A Parisian Townhome With No HOA’s, Wine Cellar, Conservatory, Multiple Balconies, Stupendous 3 Car Garage & Elevator in the HEART of Uptown

It was a very different climate last week when Hanne Sagalowsky and I tootled around in this 4556 square foot beauty in the heart of Uptown: 70 degrees and the sun was shining! It is probably one of the most unique properties in the area, and a downsizing Park Cities/Preston Hollow/Plano (The Three P’s) family would feel more than at home here. I mean, it’s an estate without the pesky property. 2806 Thomas Avenue is really, truly a home with all the bells and whistles we Baby Boomers want and are not willing to part with.

For example, there is a large dining room. All this talk we hear of the formal dining room going away — I used mine four times this holiday season and loved it. You? I put my grand-daughter’s Stokke tripp high chair up to the table, gave her a gold spoon, and the heirloom mini-wine glasses my mother gave us. (Filled with water, of course.) A large dining room is just a necessity when you have family holiday dinners or entertain! That’s why I don’t buy this “get rid of the dining room” business — that’s fine for the ranch or second home, but not the main home.

And if you want to be space resourceful, line the walls with bookshelves and make it double as a library, a la Robert Edsel.

2806 Thomas Avenue takes it a few hundred steps further: there is a 5,000 bottle capacity wine cellar right off the dining room that is a temp-controlled walk-in and large enough for seating!

Come to think of it, that might have been a great “safe room” for Saturday’s tornadoes!

Yes, this is a town home. But it’s not just “wired” for an elevator, the darn thing is already there, taking you up from the first floor to the third AND when you pack your bags to leave put those pups in the elevator and send them down to the driver — no more killed your back bumbling down the stairs with luggage.

Walk into the first floor, ground floor. This is the front door foyer entrance, and the front door has a charming iron gate protecting a little porch our dog would love to sit on and watch everyone go by. Because this is Uptown, and everyone is out walking! This floor has a small living room, the aforementioned foyer, a bedroom with full bath and an attached office. The owners have smartly added a Murphy bed in here for another guest room. There is a charming courtyard where we soaked up sun. This floor has that attached full bath (attached to the bedroom) AND a powder room for when you come in from the garage!

About that garage, Mama mia! I have seldom seen such nice garages in zero lot line homes even in Plano! It is a spotless three car with FULL COUNTER SPACE AND A SINK . There are huge storage closets. Let me say this, unless you are a complete hoarder you would no longer need that off-site storage place for Christmas decor. Load it up in the elevator and decorate, or load it back down to the garage.

The staircase or elevator takes you to the second floor, home of the formal living room, the kitchen with bells and whistles, and the formal dining room. Yes, there is a breakfast bar in the kitchen. Also enough room for a cozy table. Don’t forget the wine cellar off the dining with room for more casual dining, like super casual after a couple of bottles! There are two roomy balconies, including one off the stately dining room.

Take the secondary staircase, front staircase or the elevator to the third floor with the master, two bedrooms, Jack and Jill bath, and a little library/study nook in the hall by the front staircase.

Let me tell you about the master bedroom: it is huge, has a fireplace, the balcony off of it has been enclosed as a conservatory with electrical and water for plants, and the master bath has a sunken jacuzzi jetted tub for two. Maybe three. (Oh!) The shower is oversized and across from the tub in case you want to water-hop for some reason. There are dual vanities and a huge walk-in closet. There is an extra closet off the master too. Down the hall is the laundry room with counter and storage space galore and a sink, the two other bedrooms, and that quaint hallway that for some reason reminded me of my grandmothers’ house.

This home was custom built in 1998, and is an excellent example of what happens when you build thoughtfully with an eye to design and amenities any year, any age. There is not inch of skimp in this house, and it shows. Looks as new as it did in 1999. It basically simulates a French estate on a zero lot line with just enough dirt for some gardens. In fact, the owner is a gourmet cook who utilizes the figs from the mature fig tree by the back door. I really like that you pull into a regular three car garage, not a basement somewhere, and share nothing more than one wall with neighbors. No HOAs, no committees, no rules! The interiors are light and bright for a townhome, you have outside spaces for when it gets warm again, and a charming street right in front of you with more foot traffic than cars. It is truly a Pariasian townhome in the heart of Dallas… listed with Ebby’s Hanne Sagalowsky for $1,495,000.