Texan family house foregrounds sports cars, secret spaces and fantastic finishes
Smitharc has shaped a formidable Texan family house in suburban Dallas, using courtyards and setbacks to create a series of intimate spaces within a substantial plot
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.
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
Jonathan Bell has written for Wallpaper* magazine since 1999, covering everything from architecture and transport design to books, tech and graphic design. He is now the magazine’s Transport and Technology Editor. Jonathan has written and edited 15 books, including Concept Car Design, 21st Century House, and The New Modern House. He is also the host of Wallpaper’s first podcast.
-
This year's best luxury Christmas hampers for festive celebrations
The best Christmas hampers are a classic gift for a reason: everyone loves receiving a basket of beautifully curated pantry fillers just in time for the festivities. Here are our top picks for 2024
By Rosie Conroy Published
-
17 questions for Michael Kiwanuka
As he prepares to release his fourth album 'Small Changes', we ask Michael Kiwanuka some of life's important questions
By Charlotte Gunn Published
-
Inside ‘M&OTHERS’, the experimental exhibition dissecting the relationship between fashion and motherhood
A new exhibition at Modemuseum Hasselt, Belgium explores the rarely examined link between fashion and motherhood, in all its forms
By Dal Chodha Published
-
A new Texas house transforms a sloping plot into a multi-layered family home
The Griggs Residence is a Texas house that shields its interior world and spacious terraces with a stone and steel façade
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
Light, nature and modernist architecture: welcome to the reimagined Longwood Gardens
Longwood Gardens and its modernist Roberto Burle Marx-designed greenhouse get a makeover by Weiss/Manfredi and Reed Hildebrand in the US
By Ian Volner Published
-
A bridge in Buffalo heralds a new era for the city's LaSalle Park
A new Buffalo bridge offers pedestrian access over busy traffic for the local community, courtesy of schlaich bergermann partner
By Amy Serafin Published
-
Tour this Bel Vista house by Albert Frey, restored to its former glory in Palm Springs
An Albert Frey Bel Vista house has been restored and praised for its revival - just in time for the 2025 Palm Springs Modernism Week Preview
By Hadani Ditmars Published
-
First look: step inside 144 Vanderbilt, Tankhouse and SO-IL’s new Brooklyn project
The first finished duplex inside Tankhouse and SO-IL’s 144 Vanderbilt in Fort Greene is a hyper-local design gallery curated by Brooklyn studio General Assembly
By Léa Teuscher Published
-
Tour Ray's Seagram Building HQ, an ode to art and modernism in New York City
Real estate venture Ray’s Seagram Building HQ in New York is a homage to corporate modernism
By Diana Budds Published
-
Populus by Studio Gang, the ‘first carbon positive hotel in the US’ takes root in Denver
Populus by Studio Gang opens in Denver, offering a hotel with a distinctive, organic façade and strong sustainability credentials
By Siska Lyssens Published
-
This Californian home offers the unexpected through ‘deconstructed’ desert living
Gardens & Villas, a home in La Quinta, California, brings contemporary luxury to its desert setting through a collaboration between architects Andrew McClure and Christopher McLean
By Ellie Stathaki Published