For Soirees to Swoon Over, This Southern French Renaissance Estate in Preston Hollow is Best in Class

Dallas has a few streets that speak for themselves. This grand estate is located in Preston Hollow on one of my favorite streets — Deloache Avenue.

I remember my introduction to this street. It was during my early years in Dallas as a photo stylist. An overly creative art director at Neiman’s looked at me one day and said, “We have to sell some red Christmas trash bags. Go find me a French chateau.” And, of course, I did. My scouting endeavors took me to the obvious neighborhood, Preston Hollow.

I ended up on Deloache Avenue, and yes, I found a picture-perfect chateau. The Neimans Christmas catalog that year included a model dressed as a butler holding that infamous red trash bag emblazoned with the Neiman Marcus logo. The owners of that chateau also made a ton of money off of it, as it became a hot location for photographers.

But I digress.

The bottom line is that Deloache Avenue is one dreamy street, with homes that look as if they belong in Europe. It attracts the movers and shakers of Dallas such as Mark Cuban, who is close enough to borrow the proverbial cup of sugar from. Former senator John Carona lives on this street, and Lisa Blue Baron had a $37.5 million, 8.98-acre estate here for years.

A French-Inspired Classic

And of all the French-inspired architecture (and there is quite a bit), this particular home is definitely the best Southern French Renaissance estate in Dallas. Frankly, it’s probably the best in the state.

Today’s home is definitely one of those dreamy homes on Deloache. Lloyd Lumpkins designed this Southern French Renaissance Estate when he was at Fusch Serold and Partners. 

“Originally, it was designed to be stone with a tile roof and have a more informal Tuscan attitude,” Lumpkins said. “The client purchased the home during construction and decided on a flat tile roof and a carved limestone facade. It turned the Italian Renaissance design into a Southern French Renaissance style.”

That’s the beauty of purchasing a home during the construction phase. You can fine-tune it to your taste!  

“Randy Hughes was the builder, and he was very attentive to creating authentic architecture,” Lumpkins said. “He paid a lot of attention to the proper massing and scale and its relation to the street. It was a lot of fun working on this home.” 

A Classic Estate

This Southern French Renaissance estate sits on 1.4 acres and has 13,092-square-feet with seven bedrooms, eight bathrooms, a powder bath, and a two-story guest house the size of most of our homes.

“We designed it with a central gallery that divides the formal areas in the front from the informal rooms in the rear,” Lumpkins said. “It’s one of the few houses where we really tried to split up the principal bathroom into separate areas.”

One of the many great things about this Southern French Renaissance estate is that it has had only one owner. That always tells the tale of how livable a home is and how much owners have loved it. 

Expect Expert Entertaining

Of course, homes like this are perfect for entertaining.

Deloache Avenue has seen masses of dignitaries in and out of these homes for decades, but look at the backyard — it’s also a terrific family home.

The sellers raised six children here, and that yard is a fantasy land with a climate-controlled playhouse and a treehouse. It’s simply enchanting.

“You know, homes rarely come up for sale here,” Allie Beth Allman listing agent Cindy Stager said. “This is such a unique home in a gorgeous setting. We’ve had so much interest, especially from California.”

Stager has 5210 Deloache Avenue listed for $ 8.75 million. We know these estate homes are selling like hotcakes when you can find them, and they are getting harder and harder to find, so I’d advise not waiting another moment. This is a spectacular find.