A Midcentury Pad Featured in Architectural Digest With Access to a Private Island

Will a lover of 1960s architecture please step up and save this swinging midcentury pad? This home has only had three owners since it was built in 1966. The current family has been here since the ‘90s. You know that longevity is indicative of how well a house lives and serves its owners. Sure, it needs updates, but you will seldom find a house built so well, with this much character.

In fact, the home was so notable that in 1967, the Dallas Morning News published an extensive story about this midcentury pad, and in 1968, Architectural Digest featured it in their March issue.

It was designed and built by Dallas developer Robert Hudson, who was president of Caltex Construction Corp. Among his many developments were 24 acres between Abrams and Skillman on the south of Medallion Shopping Center and another 24 acres on Spring Valley Rd. So, you know this house is as solid as they come.

Hudson grew up in California and brought his love of wood and stone to his 5,395-square-foot, four-bedroom, five-bathroom home. The wood-beamed vaulted entry is the first indication that you are in for something special. With floor-to-ceiling panels of glass, it sets the stage for the star of the show, the vaulted, beamed, and sunken great room. A massive rock fireplace is flanked by floor-to-ceiling windows and sliding doors overlooking the huge backyard.  

The original decor was beyond comparison. The Hudsons hired Gerald Tomlin, who was one of the most respected interior designers in Dallas, a regular appraiser on The Antiques Roadshow, and the winner of more awards than I can name. (His family continues his legacy at Tomlin Antiques). 

Tomlin had all of the furnishings custom-made made and it was his idea to create floor-to-ceiling spindles on either side of the fireplace over the windows. They are no longer in place, but I’d look up the Architectural Digest article and recreate them in a heartbeat, as well as the furniture he designed. The ceiling beams in the grand family living area were originally stained dark, but lightening them pretty effortlessly took the room from a Southwestern vibe to more of a cool midcentury look.

The principal bedroom features a corner stone fireplace in a sunken conversation area with window walls opening to the patio. You will want to do an edit in this room and remove the sheet rock on the far wall as there is original brick behind it!  Discovery is half the fun of rescuing a Midcentury Modern.

One of the real deal sealers to me is the fact that this super cool home sits on almost an acre backing up to a creek with access to a private island.

“The island cannot be built on, so it’s like a nature preserve,” Briggs Freeman Sotheby’s Realtor Melinda Matise said. “The lot line goes to the far side of the creek. You could build a bridge to go across to the island.”  

There is very little that is more satisfying to someone that truly understands the midcentury era, than restoring a home to its former glory.  

Matise has this swinging midcentury pad at 10706 Royal Park Dr. available for $1.3 million. Crank up the Sinatra, and grab your martini glass and your work gloves because this is one ’60s superstar that’s worth every bit of your effort.