Traditional Lake Highlands Home Gets Modern Farmhouse Redo

We pride ourselves on finding the cutest remodels, the hottest new construction, the sexiest staging in North Texas. But we apparently missed this transformed Modern Farmhouse in Lake Highlands recently.

Compass Realtor Svetlana Grujic threw down the gauntlet in our Realtor-friendly Facebook group, Getting the Dirt.

“Cannot believe that CandysDirt.com did not “get the dirt” on this remodel:),” she said. So we asked her to tell us all about it.

Turns out, we’ve seen Grujic’s work before. Remember last May, when we talked about another Lake Highlands home on McCree Road that got a sleek update? That was, she said, the start of her showcasing her abilities to help investors make the most of the properties they intend to flip.

“It all started with a flipper that tried to remodel 11029 McCree Road and 2617 Beechmont Dr.,” she said, adding that the homes needed a little help after sitting on the market for a while. “So I was called to the rescue.”

“I took over, did a small remodel, and some staging,” she continued. “McCree was sold for 25 percent more than asking, and Beechmont for 30 percent — the buyers for Beechmont were so in love with it, they purchased all the staging.”

That success got her a seller for life, it seems, since the investor reciprocated by putting even more faith in Grujic.

“The investor was so happy with me that he gave me total freedom to find two more properties,” she said. She fell in love with this completed project at 9538 Estate Lane, and is due to finish another on Grenadier Court in days.

“Estate was my first, from the studs, remodel design,” she said. “And it was totally a passion investment project for me — we had an executed offer after only two showings.”

It stands to reason that anytime you take a home down to the studs, you’re in it for the long haul.

But what is even more interesting is that some investors might not have gone that far. As you can see from the before pictures in the original listing, the home had already had some updates, but other places definitely needed some new life.

Some investors could have chosen to only update the rooms that didn’t get a recent reboot — but Grujic said she had a vision.

“The previous owners were in this home for 45 years, and when I first saw it I fell in love with its character,” she said, adding that when she began envisioning the remodel, she knew exactly where to take it.

“The Modern Farmhouse style was just a perfect vision,” she said. “I wanted to design a perfect family home, where parents can entertain and kids can have a secret hideaway.”

Did you catch the words “secret hideaway?”

“The home is 3,700 square feet, with an extra 600 square feet of attic space on the third floor,” Grujic explained. “The general contractor wanted to use the attic for storage space, but I loved the idea of a secret door that will lead from the kid’s bedroom to an attic — every kid’s dream!”

But rest assured, there is plenty to please the grownups, too.

“I made sure that every detail in the house — from designer light fixtures, brass cabinet pulls and knobs, to the stunning sage kitchen color that went perfectly with the quartz from Italy,” she said. She even made sure that the Nest thermostats were all in brass, to keep with the cabinet hardware and other fixtures.

And can we talk more about that kitchen? In addition to just being plain pretty, it’s also boasting a top-of-the-line Viking appliance package, meaning that any chef would be happy to whip up anything from the gourmet to the Kraft blue box mac and cheese. 

Grujic said the old dining room became repurposed for a new office, and two new bathrooms were added, bringing the total bedroom/bathroom count up to four bedrooms, four bathrooms.

“One of them has direct access from the pool and laundry room,” she added.

Also downstairs is two full living areas that are open from either side of the kitchen, and a master suite — the remaining three bedrooms are on the second floor.

The master suite is spacious, and is truly a retreat, since it includes an office, a large walk-in closet, access to the pool through private french doors, and a stunning en-suite with a soaking tub and huge shower, plus plenty of vanity space.

Outside, Grujic said she took advantage of what was already there — namely, a large pool — and added a few touches to make it another entertaining space.

“I loved that the pool is 25 by 35, and that we had a huge lot with a huge tree — it just needed a deck, grill, and some dreamy lights to make it magical,” she said.

And clearly, Grujic has found a winning formula. The home was snapped up by a family quickly (it was listed for $935,000).

“Nothing makes me happier than watching the little girls in this family, playing in a secret playroom, and asking when they can move in,” Grujic said. “It’s exactly how I envisioned it.”