Donald Mayes Had a Style All His Own And it Had a Name: High Ranch

In the search for a house to feature that’s actually still available by the time this runs (shout out last week when I nailed the heck out of it), I extended my search to Sherman and inadvertently did myself one big, fat favor.

As I flipped through home after home that said, “MULTIPLE OFFERS RECEIVED, BEST AND FINAL DUE SUNDAY at 8PM,” I got a little hopeless.

And then I saw it. It’s a four-bedroom, two-bathroom, wall-of-windows, low-roofline, midcentury dreamboat. 

It’s, like, way cool. I called RE/MAX’s Andrea Bedell and that’s when she clued me in. She told me this house is a Donald Mayes home and then wondered if we’d ever heard of him down in Dallas. She then went on to say he’s a bit of a treasure up there.

And he is. 

Mayes was a native of Denison, attended the University of Texas, and then went on to study under — you guessed it — Frank Lloyd Wright. After his firm education in all things modern, he headed back home and became the official go-to designer of commercial buildings, schools, and approximately 76 homes in the “Texomaland” area. 

Frank Welch called his work “High Ranch” and fellow architect, and Denisonian (*might* have made up that word), Heather McKinney said Mayes work contains, “calm exteriors, the perfect circulation, and beautifully proportioned spaces.” She went on to say that “Mayes’ houses are noted for their rangy, horizontal lines, use of natural materials, economy of means and high quality of construction.”

This little ranch is no exception. Bedell said they recently added new flooring, paint, and updated the appliances. They even opened up the kitchen a bit more though it already had a solid flow, and she said they didn’t touch the architecture because that’s the charm. 

Mayes-designed homes are highly coveted and don’t come on the market often, so this presents a golden opportunity and one that might even make you say, “Hey, I can telecommute, right?”

Bedell has 706 Westwood Drive listed for $398,000.