Vickery Place Home Tour Features Duplex Completely Remade Into a Haven For a Family

When Jenn Dawkins first met her would-be husband, Ken, he already owned a home — two homes, if you want to get technical — in Vickery Place. It was a duplex on the neighborhood’s eponymous street, and it wasn’t without its charms. It just wasn’t really functional as a single-family home.

Ken had purchased the upstairs/downstairs duplex with a business partner in 2000, and Ken moved in upstairs. And when Ken and Jenn got married and then had a family, it was still technically a duplex, though the family occupied both upstairs and downstairs units. For seven years, it worked. Sort of.

“It wasn’t an efficient use of space,” Jenn said. But what about selling the duplex and moving? Was that an option? “We were so in love with our street. We didn’t want to leave.”

So they hired Scott Clouse of ReDo Remodeling and got to work making the duplex into a single-family home that was more efficient and better reflected the family’s style. Special kudos go to Jenn, who, though not an interior designer, did a bang-up job creating spaces that are visually pleasing.

You can get an eyeful of the Dawkins’ completely reimagined transitional duplex, plus five other great homes, from noon to 4 p.m. on Nov. 5 at the inaugural Vickery Place Home Tour. The tour is a new fundraiser for Robert E. Lee Elementary School, which serves Vickery Place. You can purchase tickets for $20 in advance ($25 the day of the tour) via the neighborhood website.

Of course, renovating an entire home all at once can be a strain on family life, which started with moving into a rental across the street when construction started in the fall of 2013. It was hard to decide to upend their lives by doing a whole-home renovation, Jenn said. “We went back and forth and then we just decided, ‘Let’s do it.’ ”

And so they did. And while Jenn is thrilled with how the home feels now, with three bedrooms and two full baths upstairs and a guest bedroom and full bath downstairs, plus a large, open kitchen and beautiful new fireplace, it wasn’t easy. First off, there was an epic winter just after they started demolition, so work was slow. But sure enough, Jenn and Ken made the home a haven for their family.

You’ll notice that there’s a lot of history wrapped into this renovation, with a large front porch to welcome visitors, plus wall boards once ensconced in layers of wallpaper and sheetrock repurposed as architectural paneling that adds a lot of warmth to the cool gray and white color scheme. You’ll find those in the living room, office, and downstairs bath.

“We had to be careful in the demolition so that we could reuse the solid wood panels,” Jenn added. The farmhouse-style dining table was hand made by a neighbor, too, and if you look closely in the entryway, you’ll spot the original platting for the neighborhood drawn out in the 1920s. It was once owned by a neighbor who moved away, and instead of taking it with them, they bestowed it on the Dawkins.

The hardwood floors, which run throughout the home, were a cool historic find. Sourced from the stocks of Old Texas Wood, the floors throughout the home have great depth and character thanks to the eclectic mix of pine and hickory. Combined with a palette that includes Sherwin Williams’ “Mindful Gray,” “Pure White,” “Intellectual Gray,” and the striking high-gloss “Anonymous” on the office built-ins, the rustic floors are a touch of well-balanced warmth.

There’s also a lovely family room upstairs that is light and bright and tucked away from the public areas of the home. It’s a place where toys don’t have to be put away immediately. A place where the family can watch cartoons on the cushy sofa on weekends as sunlight streams in through the street-facing windows. And in the cabinetry you’ll see a bit of cleverness from Dawkins, who took bolts of designer fabric and fixed them to the wall behind the shelves flanking the TV. It was a last-minute project that Dawkins checked off her list before the tour.

But that’s not all this upstairs has to show off. Besides a beautiful and cozy master suite and two clever kids rooms with connecting closets that feature “kid caves,” there’s also an office nook that is lousy with great cabinetry to satisfy your super-organized alter ego, and a laundry room that comes with its own refrigerator.

Yes. It has a refrigerator. So genius!

“When we were living in the duplex, we had a fridge upstairs,” Dawkins noted. “When we were doing design, I asked the architect, ‘Where’s the upstairs fridge?’ He said, ‘You don’t want a fridge upstairs.’ I said, ‘Oh yeah I do.'”

Dawkins had gotten accustomed to having cold beverages and snacks within reach of the upstairs family room and master bedroom. Making the trip downstairs to the kitchen for every glass of water (or wine, let’s be real here) seemed like a step backwards. So she got her upstairs fridge, which sits next to her washer and dryer, and it is glorious.

 

When the dust settled after a year of construction and the associated headaches, Dawkins got her perfect family home. But will they stay there forever?

“For today? I’ll say yes,” Dawkins shrugged.

One thing’s for sure, if Dawkins did decide to sell their beautifully remodeled Vickery Boulevard home, they’d definitely stay in the neighborhood. They love their street and their neighborhood school, Robert E. Lee Elementary, where they have a second-grader. Dedicated DISD boosters, the Dawkins’ daughter attends the acclaimed Solar Prep, too.

“The Dawkins are very active in the PTA, which supports our local school,” said Debbie Simurda, chair of the Vickery Place Home Tour. “The school facilities, programs, and quality have increased substantially since they and other concerned parents became involved.”

All the more reason to support the Robert E. Lee Elementary PTA by checking out Dawkins’ home in person. And you can get a little taste of why the Dawkins are in love with Vickery Place, too.

“We love the community and the school,” Dawkins said. “When we looked around at other schools, we saw what a gem Lee is in our neighborhood. It’s almost like a little private school with how small and community oriented it is.”