Will This Upcycled Kings Highway Craftsman Have us Taking Flamenco Classes?

Sometimes you see a home and you just know there’s a cool story behind it. This Kings Highway Craftsman piqued my curiosity, so I started digging for dirt.

The best part of any house-hunting story is finding the folks responsible for the transformation — or the upcycle, in this case. What a great word to use instead of flip because flip has become almost a pejorative term. 

In the historic preservation world, there is no higher calling than saving a building or a house from demolition. When you see the potential in a home everyone else believes to be a lost cause, in my book, you’re a genius. So, when I found out there is an actual company called Upcycle Design that took this Kings Highway Craftsman from despair to darling, I couldn’t wait to find out more.

Upcycle Design Raises The Bar on Flips

In 2016, as you can see in the photo, this Kings Highway Craftsman was in dire shape. That’s the sort of shape that gets Charles Johnson and Julia Alcantara’s hearts beating faster and creative brains working overtime. The couple started rescuing homes and a lot more in 2013. 

“We try to find the worst house on the block and transform it into one of the best on the block,” Johnson said. 

Johnson discovered his construction talents on the job. His first project was a bar on Greenville Avenue, and he simply figured it out. Johnson didn’t realize until several months later he’d actually met his future wife there. 

Alcantara fell naturally into design. Her mom was an award-winning pool designer, so creativity is in her DNA. With a degree in Fine Arts and as a veteran flea market shopper, being involved in upcycling was a given.

Fast-forward and the couple are now old hands at taking the discarded and making it delightful. Whether repurposing a roadside find or reconstructing a 1925 Kings Highway Craftsman residence, they thrive on creative problem-solving and transformation.

Kings Highway Craftsman Goes From Dismal to Darling

When they purchased this home, it had been chopped up, added on to, and, of course, the foundation was dismal. They removed walls and connected rooms to get an open floor plan and redid everything from the foundation to the plumbing, electricity, and HVAC. And they did something pretty unusual.

When they vaulted the ceiling, they decided to leave the loft space. They used airline cable for railing, then researched ship ladders and made one to go to the loft. 

“It’s not flimsy and not as bulky as a spiral staircase,” Alcantara said. And yes, it’s safe!

This Kings Highway Craftsman is truly now the best house on the block. It now has 1,713 square feet, three bedrooms, and three bathrooms, one of which includes the original clawfoot tub.

The heavily treed double lot has a workshop and concrete deck, and the location could not be better. It’s just across from Kidd Springs Park and the swimming pool, and of course, Kings Highway is a conservation district, which increases the desirability and appreciation of any property.

Catch Julia Alcantara’s Flamenco Fever

So, how about that flamenco connection I mentioned in the headline?

This team is not only turning heads in the historic preservation community, but they are also turning heads and heels in the dance community. They started Flamenco Fever, a nonprofit branch of Alcantara Arts and Entertainment.  If you’ve attended the Oak Cliff Flamenco Festival, well that’s their project as well.

And yes Realtor Janelle Alcantara is Julia’s sister. See, I told you the story just got better and better!

Listed at $615,000, I’d like to tell you that Dave Perry-Miller InTown listing agent Jason Saucedo still has 924 Canty St. available, but as of Thursday, it is contingent.

Again and again, my advice is to have Realtors in the part of town you are interested in on speed dial. This one lasted less than a week.

But now we all know where to take flamenco lessons! Olé!