Candy's House of the Week

Bluffview home boasts the most beautiful gardens in Dallas outside the arboretum

4612 Watauga Rd. sits on a ridge in Bluffview.Photo courtesy of Allie Beth Allman & Associates
Behind this house lie the most beautiful gardens in Dallas.Photo courtesy of Allie Beth Allman & Associates
Landscape architect Harold Leidner worked his magic on 4612 Watauga Rd.Photo courtesy of Allie Beth Allman & Associates
View from the back of 4612 Watauga Rd.Photo courtesy of Allie Beth Allman & Associates
Can you imagine looking down on this every morning?Photo courtesy of Allie Beth Allman & Associates
The upstairs master suite overlooks the magnificent gardens.Photo courtesy of Allie Beth Allman & Associates
Even the game room is luxurious at 4612 Watauga Rd.Photo courtesy of Allie Beth Allman & Associates
A formal dining room fit for entertaining.Photo courtesy of Allie Beth Allman & Associates

There’s no better place for an Easter egg hunt than this lush oasis tucked away at 4612 Watagua Rd. in Bluffview. Because this is one of the “cliffier” neighborhoods in town, the home actually sits on a ridge. The topography feels more like Napa Valley than Dallas.

They say the Hill Country begins in Oak Cliff, but sometimes, when I’m in Bluffview, I think it starts there. Apparently others do too, because Bluffview is one of the hottest “flashing” neighborhoods in town.

This home has the most beautiful gardens in Dallas; only the Dallas Arboretum has it beat. Built in 2000, the grounds are the handiwork of landscape architect Harold Leidner. The new owners will spend as much time as possible outdoors — which is the point, of course.

The 7,862-square-foot house has five bedrooms, four full baths and two half baths. When you walk in, be sure to check out the richly paneled library adjacent to the foyer. That foyer leads to a great room, which opens to the south portico and the gardens.

The kitchen is on brand-name-appliance steroids: Thermador professional six-top gas range with oven, Thermador electric and microwave ovens, Sub-Zero full refrigerator and freezer, twin Bosch dishwashers, and a prep island with two Sub-Zero refrigerator drawers and vegetable sink. Plus there is a walk-in pantry and breakfast room. The kitchen even has its own half bath.

The upstairs master, with outrageous spa bath, overlooks the magnificent manicured grounds and gardens. The second floor also boasts an amazing oversized laundry room and — wait for it — wrapping room. Haul those professionally wrapped gifts downstairs and out to the five-car garage, and you can probably skip your workout in the private gym on the ground floor.

But back to those gardens. They are an overachieving botanist’s dream, with portico, outdoor fireplace, grotto with yet another fireplace, and flowers galore. Touring this house is worth it for the sweet scents alone. Asking price: $4,999,900. They may even throw in the Easter eggs.

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11122 Flamingo Ln.Courtesy
Knotty pine at 11122 Flamingo Ln.Courtesy
Kitchen with knotty pine entry at 11122 Flamingo Ln.Courtesy
Kitchen at 11122 Flamingo Ln. Note the Pop of Color.Courtesy
Yummy bubblegum pink-tiled bathroom at 11122 Flamingo Ln.Courtesy
Salmon-pink tiled bathroom at 11122 Flamingo Ln.Courtesy

There's a '50s house for sale in a sought-after area of East Dallas that is nothing less than a palace of knotty pine.

The home is in the Lochwood Subdivision, northeast of White Rock Lake, and south of Northwest Highway, at 11122 Flamingo Ln., across the street from Martha Turner Reilly Elementary School and a couple blocks from Lochwood Park.

Built in 1955, the home has 1,766 square feet on a 7,797-square-foot lot, with 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, and a two-car garage accessed from the rear.

It's currently lis ted at $425,000 as-is by Christopher Beary with Beary Nice Homes, who is no doubt having to cough-cough adjust the expectations of the seller, since it's been on the market for 23 days, and has already seen two price drops from its original asking price of $450,000.

That price seems a tad bold, even for someone who likes '50s homes in original condition and would not need to replace the wonderful original-tile bathrooms, given some of the other issues with the property, and we're not talking about the old-lady drapes or faded wallpaper in the kitchen.

There is one window that is actually missing, covered with plywood, and at least one of the window screens is falling off. There has definitely been a garage conversion; the opening is now replaced by a fireplace.

All that said, it's hard to find homes in the Lochwood Division in that price range, and besides, the house is a knotty pine lover's dream. There's knotty pine paneling in the kitchen, and knotty pine in the family room-library: a long expanse as far as the eye can see, with a big set of built-in bookshelves and cabinets, featuring classic black hardware handles and hinges.

The kitchen has a laminate countertop with the built-in backsplash in a "pop of color" lipstick red — a far cry from granite, but perfectly functional, built to last decades.

Other notable original elements include two bathrooms, both boasting old-school 4X4 tile which looks to be in very good condition, one salmon pink and the other a fabulous, almost lurid bubblegum-pink.

The description says the home is "ripe for renovation, offering vast potential for those with a vision," and "while it demands TLC, its inherent value is undeniable, making it a perfect project for investment or to craft into your dream home."

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