Lakewood Heights Modern is a ‘Big Wabi-Sabi Texas Welcome’ on The White Rock Home Tour
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The landscape and hardscape leading up to 6325 Vanderbilt Ave. in Dallas hints at what’s inside the modern home of Taylor and Nick Thurmond, one of five fabulous homes on the 15th annual White Rock Home Tour.
Their Lakewood Heights residence in East Dallas stands out in a neighborhood of architecturally eclectic homes. One of the reasons is it’s relatively new with clean edges, free-form landscaping, and artistic touches.
“We won’t build something basic and normal,” said Taylor with a characteristic smile, referring not only to her family home but the homes she and her husband built in Dallas. “We love different.”
Unique Architecture on The White Rock Home Tour
The Thurmond home, which will be part of the 15th annual White Rock Home Tour, is no cookie-cutter house. Finished in 2021, the home was built around 100-year-old trees where a previous house the Thurmonds said was “past saving” once stood.
Flagstone, what Nick referred to as “Oklahoma Brown” was chosen — in part for its reference to where the couple met at the University of Oklahoma — to create a wide, flat entrance that can double as parking or an outdoor patio.
The plantings Taylor chose for particular reasons. All perennial, plants were selected because they’re native to Texas, adapted to Texas, or especially fragrant. Grasses, sage, rosemary, and Japanese maples adorn the front of the home.
“I’m kind of picky,” Taylor said. “The grasses soften the hard lines of the architecture. I don’t like anything normal.”
A few steps lead to a concrete porch with specifically placed circles that draw to the front door, hidden from the street.
“It’s trying to bring the natural into the inside,” said Nick. “In leading your up to the front door, you have this experience of transitioning from outside to inside.”
Blurring the lines between inside and outside was one of the couple’s goals. Light floods in from 10-foot windows throughout the house with its four bedrooms, five full bathrooms, and two half baths. Oversized sliding-glass doors separate the dining area from the backyard, making indoor-outdoor living easy.
“Why have a wall, when you can have a window?” quipped Taylor.
An Asian aesthetic saturates the house, punctuated by the Noguchi light hanging from the living room ceiling. Circles continue, too, from the concrete balls in the fireplace to the sphere-shaped pillows on the sofa to the circular marble cocktail table.
“It’s my big wabi-sabi Texas welcome,” she said.
Concrete floors are underfoot, and white oak cabinets and closets provide ample storage throughout. Many of the walls are hand-troweled waterproof plaster. Vertical design dominates with tile and wood laid in direct opposition to the norm.
“We sometimes say we like warm modern,” said Nick.
A Perfectly Imperfect House And Family
Neutrals reign except in the children’s wing where the personalities of Oliver, 12, and Eleanor, 10, dictate their rooms. Shelves display Oliver’s Lego creations and his shower lights in different colors. Eleanor chose lavender walls, iridescent bathroom tiles, and a confetti-colored area rug, the family’s three-legged dog’s favorite place to lie.
“She’s like our house,” Taylor said of the dog, Penny. “Things aren’t perfect.”
The home lends itself easily to entertaining. A baby grand, rescued from an abandoned country club, sits in the corner where neighborhood kids are invited to play. An outdoor kitchen sits ready for use in good weather. The upstairs game room has welcomed birthday parties with its big-screen, arcade, ping pong table and an always-ready Monopoly game.
Thoughtful Partnership With Far + Dang
The Thurmonds built their home with architect Bang Dang with the firm Far + Dang. They sing his praises.
“He’s so thoughtful, and he honors the neighborhood and gets you what you want, within your budget,” Taylor said.
The most important aspect of the Thurmond home is the neighborhood. Their Vanderbilt Avenue home is their third in this Lakewood Heights. Halloweens, snow days, and birthday parties with their friends are more important to them than brick, mortar, and concrete.
“It’s all about the neighbors,” Taylor said. East Dallas is where the Thurmonds thrive.
“We love it,” she mused. “You’re kind of free to be whoever you are here. I think the people are welcoming, free, and easygoing.”
CandysDirt.com is a proud media sponsor of the 15th annual White Rock Home Tour benefiting Hexter Elementary from noon to 5 p.m. April 22-23. Tickets are on sale now for $25. See the Thurmond family’s “big wabi-sabi Texas welcome” and four other fabulous properties by purchasing a ticket here.
