If Bonnywood, Then we Would on This Year’s Heritage Oak Cliff Home Tour

By Donovan Westover

Our last stop on the tour home express lands us in 1960 in Kiestwood Estates. 

The Kiestwood area was built between 1950 and 1965 and was originally comprised of the Kiestwood Estates and Southwood Estates subdivisions.  With over 400 homes in the Kiestwood Historical Homeowners Association boundaries, the neighborhood represents the largest intact concentration of Midcentury Ranch-styled structures in Dallas. 

Rolling hills and wooded lots attracted post-war families to some of the first homes in Dallas with primary bedrooms that included walk-in closets, vanities, and built-ins in the dressing rooms.  These features set this area’s homes apart from most of the upper-middle-class neighborhoods that predated Kiestwood.  The neighborhood asserts convenient access to the Kiestwood Trail, Oak Cliff Nature Preserve, and Kiest Park. It is a veritable garden.

Our tour house on Bonnywood Lane is, in essence, a modest home that has evolved from a minimal traditional family home to a modern showpiece.  The complete recreation of the grounds by the current homeowners provides a beautiful setting for this gem to sit in, as well as producing a most inviting welcome to the home.  Approaching the house you get a sense of the verdant oasis that it is, but that is merely the beginning of great exploration on Bonnywood Lane.

A Beauty on Bonnywood Lane

Our tour program text writer for Bonnywood Lane, architect David Droese, says:

“This home has a unique elevation change from the sidewalk to the backyard, the likes of which are typically not seen in Dallas residential design.  The entry walk is just the beginning of the multi-elevations experienced as guests move throughout the property.”

To break up the rather large climb in elevation from front to rear, the homeowners brought in tons and tons of retaining wall rock to create numerous tiers, planting beds, and reflective spaces.  This repurposing of the single giant slope that previously existed is substantiated in every nook and cranny that it created for sculptures, water features, and plantings.  And, it simply looks amazing.

The interior of the home is minimal and orderly, yet contains so many interesting artifacts that it exudes a gallery or studio quality.  Appropriately so, given that one of the homeowners is an artist.  His beautiful wrought work is featured throughout the interiors and exteriors, and the infill of other artist’s pieces, expertly selected by both homeowners, sends adrenaline through your veins. 

The abundant natural lighting emitted through a multitude of window shapes and sizes could not be any more perfect to illuminate such a remarkable collection.  The house is a great muse for creativity and the owners have been able to stretch their legs on Bonnyood Lane.

Continuing out the back of the house, the ascension through the property takes you to the rear patio, which is defined by a retaining wall to the upper deck.  Heavy landscape and the sounds of soothing fountains remain the theme as the multi-layering of the rear property reveals itself.  The amount of privacy that is maintained in both exterior and interior spaces is remarkable, considering that you are at the top of the neighborhood, and always climbing.  This privacy alleviates the necessity of draperies on the interiors as well as creating quiet and secluded Zen-like chambers that pepper the exterior.  Namaste. 

Soaring to the final tier introduces yet another world when the swimming pool and pool house disclose themselves.  This also provides an intriguing look back at your exploration path as you look down onto the many layers climbed.  This is when you realize how much the elevation has changed and how wisely the homeowners utilized the slope of the property.

At first glance, the pool house appears to be guest quarters appointed with contemporary furnishing and beautiful sculpture.  Stepping into yet another world, you then realize the rear of the pool house is the owner’s art studio and probably one of the favorite parts of this property.  It feels very immersive… imagine a sculptor’s workshop, filled with found objects and tools of the trade.

Read about our other tour homes from 1916, 1920, 1928, 1950, and 1958.  Better yet, come see them in person THIS Saturday and Sunday, October 28 and 29, rain or shine.  More information and tickets are available here.

Our Bonnywood Lane tour home is sponsored by:

O’Brien Property Group