This Midcentury Modern Is Already Under Contract, But Let’s Ogle it Anyway

November 2, 2021 | Nikki Barringer | | Oak Cliff

OOOOOOH BOY. Look at this little freaking gem.

Set in the Oak Cliff neighborhood of Wynnewood North on a huge lot with trees and trees and then some trees, this home backs up to a greenbelt. But in the front there’s a gravel driveway that leads up to a classic, perfectly preserved, masterfully updated Midcentury Modern.

Only Two Owners

I got to talk to one of the owners, the incomparable Hal Dantzler, full-time producer at Charlie Uniform Tango, former co-owner of Hattie’s, and current tastemaker with the best rug selection on the planet.

I mean. Everything in this tasteful Midcentury Modern is perfect

Dantzler and his partner, Tony Alvarez, are only the second owners of this fantastic, amazing, can’t-say-enough-about-how-much-I-love it home. The first owner, Frank White, was an artist who designed the home for himself. The home was finished in 1956, and he lived there until 2005-ish when Dantzler and Alvarez moved in.

This Midcentury Modern benefited from tasteful updates, but much of the home is original.

Tasteful Restraint

They did some light redesign and updating. Here’s where you’ll fall in love with them even more, if you haven’t already, (based solely on their taste, though I can also personally attest they’re solid humans, too). They 1,000 percent kept the integrity of the home.

They removed only one wall to open up the entryway. (There was a wall leading into the step-down main living and kitchen.) The current dining room used to be a den and the massive primary bathroom used to be a fourth bedroom.

Dantzler said one of the design features he’s most proud of is a subtle one.

In the guest bathroom, on your way out there’s floor to ceiling shelving, but it’s only the depth of a toilet paper roll. Why? Dantzler said he loves storage but can’t handle finding cough drops from 1982 shoved in the way back of a too-deep cabinet.

The brains to match the beauty.

When they redid the primary bathroom, they left all the windows intact. Basically, the whole back of the house is one big wall of windows. Dantzler said they face the north so it’s gloriously diffused light, which falls in line with what artists love — indirect light.

In the secondary bathroom they initially used marble and Dantzler said it just wasn’t working. They went back in with porcelain tile that looks almost identical but is way more functional, easier to clean, etc.

Throughout the house, there’s a lot of stained birch to create walls of wood. In the guest bedroom and the hallway, they created real wood doors that are flush with the wall to mirror that same look.