Lakewood Home Festival: A Diamond in the Rough on the Busiest Street in Lakewood

 

Not to sound like a stalker or anything, but I’ve driven by Amy Lauten’s home just about every day since I moved to the White Rock Lake area. Chances are you have driven by, too, and perhaps, like me, you’ve wondered about that Southern Belle of a Georgian home with modern touches at 6630 Gaston Ave.

Its white facade and corner lot always looked so stately, and when it hit the market a while back I was instantly intrigued. Lucky me, the Lautens are opening their home for the Lakewood Home Festival this weekend. And lucky you, we’ll be giving away two pairs of tickets to this event later this week. Stay tuned for that!

Jump to learn more about the Lautens and what you can look forward to seeing inside their gorgeous Lakewood home.

CandysDirt.com: We love this home! Can you tell us a little about why you purchased this house? What do you love about it?

Amy Lauten:  We have a love of older homes. My husband grew up in Mobile, Ala., surrounded by antebellum homes, so with our southern backgrounds we fell in love with this stately home that just needed some love and attention.

CD: Talk to us about finish-out: What unique finishes and fixtures stand out in your home?

Lauten: We love color.  It makes us happy. So after purchasing the home we painted, wallpapered, added wonderful decorative lighting, custom window treatments, exterior awnings, and redesigned this home to fit the needs of our young active family. My favorite touches are the lavender metallic dining room ceiling, the metallic grasscloth wallpaper in the foyer, the navy blue high gloss paint in the rear vestibule, and the houndstooth wallpaper in my husband’s man cave.

CD: What are some of the unique challenges you face with this home and its location? Do you have any stories to share?

Lauten: Older homes, just like older cars, constantly need love and care.  We’ve had fun updating this house but being on a busy corner in a close-knit neighborhood like Lakewood, there are no secrets.  So every time we make a change everyone notices. The landscaping has been a huge undertaking, and all our friends and neighbors have enjoyed watching the progress. We removed most of the groundcover in the front yard only to discover an old fish pond that had become overgrown and unknown to us until we peeled back the ivy!

CD: What are your favorite rooms inside your home that you think home tour goers should pay special attention to?

Lauten: The best feature of our home are the windows.  So my three favorite rooms are the ones with the most windows — my daughter Charlotte’s room, the sunroom, and the master bedroom. Each room has loads of natural light, and with the splashes of color we have introduced the rooms, are fun and inviting.

CD: Tell me about your neighborhood. What are some of the aspects of living in your part of Lakewood that make it a great place for your family?

Lauten:  We are close to everything — our friends, our school, White Rock Lake, and Lakewood Country Club in our backyard. Downtown is only a 10 minute drive from our front door. Lakewood is such a tight-knit community full of history, but thriving with young families who appreciate the uniqueness of it. We love being a part of that synergy.

CD: Home tours are a big commitment! What made you decide to open your home for the Lakewood Home Festival?

Lauten:  First and foremost, we are so proud to live in a neighborhood with the best public schools in Dallas ISD.  This tour is essential to raising money to support those schools.  

Secondly, our home is so noticeable since it sits on the busiest street in Lakewood. It was a diamond in the rough when we found it and people thought we were crazy when we bought it. Everyone that drives by has seen the major changes we’ve made to it on the outside.  Now we’d like to share the major changes we’ve made on the inside. There is a movement in Dallas to tear down older homes and start from the ground up. We’d like to show what you can do with an historic home to make it livable in the 21st century.

CD: What are you doing to prepare for the home tour?

Lauten:  Throwing open the doors and saying “Welcome y’all!”