Texas studios Smitharc Architecture + Interiors and Erin Sander Design have completed a family home with limestone cladding, a Zen garden and a gallery-like space for the clients’ Ferraris.
Situated on a leafy street, the home is named after the suburban Dallas neighbourhood where it is located, Greenway Parks.
The residence was built for a family of five – a husband, wife and three kids – and is meant to balance durability with a “lightness of detail”.
The team was tasked with creating a home that respected its neighbours and included space for the client’s “prized Ferrari collection”, along with his-and-her work areas with aesthetic appeal.
“Our clients are both serial entrepreneurs involved in creative and often philanthropic sectors,” said Dallas-based Smitharc Architecture + Interiors, who collaborated with local studio Erin Sander Design on the interiors.
“Their work-from-home lifestyle results in frequent video conference calls with staff and investors, so they each wanted a Zoom backdrop that was both beautiful and representative of their respective personalities.”
The team conceived a two-storey, courtyard-style home that consists of rectilinear volumes arranged around a Zen garden.
The home’s front portion was kept low to the ground in deference to neighbouring mid-century modern homes and a bungalow that once stood on the property.
Exterior walls are clad in a mix of honed grey limestone and bleached cypress, with the latter material adding visual warmth. Along the front elevation, a bronze gate offers privacy and limits access to the residence.
Within the 6,800-square-foot (632-square-metre) home, ample glazing ushers in daylight and provides views through the residence.
Partial walls and built-in furniture help divide the space while maintaining a sense of fluidity. Earthy finishes such as limestone walls and rift-sawn white oak flooring are paired with splashes of colour and carefully curated decor.
The ground level holds the public zone, envisioned as a series of “cozy vignettes”. Sliding glass doors create a smooth connection to the rear yard, where the team placed a patio and swimming pool.
The ground level also contains a bedroom suite, a garage and a “purpose-built auto lounge”, where the clients’ Ferraris are on display. The auto lounge doubles as a study for the husband.
The upper level – reached by stairs or an elevator – encompasses the sleeping areas, a den and an office for the wife.
The office, which has floor-to-ceiling glass, looks upon treetops and a lighting sculpture by Romanian artist Andreea Braescue that hangs in the home’s entry hall.
The primary bedroom suite includes a gym, a “glam room”, a walk-in closet and a private roof deck.
The interior design includes a number of distinctive elements.
Stretching over the public zone is a blue, polished plaster ceiling that unifies the different spaces and adds visual interest.
In the kitchen, one finds blue lacquer-fronted cabinetry and an L-shaped island with a marble top and built-in banquette.
In the main bathroom, there is a floating brass vanity and custom mirrors. The adjacent “glam room” is fitted with pale pink furnishings, scalloped marble floor tiles and walls covered in laser-cut brass pieces that were installed by hand.
Other homes in Dallas include a residence by Specht Architects that consists of corrugated concrete volumes informed by brutalist architecture, and a slender, vanilla-white home by Wernerfield that was designed for a young couple.
The photography is by Nathan Schroder.
Project credits:
Architect: Smitharc Architecture + Interiors
Architecture team: Jason Erik Smith, Signe Smith
Interiors: Erin Sander Design
Landscape: Garden Design Studio
Construction: Kienast Homes
