A ’70s Modern in North Dallas Gets a New Life From Kettering Ideas

I love a great rescue story, and this ’70s modern is the ultimate save.

Remember 1976? So many great things happened in our Bicentennial year. Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak created Apple, and the first passenger Concord flight took off from London. We listened to Elton John, Queen, ABBA, and The Jackson Five, watched “All in the Family,” “The Six Million Dollar Man,” and “Little House on the Prairie.”

We also made an average of $16,000 per year and paid about $43,400 for a brand new home. But remember, gas was 59 cents a gallon, and you could buy a car for $3,000.

An Architect on Top

Dallas architect Mark Shekter was at the top of his game in 1976 when he designed this ’70s modern. The ultimate in cutting-edge living, it had great architectural lines, tall ceilings, a-floor-to-ceiling fireplace wall, and a pool. It was 3,903 square feet of cool and you could easily see yourself in flowy calico Gunne Sax dress sipping a Harvey Wallbanger by the pool.

Set at Hillcrest and Royal Lane, the home is situated in an interesting neighborhood of cul-de-sacs all on nicely sized lots. When one of these cool ’70s modern homes goes on the market, it’s exciting. When one has been completely updated by Steve Kettering of Kettering Ideas, it’s even more exciting!

Kettering and his daughter, Neysa Font, had been eyeing this one since the fall of 2019. Then the tornado hit.

A Diamond in The Very, Very Rough

“The house across the street lost all their shingles, and they all blew into this house,” Kettering said. “Turtles and other wildlife were living in the pool, and trees had been growing into it for years. The concrete decking was damaged. It was pretty ugly at first glance.”

Kettering could only gain access through the garage and had to clear trees to see the facade. But, buried under all the debris was a good structure with high ceilings, four well-placed bedrooms, three bathrooms, and a powder bath. They’d found a gem.

The ’70s modern had a sunken living room that Kettering filled. An enormous 15-foot-wide fireplace wall divided the formal dining from the living area. Although it was incredibly edgy at the time, it closed off the house, which is not the way people like to live today. Although demolishing the original fireplace was a tough call, it was critical to the remodel’s success.

“When you step inside the front door, I want you to be able to see a large part of the house,” Kettering said. “So I rebuilt a smaller version of the fireplace with a direct vent. It does the same job of dividing space, but not in an invasive manner. The fireplace sets up the initial impression.”

Now you can see straight to the pool when you enter the home, and it’s quite the wow factor.

Kettering also opened the existing family room to the kitchen, which dramatically changed the area. The kitchen was completely transformed with custom natural white oak kitchen cabinets. Note the grain of the wood is continuous from top to bottom. That’s exceptional attention to detail. Detail is something Kettering and Font are passionate about.

“When we installed the vent hood and shelving around it. We wanted a continual horizontal line to go across the wall,” Kettering said. They cleverly added wood trim to the vent hood that matched the shelving.

Font found handmade Italian tile for the backsplash. It has a texture that you cannot get from manufactured tile and is one of the many subtle characteristics you find throughout a Kettering design.

Staging is The Icing on The Cake

Kettering is a big believer in staging. He works with Karen and Eddie Otto, of Home Star Staging, to add the right vision of modern livability to his designs. The Otto’s chose low-profile furnishings to ensure the views to the pool remained the focal point.

“Steve and Neysa make it easy for us,” Karen said. “He’s meticulous about his projects. We just add the icing to his cake!”

“We saved the pool’s shape, but had to rebuild one whole side,” Kettering said. “We salvaged the pool because we thought it was important to retain the architectural features, and the shape of the pool was one of them. I added a waterfall feature and decking to take care of drainage and keep the house’s’70s look. The house has such personality. I’d hope the architect would think we honored his work.”

I think that’s a given. This ’70s modern is indeed the ultimate save and Shekter would be pleased.

Neysa Font is also a Realtor and has 10807 Branch Oaks Circle listed for $1.35 million.