Articles about REAL ESTATE
Think Pink: Mary Kay’s Pink Palace On TV
All the rose quartz Sherle Wagner and a completely pink marble commode on this great piece narrated by Ebby Halliday herself!
Always A Bridesmaid, Never A Bride
I have this fun new ditty on the DallasDirt blog you are just going to love…
Always A Bridesmaid, Never A Bride
Some homes are just like that — on the market forever, always hoping a strong, smart couple drops in one day to take its hand. Sadly, a few remain spinsters or worse — wind up in lengthy, nasty court battles as they crumble and decay. Here’s a bridesmaid with a nice bit fat dowry — a putting green! — ready to take the walk but she just cannot get hitched up.
Your New Kitchen?
This beautiful eco-luxurious kitchen could be yours - in the most convenient location in Highland Park. You can have it all - walk to restaurants and grocery stores and put the kids in HP schools. Do I sound like a realtor? No, just really sad that I’m selling my house and leaving the most beautiful kitchen ever. I never planned to be unfaithful - I was perfectly content with my current housing relationship. Then, I went in an open house while visiting my Dad in () North Dallas. I fell in love with a very contemporary split level 1970s house on a small residential lake. Wouldn’t have been a problem, except I called my husband, and he fell in love, too. It was fated…now we have two houses, one too many. So, back to my original premise - this kitchen could be yours.
Sweet Home Alabama
This week, I will be reporting live from Ono Island, Alabama. When I tell people we are going to the beach, in Alabama, many people ask: Alabama has beaches? Yes, it does.
There is a 26 mile stretch of pristine sugar-sand beach along the southern tip of Alabama on the Gulf of Mexico. Dubbed “The Redneck Riviera” it is a haven for snow birds and family with second (and in some cases third) homes. Someone alert Candy Evans.
We, of course, stay at the Tackett Tern. I just love the cute and clever names of the houses on the island. There is my favorite, The Shangri-La, an Asian-inspired beach house, and The Lone Star. The Lone Star is owned by a Texas resident and retired one star general. See what I mean? Cute and clever…
Speaking of the Lone Star, everywhere I go, I see Texas cars. Ono Island, Orange Beach, Perdido Key, and Gulf Shores look like a suburb of Dallas (with sunburn and floating flip flops, but a little slice of the Metroplex, no less). Dallasites are everywhere.
Many of the homes in the area were destroyed by Hurricane Ivan. They were demolished, re-built, and almost all were redecorated. I will be posting some pictures and reports on that later in the week, as well as some shopping destinations to check out. After the storm, a real estate frenzy drove prices up 2-3 times of pre-storm values. With the credit crunch, though, things have stabilized. This means on thing: BARGINS. This area has increased in value over 500% in the last 15 years. Those wanting a second home, or income from rental properties…look no farther.
It’s an easy drive, about 10.5 hours, and after fourteen grueling years of marriage, fourteen blissful years of marriage, okay, just fourteen years of marriage, I could do it in my sleep. Jump to read the “blow by blow” of our most recent family trip.
The Dream House Thinks Pink
The Dream House is going green. The Trophy Husband and I have spent the last few days in a pink fog. After last summer’s electric bills were edging up to amounts closer to a mortgage payment, we declared war. The first thing we did was switch our electrical provider. I picked this one…and I was tickled pink by their name. But I didn’t stop there… (more…)
Trinity and Design District
More controversy about Lower Oak Lawn - the people responsible for efforts behind branding the Design District as “Trinity and Design District” are having a problem with the new name of Lower Oak Lawn. Yesterday, Ed Oakley, Bob Darrouset, Gary Elam, and Brendon Bass discussed the fact that not one of them had been consulted, and that the Wood Partners that are building the proposed condominiums were not aware of this new name. Seems that this decision was made by Pegasus Ablon Properties, and that to close streets and access TIF dollars, they will have to go through the political process. I’m just reporting, but it seems it may be time for the new kid to make nice with the neighbors.
Lower Oak Lawn in the Design District
I just came from a long, mostly amicable (except when I asked if I was being admonished) visit with Michael Ablon, whose company Pegasus Ablon in partnership with The Lionstone Group is developing Lower Oak Lawn in the Design District. This is really an exciting project that will keep and preserve the art and design district along HiLine, Slocum and Dragon streets, and make it accessible to all of Dallas. That word accessible is loaded when you consider “to the trade only”; that line in the sand is staying exactly where it is - Design Center to the trade, antique shops open to the public, and the Decorative Center somewhere in between. What I’m referring to is the really big impetus for all of this - finally, an Oak Lawn exit off the Tollway. No, it wasn’t done to please the art galleries, or even at the considerable persuasion of Michael Ablon, it was done to make the Trinity Corridor accessible to North Dallas. Hence, the name Lower Oak Lawn - a pragmatic developer capitalizing on the name of the exit. I’m feeling positive - and I’ll keep you posted.
Word Usage: House “Porn”
I’ve heard that sex sells. I won’t deny the veracity of that statement. But how much porn can one site take without being put under probation by the FCC? Candy, I like this little abode on San Fernando Way, but there’s nothing dirty about it. Or at least nothing that a little Windex and Lysol couldn’t cure. So I’m going to put the kibosh on the term “house porn,” until I see something really sexy. Otherwise, it’s false advertising.
