Vendome 1H: High-Rise Home With Its Own Terra Firma

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Sumptuous living room overlooking a private patio oasis

Me? I like the “high” in high-rise.  I suppose it’s my way of wearing high heels without the constant fear of toppling over. However, I realize some people would like the high-rise life and location without the high part.  Enter Vendome’s unit 1H, the only ground-floor unit in the building.

If this home looks familiar, that’s because it’s the featured image on the Turtle Creek  Tour of Homes web page. That tour features some wonderful properties and is the perfect Sunday event on April 8th. If you’re impatient like me, keep reading.

What was originally supposed to be a workout room on the original plans, is now a pretty terrific home … with its own back 40. The home is listed with Judy Pittman for $3.95 million, and while there isn’t really a back 40, the home has three plantable patio areas totaling about 2,000 deeded square feet.  You won’t need a tractor to harvest the crops, but you have plenty for weekend gardening.  Overall, the property is listed as having 5,540 square feet of indoor and outdoor space with the interior containing three bedrooms and four bathrooms.

I visited the home and thoroughly enjoyed the space.  It was funny, there were little red dots stuck to seemingly everything but the toilet paper.  I found out that one prospective buyer was marking out what they’d want included with the sale.  You see, this home isn’t staged, it’s full of the owner’s gorgeous décor and particularly the artist/owner’s paintings. With my “I don’t know much about art, but I know what I like” expertise, I completely understood the flurry of red dots.

In back of the Blues Brothers is the private elevator lobby. You may be wondering why a ground floor home needs an entry elevator.  Vendome’s property slopes downhill towards the lobby (and Turtle Creek) but it was excavated to the lowest point (so the floors wouldn’t slant too). By the time you walk from the street to the elevator, you’re actually a bit underground, and so the elevator to take you up a smidge to the ground floor.

Think of this as a pivot point. The left is the elevator and the right doorway leads to the office and guest bedrooms.  The large opening to the far right leads to the dining room and on to the kitchen-family room combo.  In back of the photographer is the main living room that leads to the master suite.

The living room features a recessed ceiling that adds to the feeling of space. Although your Fitbit will tell you this is hardly a small room.  It’s also well-lit.  As a corner room, there are great windows on two sides with doors leading outside. The paintings are the owner/artist’s work and yes, I’d dot-dot-dot-dot that black and white piece in the distance — it’s very mesmerizing up close. The archway in the distance leads to the master suite.

Walking down a wide, art- and window-filled corridor to the master, you arrive in the corner master bedroom with dual aspect windows.  Clearly a generously-sized space that allows an owner to wake to views out over their garden. (Yes, that’s another of the owner’s paintings).

The master bath is difficult to photograph because everything isn’t in a line. As you can see the bathtub is perpendicular to the double vanity. There’s a separate shower to the right of the tub.  The bathroom also connects to tons of closet space (where the “his” closet is happily bigger than the usual breadbox). This room also contains a secret.  There’s a semi-hidden door that leads into the kitchen-family room that’s perfect for midnight snack runs.

And here we are.  To the left of the stacked stone wall you can just make out a break in the shelving.  That’s the secret door to the master suite.  What you see here is a more casual living area where you’re steps away from the popcorn on movie nights.  Note the tons of storage along the left wall.

The view from the sofa is of the kitchen. Today’s low-slung sofas made the kitchen island the perfect location for the television without interfering with the overall effect of the space.  The black square in the column is actually a fireplace.  To the left you can see the dining room (that leads back to the entry on this circle tour).  And yes, that’s another patio to the right where you can enjoy an al fresco breakfast.

Here’s a third angle on the kitchen.  Full firepower gas range in the distance with a fridge on the right, next to some clever bar seating.  It’s clever because no inch of potential storage has gone unused.  The wall in back of the counter houses more storage (note the door handles).

Completing the circle is the generous dining room acting as bridge between the kitchen and the entry. It’s currently set for eight, but could easily accommodate more. Yes, that’s more of the owner’s artwork on the rear wall.

If you recall, I noted that off the entry there was a doorway leading back to the guest bedrooms. Passing more floor-to-ceiling storage and large laundry room, here we are. A commanding office space flanked by two bedrooms.  The one to the left is currently used as a guest room while the one to the right is the owner’s art studio.

I know, I’ve been teasing you with tales of a yard. The space above adjoins the living room and master bedroom. What’s inside the fence is yours.  But be aware, there are rules on what you can do here. The current owner was preemptively told bouncy castles were a no-no. It seemed an oddly specific request until it was disclosed the previous owner had wanted one.

Not pictured is the greenspace off the kitchen that adjoins the building’s shared library space. As with most buildings, these spaces go largely unused and so their outdoor patio can be used as an extended entertaining space by flipping open your privacy gate. The fences do double-duty by marking what’s yours but also what’s the HOA’s to landscape and maintain. That leaves you with extended green space that you’re not specifically paying to maintain. Win-win.

As I said, I’m more penthouse than pavement, but I can certainly see the appeal of this unit for those who either don’t like heights or who don’t want to completely give up puttering in a garden. Oh, and don’t come crying to me if you find yourself wanting to dot-dot-dot this home’s artwork.

 

Remember:  High-rises, HOAs and renovation are my beat. But I also appreciate modern and historical architecture balanced against the YIMBY movement.  If you’re interested in hosting a Candysdirt.com Staff Meeting event, I’m your guy. In 2016 and 2017, the National Association of Real Estate Editors has recognized my writing with two Bronze (2016, 2017) and two Silver (2016, 2017) awards.  Have a story to tell or a marriage proposal to make?  Shoot me an email [email protected].

Jon Anderson is CandysDirt.com's condo/HOA and developer columnist, but also covers second home trends on SecondShelters.com. An award-winning columnist, Jon has earned silver and bronze awards for his columns from the National Association of Real Estate Editors in both 2016, 2017 and 2018. When he isn't in Hawaii, Jon enjoys life in the sky in Dallas.

2 Comments

  1. LonestarBabs on March 20, 2018 at 9:28 pm

    I love it. A swankienda with your own green space! But Jon….you wear high heels???

    • Jon Anderson on March 21, 2018 at 12:24 am

      Nope. Too difficult to find size 14 heels. 🙂
      .
      Also, received a note from Pittman today that this great place is under contract.

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