Maestri Studio is proud to that two of our renovation projects will be featured on the 2018 AIA Dallas Tour of Homes October 20-21. These renovations are an opportunity and challenge we have been honored to receive time and again; maintaining the character of a home, designing upon its strengths, and making it fresh and livable for today’s standards.
7031 Casa Loma Avenue
What makes this project unique is its historic context. In 2016, just as real estate prices and construction costs began to surge, we were hired to start design on the quirky 1938 split-level home. While the original home in Lakewood Hills more than likely would have been considered a tear-down by some these days, we saw the potential and understood why the owners were proud to call the house their home. This renovation was a labor of love by its owners - they wanted to preserve both the original charm and the scale of the home, but also open the floor plan with a Scandinavian-inspired modern design. We evolved the original two-bedroom, 1,690-square-foot home into a 3,300-square-foot, three-bedroom home with two living areas. The modern floating staircase, floor-to-ceiling windows and doors, and a black painted exterior all serve to make the home stand out among the white homes all around. We also see Casa Loma as a great example of how smaller and older homes can be saved rather than razed. While most of the home was reconstructed, the original 1930s home is still there with elements of its original quirkiness and spirit.
6933 Delrose Drive
This home was designed in 1979 by architect David Ludwick and was his families’ home until 2016. The house was well thought out and progressive for its time. Expanses of glass overlooking a creek and tree tops bring in an abundance of tree-filtered natural light. The well-thought attention to detail is as evident as the amount of pride that Mr. Ludwick must have felt for the home. As any home from the late seventies, there were dated elements, but it was importance to us and the new owners to carefully choose to update the areas needed by not making the common mistake of erasing the past. After all, the details considered dated today are what preservationist will treasure tomorrow. Our work focused mainly on the kitchen (and adjacent spaces), opening the kitchen more to the exterior, as well as an overall exterior makeover and landscaping. We replicated some of the original details for consistency, but added some of our own drawing from inspirations of the period and more broadly mid-century modern design. Some of our favorite design additions are the custom front doors that have an eye-catching brass starburst as well as an interior modular grow wall.
We hope you’ll come on tour to see for yourself what the buzz is all about. Casa Loma and Delrose will be our fourth and fifth homes featured on the prestigious AIA Dallas Tour of Homes since 2012.
The AIA Dallas Tour of Homes, Dallas’ only citywide home tour and the area’s only tour curated exclusively by architects, returns Saturday and Sunday, October 20-21, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The two-day, open-to-the-public tour highlights the work of some of the city’s most talented architects and the area’s most innovative and outstanding residential design. Tickets can be purchased online at www.hometourdallas.com or can be purchased during the tour at any of the homes. Tour-only tickets are $25 in advance, $30 the weekend of, and $10 to visit an individual home. The catered Premiere Party is Thursday, October 18, set in a home exclusively available to party attendees and not on the tour. Tickets to the Premiere Party are $100 and include one ticket to the home tour.