BEFORE AND AFTER: In Fort Worth’s Park Hill, A Vintage Home Gets Great Updates

Because we have written about a great many homes in our almost 10 years here at CandysDirt.com, we sometimes get to see a property twice. When a home changes hands, a buyer may choose to personalize the property in a great many ways, updating paint and fixtures, and even remodeling a few rooms. Sometimes, though, the whole home gets a very satisfying aesthetic update. That’s the situation we have today with this Near Southside home.

Our own Eric Prokesh wrote about this beautiful Spanish-inspired eclectic designed by the Austrian architect Joseph Pelich and built in 1929.

I’ve waxed lyrical about Park Hill before, one of our favorite Near Southside neighborhoods, with its unique 20s-era houses and bluff-top views. Even a cursory inspection, reveals why Winton Terrace is a winner. It was designed by the adroit and fabled Fort Worth  architect Joseph Pelich, who executed plans for many  bespoke residences in Fort Worth’s sexier neighborhoods, as well as high-profile public commissions like Casa Mañana — originally conceived as an open, circular, outdoor dinner theater for Billy Rose’s Fort Worth Frontier Fiesta in 1936.

That’s not all. Pelich was a regular hero according to the Texas State Historical Association:

Pelich was a charter member of the Texas Society of Architects and in 1946 served as the first president of the newly formed Fort Worth Chapter of the American Institute of Architects. In 1967 he became the first architect to receive the Texas Restoration Award from the Texas State Historical Survey Committee for the restoration of the birthplace of former president Dwight D. Eisenhower at Denison. Pelich was a member of the Fort Worth Club, the Fort Worth Boat Club, and the Order of the Daedalians, a fraternal organization of World War I military pilots. 

So you can tell that this home was built by someone who knew what they were doing. The remodel, however, gives this beautiful home, complete with original hardwoods and Batchelder tile, a completely new and stunning look.

Today, the home features bright spaces, neutral paint, and updated lighting. And we’re certain that Eric will be impressed — nary a Batchelder tile was removed in this renovation!

This home has so many unique and romantic alcoves, and there are so many walls for hanging your art collection. A butler’s pantry offers tons of storage, and there’s a fabulous commercial gas range in the kitchen, which sports marble counters. A sunroom offers a spot to sit and read, but there are so many more nooks throughout this 3,634-square-foot house you may have a hard time choosing.

There are four total bedrooms, all of which are upstairs. One bedroom is being used as a living space with access to a balcony with views that stretch all the way to the Fort Worth skyline no matter the time of year.

Now, Eric was very clear about what the buyer was allowed to do with this vintage Batchelder bathroom back in March of 2018, when the home last hit the market priced at $975,000:

Please, dear buyer, leave this vintage bath intact. Feel free to plumb in a showerhead if you must, or repaint walls, or change out the vanity, as long as it doesn’t interfere with this glorious floor I suspect to be very rare Batchelder tile in its most Art Nouveau incarnation, probably worth north of $15,000. You are not allowed to touch the gorgeous, vintage, long tub either. There. You’ve been told.

Luckily, the buyer followed instructions.

This home has almost everything, including a 515-square-foot guest house with a full bath and kitchenette. This home also has a 360-square-foot basement plus a refrigerated wine cellar. There’s also a lovely greenhouse on the property, a fabulous covered patio, and a fire pit.

Carley J. Moore of LEAGUE Real Estate has listed 2200 Winton Terrace E. for $1.625 million.