There's a one-in-a-million '50s house for sale in Dallas that's an authentic mid-century modern masterpiece. It just needs a little work.
Located at 9023 Capri Dr., the house is a Ju-Nel A-frame with five bedrooms, three bathrooms, and 3,773 square feet that was built in 1957.
Founded by builders Lyle Rowley and Jack Wilson, Ju-Nel homes were ahead of their time in their embrace of modern concepts such as energy efficiency and an open floor plan. According to D magazine, nearly all of the 50 or so Ju-Nel homes in the area are, like this home, in northeast Dallas, in neighborhoods such as Eastwood Estates, Casa Linda, Old Lake Highlands, and Lake Highlands.
Candy's Dirt describes some of their key features: low pitched roofs, plate glass windows following the roofline, soffits with cut-outs for trees, large rocks embedded in exterior walls, adobe brick, wood accent walls, irregular lots, courtyards, contemporary lighting fixtures, vaulted ceilings, two-way fireplaces, Japanese screens, open floor plans, and use of materials such s terrazzo and copper).
This house on Capri Drive sits at the end of a quiet cul-de sac on a nearly one-acre heavily treed lot. The A-frame living area opens to an expansive wooden deck overlooking a creek.
It boasts an enormous living room with huge brick hearth, and a loft on the second floor, which leads to another north-facing deck.
There's a large kitchen with an island and white Corian countertops — one of the very few updates the house received in recent years, according to Paragon Realtors agent John Angell.
A double master bedroom includes a mid-mod fireplace and balcony, plus separate quarters for work and storage.
The asking price is $600,000 but Angell says that the property probably needs "half a million" in renovations including wood rot and some issues with the roof.
"Probably the only thing in great shape is hot water heater," Angell says. "The owner was very old, and the house has been neglected, which is heartbreaking to see with a jewel like this."
He has received offers from investors who want to turn it into a short-term rental, to be used for parties and social media events — "but that would drive the neighbors insane, although it would be almost as heartbreaking if someone were just going to scrape it," he says.
"If it were in great shape, it would be worth more than $1 million, and if this were California, it would be worth $4 million," he says. "That neighborhood has all sorts of mid-century modern homes, but this one is the gem of them all."
Green fireplace inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright - these are sometimes called a "Lloyd."
