The Most Requested Home Features According to Hawkins-Welwood’s John Hawkins

Hawkins-Welwood is more than a prolific Dallas home builder. Celebrating 60 years in operation this year, they’re a de facto repository of the city’s residential past, possessing in-depth knowledge of housing trends simply because they’ve built out many of them.

Their trailblazing The Lawn at Glen Abbey, located just east of Glen Abbey, is a perfect example. Hawkins-Welwood designed this luxury community especially for one of Dallas’ largest cohorts of empty nesters before anyone realized they wanted or needed to right-size.

Right now the firm is deep into the construction of The Metairie, a new luxury community in Southlake. The Metairie features beautiful, timeless architecture constructed from premium materials and the latest in-home technology. The scale is smaller, making homes more manageable and the neighborhood more walkable with beautiful landscaping around the development’s common areas. It may sound like another empty-nester development, but it comes with the tremendous value of Carroll ISD schools — the elite Southlake schools that are among the highest performing in the country. The Metairie works for families as well as it does for couples.

John Hawkins has been a partner at Hawkins-Welwood for over 20 years, having worked at the firm for over 30 years altogether. CandysDirt.com asked him about Dallas’s trend toward smaller homes, and some of his favorite things about building around the Metroplex.

CandysDirt.com: What are the most requested features in homes you build in Dallas?

John Hawkins: Outdoor entertaining areas, sculleries (similar to but larger than a butler’s pantry), fancy pantries, and chic display bar areas.

Which of these requested features is surprising to you, or a change in prior home buyers’ taste?

With the back kitchens and pantries growing in size, the level of detail going into these is very fun to develop and build.

We’re noticing a trend toward smaller homes in Dallas residential real estate, at least in the downsizing market. Are you seeing this trend as well on a broader scale?

Yes. We are building 6474 Orchid which, at 6,233 square feet, is a smaller home for the Preston Hollow area. We also have the Lawn at Glen Abbey, which is a high-end luxury empty nester community. Homes there average 4,500 square feet for buyers looking to right-size their homes.

Why do you think Dallasites are looking for smaller homes, even in neighborhoods like Preston Hollow where larger homes are the norm?

Taxes, I would say, are a big driver. Dallasites are motivated to seek smaller houses if it means saving on property tax. And I think we do a great job at “thoughtful floorplanning,” eliminating unused space and right-sizing the homes.

What’s your favorite part of Dallas to work in, and why?

We love building in all of Dallas. One fun area we are building in right now is Greenway Parks. There is a lot of history as well as creative design in this area.

What’s the most valuable lesson you’ve learned in your home building career?

Never quit serving the customer.