Set in Dallas’s historic Greenway Parks district, this new Texan family house by Smitharc Architecture + Design makes the most of spacious plots and leafy outlooks, while also creating a series of secluded, private courtyard spaces away from the road.
Greenway House: a Texan family house by Smitharc
The two-storey house is arranged around a ground floor courtyard, with a garage and ‘auto lounge’ closest to the street, set behind a bespoke sliding metal fence. Supplementing the two-car garage, this glass-walled space is effectively an art gallery for cars, with the owner’s Ferraris taking pride of place.
The entrance lobby is set back still further, adjoining a generous internal courtyard, around which the house’s primary spaces are arranged. The long garden elevation includes an open-plan kitchen, dining and family room on the ground floor, with the far corner of the house occupied by a covered external lounge.
The ground floor also houses a bedroom suite, together with a scullery and laundry area. The staircase, which overlooks the central courtyard, rises up to the first floor level, running the length of the garden façade. Up here is a substantial main bedroom suite, complete with gym, salon, private roof deck and a large walk-in wardrobe.
Two separate bedroom suites share views across the rear yard, together with a den. A study sits above the entrance hall. Set back from the main street, the house presents a mysterious, opaque grey limestone façade to the public, with the bulk of the glazing directed inward and to the rear. The massing also steps up away from the street, a nod to the original bungalow on the site.
The interior scheme was developed by Erin Sander Design, working closely with the architects. The intention was to create distinct zones within the open-plan area, using materials and furnishings to set each space apart. Sculptural elements like the kitchen counter and the elaborate upstairs salon bring bold colour to the interior, standing out against the blonde cypress siding.
Inside, there is silver oak panelling, bleached cypress wood, and polished Grassello plaster, with high-gloss lacquer elements and bronzed aluminium cabinets. White oak flooring runs throughout the ground floor. Outside, bespoke concrete pavers were used extensively to shape and direct the paths and views across the garden, emphasising the enclosed and private nature of the house.
-
Designer Marta de la Rica’s elegant Madrid studio is full of perfectly-pitched contradictionsThe studio, or ‘the laboratory’ as de la Rica and her team call it, plays with colour, texture and scale in eminently rewarding ways
-
‘Nothing just because it’s beautiful’: Performance artist Marina Abramović on turning her hand to furniture designMarina Abramović has no qualms about describing her segue into design as a ‘domestication’. But, argues the ‘grandmother of performance art’ as she unveils a collection of chairs, something doesn’t have to be provocative to be meaningful
-
A local’s guide to Los Angeles by defiant artist Fawn RogersOregon-born, LA-based artist Fawn Rogers gives us a personal tour of her adopted city as it hosts its sixth edition of Frieze
-
This Rocky Mountains house is a ski-lover's dream escapeBozeman, a Rocky Mountains house by Pearson Design Group and Frederick Tang Architecture, is a contemporary retreat that sits low in its natural, Montana setting
-
Take a deep dive into The Palm Springs School ahead of the region’s Modernism WeekNew book ‘The Palm Springs School: Desert Modernism 1934-1975’ is the ultimate guide to exploring the midcentury gems of California, during Palm Springs Modernism Week 2025 and beyond
-
A wavy roof tops this sophisticated take on a backyard cabin in CaliforniaThis Californian Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) by Spiegel Aihara Workshop (SAW), offers an aesthetic and functional answer to housing shortages and multigenerational family living
-
Palm Springs Modernism Week 2025: let the desert architecture party beginPalm Springs Modernism Week 2025 launches on 13 February, marking the popular annual desert event’s 20th anniversary, celebrated this year through more midcentury marvels than ever
-
On the shores of Discovery Bay, this wooden house is the ultimate waterside retreatDekleva Gregorič’s Discovery Bay House is a structured yet organic shelter that blends perfectly into the surrounding Pacific Northwest landscape
-
The 10 emerging American Midwest architects you need to knowWe profile 10 emerging American Midwest architects shaking up the world of architecture - in their territory, and beyond
-
A light-filled New York loft renovation magics up extra space in a deceptively sized homeThis New York loft renovation by local practice BOND is now a warm and welcoming apartment that feels more spacious than it actually is
-
Inside Bell Labs, the modernist vision behind Severance's minimalist settingWe explore the history of Bell Labs - now known as Bell Works - the modernist Eero Saarinen-designed facility in New Jersey, which inspired the dystopian minimalist setting of 'Severance'
