It’s the time of year when we look back on our accomplishments and discoveries for 2016. This Thursday Three Hundred, published March 17, was a favorite of both readers and the author! Enjoy this flashback.
Our Thursday Three Hundred is the home of entrepreneur Rachel O’Connor and her young family. O’Connor is the founder and owner of Party Made Pretty, and she creates all kinds of paper decorations, garlands, and banners.
Rachel O’Connor and family hate to leave their Casa Linda cottage, but her home-based business is booming and she needs a big studio
Party Made Pretty booming—she’s now filling more than 400 orders a month and her home-based business is busting at the seams. So she, her husband, 18-month-old daughter, and adorable, chubby dog need to move somewhere with a larger dedicated studio space.
Which brings us to their awesome house at 2421 Springhill Dr. near Ferguson Road and Lakeland Drive in East Dallas’ Casa Linda Forest. It would be hard to leave this place, a 3-2 with 2,220 square feet—large for the neighborhood, up on a hill with mature trees and a cute cottage feel.
O’Connor has worked magic with the interior—this is a 1959 home that has vintage charm, but feels modern and livable. The open floorplan makes the front rooms flow into one enormous, welcoming space.
“We changed almost every room in the house in one way or another— the way it was originally set up, we could see the potential for entertaining, but had a tiny galley kitchen,” O’Connor said. “We gutted the kitchen and opened it up and made it one big entertaining area. [Our renos were] centered around common living spaces.”
The backyard is big with a nice patio off the kitchen with a hot tub, and previous owners converted the garage into a bonus room. (This could be a negative for people who want a garage, but it sure makes for more space!)
It was listed March 7 by Kevin Caskey with Dallas City Center Realtors $348,500.
Alger Park in an East Dallas neighborhood you don’t want to overlook. Heavily treed lots, Midcentury cottages, a sense of community pride, affordable price tags, and close proximity to all of the area’s charms are just some of the reasons houses in this area tend to fly off the market.
