Every April, our neighborhood is treated to two home tours. Each benefits neighborhood schools, and each features beautiful homes, but they are very different tours.
A home from the White Rock Home Tour, left, and one from the Hollywood Home Tour. Photos by Can Türkyilmaz
One slideshow below features photos from a house on the White Rock tour, at 9729 Edgepine; and another slideshow features pictures from the home on 702 Monte Vista, which is on the Hollywood tour.
Take this virtual tour of the White Rock Lake Home Tour and the Hollywood Home Tour to decide which you prefer. Then buy tickets for both.
The White Rock Home Tour
The White Rock Home Tour is in its sixth year, and it focuses on modern homes in our neighborhood. This year’s tour includes a 1960s home from bygone Dallas architecture firm Ju-Nel Homes Inc. And it includes the brand-new home of Scott and Melissa Powell, north of the lake.
Scott Powell owns New Leaf Inc., a homebuilder that specializes in the modern esthetic. He grew up in Lake Highlands, and the couple lived in Preston Hollow for a while. They chose to return to the White Rock Lake area to raise their three children in the Richardson school district. They also love the mature trees in their subdivision, which was built in the 1950s. Even though their house is new, it seems like it’s been there forever.
“We built it to blend into the neighborhood,” Scott Powell says.
The original house was in the mid-century modern style, but it was in bad shape and had to be torn down. In creating the new house, the Powells kept the original footprint and elevation. So the new house has much the same scope as the original. Even though it’s a five-bedroom, five-bath home, it comprises only about 3,300 square feet. An enormous kitchen and great room are the focus of the ground floor, which also includes master and guest suites.
The Powells added a second floor, which features a playroom and the children’s bedrooms. The home is centered on a courtyard with a water feature, and a wall of windows invites the backyard into the great room.
“It really brings the outdoors in,” Powell says.
• The White Rock Home Tour is from noon-5 p.m. April 21-22, benefits Hexter Elementary School. Tickets cost $10 through April 22 at White Rock Coffee, Green Spot or Tom Thumb. On the tour days, purchase tickets for $15 at any tour house. whiterockhometour.org.
The Hollywood Home Tour
The Hollywood/Santa Monica neighborhood dates back to 1926, when members of Dallas’ middle class wanted more suburban homes near White Rock Lake. Most of the homes in that neighborhood, south of the Lakewood Country Club, are in the Tudor-revival style. But there are also examples of Spanish eclectic, minimal traditional, craftsman, Monterey colonial and Pueblo revival.
Belynda Ortiz’s home on Monte Vista is an updated Tudor revival from the ’20s. Her home is on the Hollywood tour, which is in its 21st year. When Ortiz bought the house, it comprised less than 1,200 square feet, a typical Tudor revival with two bedrooms, one bath, living room, dining room and kitchen. Now the house is almost double in size.
“I was trying to modernize it a bit but still stay true to the house,” she says. “There is a fine line.”
Her Lakewood-based builder, Aztec Construction, added about 300 square feet onto the back of the house to create a family room, casual dining space and open kitchen. Aztec also built a second story, which is Ortiz’s master suite. Her bedroom is over the first-floor addition and includes a balcony overlooking the backyard. There is also a gym and laundry room.
But the masterpiece here is the bathroom. It features marble countertops, more cabinet space than Ortiz can fill, a spa shower designed just for her and a Juliette balcony. Just past the shower is a closet and vanity to rival the real Hollywood. The guys working on her remodel found a few remnants of the past in the walls — a Daily Times Herald receipt from 1946, a streetcar ticket and a list of phone numbers beginning with the exchange “T.” Ortiz framed those items and made her own time capsule, including a newspaper and a note, and sealed it inside one wall for future homeowners to find when they are remodeling.
• The Hollywood Home Tour is from noon-6 p.m. April 28-29, benefits neighborhood schools, including the Lindsley Park Community School, J.L. Long Middle School and the Woodrow Wilson International Baccalaureate Program. Tickets cost $12 at hsmna.org or at any home on the tour. This year’s tour also includes “Art in the Park” at Lindsley Park, from noon-6 p.m. Sunday, April 29. It will feature local art and gift vendors, and food trucks.
