Dallas producer and TV host Tommy Habeeb may be known for trashy TV, but his Italian-style farmhouse at 8211 Inwood Rd. is anything but. As Candy Evans notes, it feels centuries old, but the home, which sits on a 1.56-acre lot in Bluffview, was built in 2009.
Despite its infancy, the five-bed, five-bath home has old-warm European charm, including a 19th-century French limestone fountain in the courtyard. The entry doors, however, are all-American, made from 200-year-old reclaimed wood salvaged from a barn in Upstate New York.
Step inside and get a load of the dramatic entrance hall with soaring two-story ceiling and hand-chiseled limestone flooring. The foyer is flanked by a formal living room and study, which boast more reclaimed doors — but this time from a 100-year-old New York bank building. Further down, an antique wrought-iron entry leads to a formal dining room.
Great does not even begin to describe the great room, with its fireplace flanked by floor-to-ceiling limestone wall, clerestory window, iron chandelier, and triptych of stained leaded glass Palladian French doors that open to the cobblestone courtyard.
Off the great room is the kitchen, where the juxtaposition of old-world details and modern conveniences continues. Crowned by a barrel-vaulted brick ceiling and rooted with hand-scraped hardwood floors, the kitchen features only the best stainless steel appliances by Viking, Hoshizaki and Liebherr. There are two walk-in pantries, a butler's pantry and a light-filled breakfast room.
And this is only just the downstairs — and only part of it at that. To go up, you might as well take the custom glass wall Cambridge elevator outfitted with a television.
The second level has a spa wing — TV is hard work, don't you know — replete with massage room, exercise room, and intimate meditation room with stained glass window. The nearby game room comes with flat-screen TV and colored glass-topped wet bar. But it isn't all relaxation up here; some work must be done in the office, with eye-opening black-and-white patterned marble floors and red blown-glass chandelier.
Aside from an oversized bedroom, the master suite has its own sitting area and fireplace, and a pair of steel French doors open to a private iron-grilled balcony overlooking the grounds. He and she both get room-size walk-in closets and vanities with Walker Zanger granite counters, custom mirrors with hidden TVs, and crystal mirror-mounted sconces. Oh, and a dual steam shower and jetted tub.
But it might be more appealing for guests, who get a private suite with bleached wide-plank hardwoods, spacious bedroom, sitting room, living area, and Calcutta marble bath appointed with a to-die-for imported honed marble free-standing soaking tub.
Outdoor areas received as much care as the inside, as evidenced by the kitchen facilities (granite counters, stainless steel built-in grill, limestone sink), two storage closets, and cabana bath with spectacular mosaic glass-tiled shower with three shower heads.
Why does one need an outdoor shower? To rinse off after a dip in the heated pool with beach entry, of course.
All this plus four-car attached garage, remote-controlled audio/visual/lighting system, interior fire sprinkler system, exterior misting system, and security system with camera equipment can be yours for the price of $3.895 million.
Mosaic-tiled shower for rinsing off after a dip in the pool.
