Russwood Acres Home PROVES You Can Teach an Old Ranch WAY SEXY New Tricks!

Well, this home sure made my Sunday, and I hope it makes your week! I do not know when I have seen such a wonderfully beautiful, thorough, tasteful remodel of a circa 1960’s ranch in Russwood Acres. This neighborhood of sprawling ranches and hefty yards up at Inwood and Royal is still enjoying a lot of renovations on the neighborhood stock — very few tear downs here, mostly because the homes are all built like — to quote my favorite Realtor Hunter Dehn — “brick *%&$houses”. Seriously, these homes are like the foundation at the World Trade Center, and they clean up beautifully.

We lived in a 60’s home once in our Dallas real estate life, a story I intend to blog someday! Melissa Lane: terrazzo, great storage, walk-in closets, built-ins, solid as a rock. The 60’s is when builders and architects began to “get it” and luxe up the home design.

The owners of 5122 Springmeadow Drive went all out. The 4327 square foot ranch is so brimming with newness you would think it was a complete new home the moment you walk in. The owner also used the very types of soft, sleek contemporary materials the marketplace is going ga ga over au current: pale greens and Ann Sacks tiles, wide-planked hand-scraped hardwood floors, loads of natural light, big, white insulated windows, flat screen TVs.

Walk in to a stunning central foyer that opens the eye to the vast verdant yard, pool, landscaping and beyond. To the right is the huge dining room, to the left the formal living. Overhead the most fantastic light fixtures I have seen — nab ’em! Walk straight and down two graceful steps to the huge family or Great Room, open to the kitchen.

The kitchen is to the right, or west wing, and it features the chunkiest slab of stunning marble — Carerra? — I have seen with a huge center island. Like you will want to eat it, you will love it so much! The appliances are high quality — Wolf stove, SubZero fridge. Warming drawer and microwave.

I love the two dishwashers flanking the stainless steel farm sink –please, do not show me a $1 something million dollar house and cheap out with one dishwasher. PLEASE! You simply must have two for big dinners and entertaining. I have two and would not go without!

Next there is this BRILLIANT bar separating the kitchen from the family room, complete with sink and wine fridge. What a great placement for parties PLUS it gives you an extra surface in the kitchen for food prep. This totally got my creative juices going: why do we hide bars in closet except to please the teetotalers? Out those bars out and get some multi-use out of them!

Off to the eastern wing are the bedrooms — all with en suite baths. The Master is hefty, has a sitting area, and you walk through the his/her closet on the way to the stunning bath (master closet is a LITTLE SKIMPY for a clothes hoarder like moi — I’d take the whole thing, kick my husband to another room) with huge soaking tub and seriously the largest walk-through shower in the state. SERIOUSLY!

There are two precious bedrooms here, with those en suite baths, and great storage. There is also a cute powder in this wing.

West wing — a fourth bedroom or den, en suite bath, huge laundry room, three car garage, storage and more storage. Oh the linen closet in this home is a walk-in. Like I said, they knew how to build them in the 1960’s.

OK, a word about Springmeadow: it’s a cul de sac, which you know I love as much as the Bushes do on Daria drive. Comes with private security patrol. Oh and there is a contemporary Dilbeck ranch right next door. This home does edge onto Inwood Road, but I will tell you two things about that: one there is a great fence, and two the yard is about .8 of an acre, so you are not on top of Inwood. I’d plant some thick hedges to help muffle sound (sellers have a landscape plan all ready), which you only hear outdoors but you know what I call it — the Urban Waterfall. You cannot escape the sounds of cars and screeching sirens in a big city. And Dallas is a big city. You want quiet and crickets, head to Prosper or Colleyville.

Can you tell I love this house? This is one I would bid on, seriously. Good stuff here. Asking is $1,345,000 and Allie Beth Allman agent Susan Bradley (love her!) says that she had it appraised by everyone but God, so that’s a fair number. Tell you what I’d do: buy it, then go down to DCAD and get your taxes lowered because you are NEAR Inwood. Then take that tax savings and buy a second home at The Greenbrier, Long Cove, The 505 or Boot Ranch. And then you can hear all the crickets your heart desires!