Dungeons in Highland Park?
I’ve been out walking again, uh-oh, and noticing some new building trends. I’m not giving any addresses here, so not to worry. The latest scraped corner lots are beginning to look like the foundations are being dug halfway to China - huge, multi-roomed subterranean holes are being built to house under-ground garages, wine-cellars, work out rooms, and maybe dungeons. Probably not the latter, but you never know when you might need one. Candy, is this a new trend?
Ebby Halliday’s Birthday
Was yesterday. And the bamboo-patterned chairs from her office done by the late interior designer Audrey Price are, for some reason, scattered all over Barney’s shoe department. Or at least they were for the fun D Magazine party at Barneys. I mean, when a girl wants to try on shoes, sometimes she just needs her own special chair…
Re: Another Day….
Okay, this is it. Let’s let the old house rest in peace. But, I did get this lovely letter from Clay Bright - since he grew up there, he has the right to say anything he wants:
“That house was built in 1919. It was not a stucco veneer house…it was a stucco over brick house. The walls were 16 inches thick of brick on the first floor and 8 inches thick on the second floor. It was built like a fort. It has only had two owners who lived there. The second was my father H. R. (Bum) Bright. He bought it in 1954 (the year I was born) for $85,000, and lived there until his death in 2004. It was not air conditioned until about 1960. Other than an addition to the back of the house, it remained pretty much unchanged since 1954. By the way, my stepmother had re-done the kitchen in the 1980’s so she might take exception to your “circa 1930’s” comment…lol.
I also walked through it this past Saturday and saw that the new owners were salvaging a lot of the fine woodwork inside (shelves, banisters, floors and the like), as well as a lot of the cut stone, stained glass windows, etc. So, someone is going to get to use them.
In any event, I just thought you might enjoy knowing a little of the history. Life truly does go on.”
Clay Bright
Re: Another Day, Another Teardown
Otherwise known as, another one bites the dust. On my weekend walk, my friend and I checked this house out - yes, we were trespassing, someday I’m going to be arrested. I always thought it was a fairly new house, (until we climbed through the fence and saw the circa 1930’s kitchen), with some unfortunate proportion issues - the arched colonnade is too wide for the house, but, I thought, easily fixable. Too late. What you don’t know is that the ceiling of the porch was frescoed in a delightful design, and the wooden corbels were all hand carved. All the eaves were painted a serene kind of blue underneath, probably to seem cool in the hot summer. There were numerous leaded glass windows, including an intricate stained glass window with the image of a scribe. I won’t go into a rant, (I’ve been silenced), but, please, don’t build your new home to the edge of the lot.
Another Day, Another Teardown
Today at lunch, I took a tour of several neighborhoods. (This is also known as my “afternoon run.” I had to go early because I’m going to the High School Reunion premiere party tonight. Can’t wait. But I digress.) Much to my horror, one of my very favorite houses—it was the old Hollywood-ish one at the corner of Lakeside and Laurel—has been reduced to rubble. I actually had to stop running. I then stared rather aggressively at the poor sap driving the bulldozer. He didn’t seem scared, so I ran away. What’s the story, Candy?
Lexington Avenue
I know real estate is not my favorite subject, but I do like to walk and critique the neighborhood. The corner of Lexington and Byron is new construction on steriods. Period. We walked through the house, I thought it was an apartment complex, on the SE corner. It’s a spec house built almost to the property line of a very big lot. Not to worry, there are about 6 fireplaces for our frigid Dallas nights. Lots of balconies, one is about 15 feet from the neighbor’s house - nice view. And your choice of living areas downstairs - so you don’t have to mingle with other people. Who is going to buy this? Someone with 12 children? I think not.
Armstrong Evacuation
I decided to flirt with danger run the Katy Trail on Sunday. But first I had to run to the Katy Trail. On my way, I ran up Armstrong. Umm….what’s the deal? There must be four or five houses—in a row—that are for sale in the block west of Abbott. Candy, what’s the story?
Mary Ellen Bendtsen Swiss Ave. Mansion Sale Pending
Read about it on DallasDirt.
RE: The Economy
It did not seem down at all at yesterday’s 2008 Leukemia & Lymphoma Society luncheon and fashion show by Stanley Korshak — my oh my how the fabrics flowed, the bustles bustled, the hemlines dipped high and low in florals, basics, corals, aqua and tons of metallic. You know couture fashion trends precede home interiors. Heart of Gold recipient was precious Lynda Adleta, Adleta Fine Properties. More on her later at Dallasdirt.
Home Appraisals At Your Fingertips
Coolest thing since sliced bread…
HGTV or Desperate Housewives: Spend Valentines In A $50 Million Dollar Bedroom
Details on DallasDirt…
Scott + Cooner at One Arts Plaza
It could turn out to be the battle of the models - no, I’m not talking about “America’s Next Top Model”, I’m talking about high rises hiring high profile local talents to design their models. Scott + Cooner has just finished two units on the 20th floor of One Arts Plaza, with artwork by Holly Johnson and Marty Walker. One model is light and ethereal, the other more woodsy and organic. Like the models George Cameron Nash designed for Azure, they are appealing to different clients. Now, what’s next? Someone should snag Allan Knight fast.
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