Tuesday Two Hundred: Colorful Richardson Cutie Feels Modern, Bright

Richardson is one of the inner suburbs of Dallas and offers a lot of opportunities in its 28 square miles. Many of DFW’s telecommunications/networking companies have settled there along the Telecom Corridor, including AT&T, Cisco Systems, Ericsson, Fujitsu, Texas Instruments, Samsung, and Verizon.

With a population just over 101,000, the city was named the “fifth happiest mid-sized city in America” in 2014 by Movoto, a national real estate blog, based on things like low unemployment, low crime, and high income. That same year, 24/7 Wall St. named Richardson America’s 17th Best City to Live in based on crime, economy, education, housing, environment, leisure, and infrastructure.

I grew up near Richardson and spent lots of time in friends’ ranch houses there, so the listing I chose for today’s Tuesday Two Hundred feels familiar: built in 1964, lots of space inside, and a good-sized yard. The house at 1419 Dumont Dr. is in Northwood Estates and has four bedrooms, 2.5 baths, and 2,488 square feet on two stories. It is newly listed by Adam Caskey at the Michael Group Real Estate for $298,900.

The house is located near the intersection of S. Coit and W. Belt Line roads, within walking distance to the 25-acre Cottonwood Park. This family-friendly place has picnic and playground equipment, two pavilions, two small lakes with ducks and geese, a swimming pool, baby pool, two lighted tennis courts, sand volleyball court, 1.1 miles of trails, and a multi-use concrete court.

The park is also home to the locally famous Cottonwood Arts Festival, a free, semi-annual event that features works from the nation’s top visual artists, as well as music, food, and spirits.

In keeping with the “family-friendly” theme, this property is located in Richardson ISD, a district where STAAR passage rates exceeded the Texas average in every subject in 2014. It is zoned for Dover Elementary, Richardson West Arts & Technology Magnet Junior High, and Richardson High School.

Nearby private schools include the lower campus of Parish Episcopal School, Saint Paul The Apostle School, Holy Trinity Academy, Covenant School, and Shelton School. Jump to read more and see photos!

The house itself has smart curb appeal, with painted brick and siding, a mature magnolia tree, crepe myrtles, and manicured hedges in a modern, raised planter along the front.

The entryway opens with double French doors, above which is a tall pane of paneled frosted glass. This house has an open, airy feel on the first floor, which is flooded with natural light. The vaulted ceilings add to that effect.

Immediately to the right of the doors is the first living area and a dining area, a large room the current owners are using as a sitting/formal eating area. It has an oversized geometric shape cut out from the wall leading to the central living area, and a large doorway leading to the kitchen. Again, this adds to the open feel of the floorplan.

The central living area, which measures 17-by-15, has exposed wood beams on the vaulted ceiling, a stainless steel fan, and original parquet wood floors. Check out that huge stone fireplace—it’s really a great feature in this room. The overall feel is decidedly clean and modern.

The galley kitchen and breakfast area flow together so seamlessly, they feel like one open space. Together, they measure 21-by-14. The kitchen has granite counters and new stainless steel appliances (although the house sale does not include the refrigerator) and a jewel-toned glass backsplash. The cabinets feel dated to me in that light honey color, but they are in excellent shape.

A downstairs utility room measures seven-by-six and has electric washer-dryer hookups, a linen closet, and leads to the two-car garage, which measures 20-by-20.

The house has an almost identical layout upstairs and downstairs with the bedrooms and bathrooms, and the bedrooms throughout the space are colorful. Like Rainbow Brite colorful. I’m sure this works for the current owner, but I’m a little surprised they did not repaint in more neutral tones to sell—it appeals to specific tastes, and could be a deterrent to prospective buyers. But in our hot market, and in a house with this much to offer for under $300K, maybe not.

The downstairs master is painted bright blue and measures 15-by-12, with views of the backyard and pool through French doors. The master ensuite bath has a large frameless glass shower with new gray glass tile, two sinks on separate vanities, slate tile, a linen closet, and a medicine cabinet. It has pocket doors that allow part of it to be closed off and accessible to guests—it’s like a Jack-and-Jill layout, but not exactly. Whatever you want to call it, the updates are gorgeous.

Second downstairs bedroom is the smallest of the four, 11-by-nine, and is a bright yellow color.

Upstairs bedrooms share a hallway full bath with built-in cabinets, dual sinks, granite counters, a linen closet, and medicine cabinet. Again, it’s sort of a Jack-and-Jill bathroom, with pocket door to keep the shower and sink area separate from the other sink and toilet. As with downstairs, the updates to the bathroom look marvelous.

The backyard looks like a fun place for parties and family activities. There are cool pool views from inside and a flagstone path leads to the pool and a multi-level wood deck, as well as mature trees and grassy areas for play. The back also has a wide dog run that runs the full length of the yard.

Caskey said there has been an enormous response to the house so far: 18 sets of people came to a two-hour open house Sunday, and he has scheduled another for this Sunday from 2-4 p.m.  I don’t expect this property to stay on the market long with such a great overall look and feel, a backyard pool, and updated bathrooms. What do you think?