Custom Made

When Brokaw Price was a little boy, he used to sit on a bench watching his dad build inventions. As he grew up, his father’s love for craftsmanship began to wear off on Price, and soon he was building things on his own, mostly things made of wood. So when he and wife Sharon found their home in Lakewood , Brokaw was eager to put his passion for woodworking into action.

Architect Harvey Phillips built the home in 1978 as his personal residence. He used a lot of wood — especially mahogany — in the home’s interior.

“There was a lot that we liked, so we tried to keep the architectural integrity,” Brokaw says. For example, the couple kept the original wooden ceiling beams salvaged from the 75-year-old Schoelkoph Building Downtown, which was torn down the same year the house was built.

But Brokaw also was determined to make the home his own.

“Brokaw has probably had his hand on every square foot of this house,” Sharon says.

Working mostly on the weekends, he custom-made all of the cabinetry and many of the furniture pieces, and the couple laid a floor of milled pecan wood.

With three young children — Alex, Will and Sophie — they also knew that use of space, especially for storage, was important if they wanted to keep the home free of clutter. 

“The rooms aren’t so big, so we have to make space,” Brokaw says, likening the house to “a big ship.”

One such use of storage is the “train table” Brokaw built in the atrium, which holds a children’s train set and toys. Having the toys so accessible has turned the space into a family gathering spot, especially with the adjoining dining room, the home’s only addition.

“We can sit at the dining room table while the kids play in the atrium,” Sharon says. “That’s nice.”

What’s also nice is the view from the atrium of the back yard and courtyard, which boasts a beautiful fountain as well as an old windmill and well. The home sits on a one-acre lot secluded by lush trees and a wooden fence surrounding the property.

“You feel like you are in the country here. We see owls, bats, coyotes — there have been ducks in the pool,” Brokaw says.

The outdoor spaces also received attention. They added a stone terrace and walkway to the back yard, redid the pool and had some landscaping done. A huge bed of rosemary lines the terrace, easily accessible for those times when the couple cooks outdoors on the grill that they welded together themselves. 

“The outdoor space is very fitting for our lifestyle,” Sharon says. “We probably eat most of our meals out here when the weather is nice.”

The single biggest project the two undertook was the master bathroom. While Sharon started tiling the floor (pregnant, she eventually had to relinquish the duty to her husband), Brokaw custom-made the bathroom cabinets and took care of the lighting.

“That was the biggest change,” Sharon says of the room.

She also had a hand in the home’s details, creating stained glass panels for most of the home’s doors.

“I decided to take a class — it was really easy to catch on,” she says. Several of her pastel paintings also dot the walls.

Although it took a lot of time and sweat, the Prices are proud of their accomplishment.

“It’s really one of a kind — the craftsmanship is unique,” Brokaw says. Sharon agrees: “This is it. As long as we are in Dallas, this is where we’ll be. There are so many personal touches, it’s fair to say that this is our house.”