Check Out This Fabulous Treehouse Treat in Easton Place

Jeff Hutton was driving around East Dallas in the late 1990s and saw a turn off Easton Road. “All I could say was, “Whoa,”‘ Hutton said. He had stumbled upon one of the most unique neighborhoods in Dallas.

Easton Place is an enclave of 31 homes, most constructed in the 1970s and ’80s in the shed style. They are set into the trees and hills on a winding cul-de-sac. When the land was sold to a developer years ago, the deed restriction stated that trees were not to be removed, so clever architects designed around them.

Easton Place: A Secret Enclave of 1970s Shed-Style Homes in a Wooded Oasis

The shed style began in the 1960s. Architects Robert Venturi and Charles Moore led the movement to incorporate homes into their natural surroundings. The most famous development was Sea Ranch, north of San Francisco. Easton Place is essentially our much smaller version of Sea Ranch.
 
“The neighborhood is beautiful and like nothing I’d ever seen before,” Hutton said.

Although he was not in the market for a house at the time, he was determined to keep an eye on this private paradise. In late 2007, while scrolling through homes online, he saw this 1979 two-story shed home in Easton Place and decided to drive over and take a look. It was in a sad state. It had been vacant for some time and was in foreclosure. Hutton was undeterred. He fell in love with it.

“I saw the potential with the amazing windows, the trees, and the layout,” Hutton said.

He spent a few years working on the house and had updated and restored the living room when partner Michael Lively came onto the scene.

“He saved a lot of work for me,” Lively said. “The bathrooms and kitchen had not been touched, but we are both very handy. Jeff had redone a couple of homes before, including a true Midcentury Modern. We created a lot of things and put our vision into the house.”

“When you are inside, you’re always able to look outside here,” Hutton said. “And when you’re outside, you are surrounded by nature. The respect created here for the land is evident.”

Because the street is a circle, the majority of homes face the center, which is almost entirely wooded. This design ensures that you are not looking at your neighbors to the side, even though the homes are close together. The way they are built means you are looking out the front or into the courtyard or backyard. This layout fosters a strong sense of community, with neighbors always sitting in the front yard and chatting with each other, a rare sight in many neighborhoods.

The 2,600-square-foot California Shed has three bedrooms, two bathrooms, and the most unusual powder bath you’ve probably ever seen, as it features a basalt rock sink.

Hutton and Lively never intended to leave their Easton Place shed home, where nature is the star, but a more feasible work life means moving to Colorado.

“We’ve always said if we could take this circle up and move it with us, we would,” Lively said. “We have wonderful neighbors.”

Compass listing agent Abigail Davis has 951 Easton Place available for $915,000. Go see it today because it won’t last! An open house is set for 2 to 4 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 17.