom Greico and his talented team build this beauty on Easton Road from foundation to framing to finish-out and we have been smitten since Day One.
Could this be our favorite Greico Modern Home?
“The Easton Home was a fun project to be involved in because of the freedom the owners’ property provided,” Greico told us. ” The basic design philosophy was to create a home with a simple footprint that was easy and affordable to build, while taking full advantage of the heavily wooded property.
That’s what’s truly amazing about this modern home that sits on a rather busy street — it’s set back from the road plenty, but thanks to the mature trees that remain on the lot, it doesn’t feel loud or obnoxious. It’s actually pretty serene.
“The design we settled on allows the public living areas of the home to be as open, accessible and transparent to the property as possible,” Greico added. “The overlapping design of the upper level provided for a large protected exterior space for outdoor entertaining at the same time, and allowed us to achieve the owners’ desire to have their sleeping quarters capture the essence of camping as if in a tree house.”
That’s what it is! It’s like a tree house, but with a master bath straight out of architectural digest. But we had to ask Greico the hard question: What’s your favorite space in the house?
“It’s hard to isolate my favorite space in the home, but I’d say it has to to be the great room with its glass walls, wood decks, opening on to green grass and large trees on either side,” he said. “It’s a very cool space.”
We agree! Of course, we couldn’t stop at picking the builder’s brain. We also wanted to ask homeowners Ashley and Webster Miller about this gorgeous property, too! We have an exclusive Q&A with them after the jump.
And if you haven’t picked up your tickets for the 11th annual White Rock Home Tour yet, you better hurry. Besides this brand new custom build by Greico Modern Homes, you can tour a Frank Welch design on Lawther, a midcentury gem from Thomas Scott Dean, and even a Ju-Nel on April 23 and 24. All ticket proceeds benefit Victor H. Hexter Elementary. Buy your tickets on the White Rock Home Tour website today.
Feeling lucky? Stay tuned to daltxrealestate.com for your chance to win a pair of tickets to the White Rock Home Tour!
daltxrealestate.com: What room or design element of your home will stand out to home tour goers?
Ashley Miller: We love our living room feature wall – we had cypress siding leftover from the exterior, and we knew we wanted to bring some warm wood inside. Erin Hossley and her team at Neighborhood Design in Bishop Arts helped us with the vision (since my husband had one idea, I had another, and we sought professional advice for the sake of marital sanity). And a fabulous woodworker in our neighborhood, Jack Paradise, completed the installation. It’s cool, modern, unique … and we hope tour goers like it as much as we do.
CD: Is there any feature or finish in your home that tour goers shouldn’t miss?
AM: This is going to sound crazy, but my favorite feature is a hidden one — the central vacuum system! Our builder, Tom Greico of Greico Custom Homes, initially laughed when we requested one, since most people picture the models popular in the 1970s. The vacuum engine is in the garage, and is accessed through two hoses housed inside the walls – I just pull out the length I need, clean up, and the hose sucks back into the wall when I’m done. Literally can’t live without it now!
CD: If you had to choose one spot — inside or outside — on your property where you could spend all day, where would it be and why?
AM: The back deck, for sure. We think the house is actually even cooler from the back – the rear elevation is the best view. Plus we can enjoy our wonderful mature trees on our dream lot, surrounded by our incredible neighbors – all of which we found by sheer luck. We’re still pinching ourselves daily. Webster just had a custom steel ping pong table made for the patio – so wine is now accompanied by some entertainment as well!
CD: What are you doing to prepare for the home tour?
AM: Every “one day” project became a “today” project when we were asked to join the tour. We completed the front circular drive, added some landscaping, and generally spruced things up. If we win the lottery one day, we have the perfect yard for a pool – our neighbors have already requested a lazy river that goes through their yards and empties into ours, but so far, they haven’t ponied up.
CD: In what ways have you put your fingerprint on your home?
AM: Because our home is a new build, and we were very involved in the design with our architect/builder, Tom Greico, I’d say our fingerprints are all over every corner of this house. Tom was very open to hearing our requests, tweaks, and vision throughout the process.
CD: Is there any history behind your home? Your neighborhood? Care to share?
AM: We are both originally from out of state, so all of Dallas still feels new to us (we’d been in the suburbs for 10 years before this move). We’d never heard of Lochwood before, but this little gem is more than we could have hoped for. I grew up in Baton Rouge, La., so I craved big, shady trees, and this area is truly spectacular in its scenery.
Funny story: we were in negotiations to buy our lot, but we knew nothing about the neighborhood, so we were a bit nervous. One Friday evening we decided to drive through the area. There was a pack of neighbors, people about our age with their kids and dogs, just hanging out in the street, having a beer and catching up. We stopped to talk, and met some of the best people ever. As my husband and I drove off, we smiled at each other, and said “these are our people!”