This East Kessler Rambling Ranch Is a Hillside Haven

Sometimes you can look at a house and just know interesting people have lived there. When I spotted this flawlessly updated rambling ranch in East Kessler, I dove straight into research mode, digging into The Dallas Morning News archives and making a flurry of phone calls!

And what treasure trove of information I found!

This East Kessler home was originally small and intimate when it was built in 1949. Although it has retained the intimacy, it was beautifully expanded in 2005 by Bernbaum Magadini Architects for one of Dallas’ most well-known purveyors of antiques, Nick Brock.

“The house reflected quite a bit of Nick’s personality,” Bruce Bernbaum, principal at Bernbaum Magadini, said. “It was a complicated project because of the hillside location, but we were very happy with how the structure fits on the property and the tremendous views towards downtown. It’s has a treehouse effect and is such an active property, alive with vegetation and birds. It was wonderful to be able to provide that connection to nature with the outdoor terrace.”

Carolyn Isler of Isler Homes worked with Bernbaum Magadini to remodel and add on to this rambling ranch. She gave me all the inside skinny on what is now a 2,861-square-foot home with two bedrooms, two bathrooms, and a powder bath!

“It was a substantial project,” Isler said. “The original house was essentially a small ranch. You walked straight into the living room, so Bruce designed a foyer. We added a principal suite and a new garage with the kitchen above it. The inspiration for the kitchen was to have it look original to the house and as if it were a screened porch that had been enclosed to create a kitchen. Nick wanted the kitchen to perform along the lines of a commercial kitchen, so there is a defined baking area, cooking area, and a commercial clean-up area.”

“I love how this house nestles into the landscape,” Brock said. “I’m from the mountains in Georgia, and I wanted something hilly. When I moved in, I thought for years about what to do. I would even get out a ladder, climb up, and look at the view to figure out what I wanted.”

Brock has a master’s degree in fine art and an undergraduate degree in sculpture and printmaking. Believe it or not, he also went to trade school to learn how to lay brick, so Bernbaum and Isler were not dealing with a typical homeowner. Brock knew exactly what he wanted, down to how the brick was laid, of course!  

“It’s an interesting house with a lot of character, and it attracts homeowners looking for something different,” Isler said.

That seems to have always been true. My dive into the archives found a member of the HEB grocery store family who had lived here, and Norma Beasley, one of the most remarkable women of her time.

While living in this house in 1952, Beasley received her law degree at 21. To say she was a pioneer for what women can accomplish is putting it mildly. She was an absolute maverick.

By 40, Beasley was a millionaire driving a Rolls Royce. Seven years later, she owned one of the largest title companies in Texas, appeared on the Today Show as one of the outstanding businesswomen in America, and won every business award and honor you can imagine.

“The house attracts homeowners looking for something different,” Isler said. If history continues to prove right, that’s exactly who will call this rambling ranch home next!

Update: Forrest Gregg with Compass now has this unique historic home at 1450 Junior Drive listed for $995,000. It was previously listed at $1.075 million.