Kitchen Not-So-Confidential
Luxurious Spanish-style Preston Hollow manor was built to party
If any home had its share of kitchen gadgetry, it would be this Preston Hollow mansion owned, according to tax records, by Selim Bassoul. He's the CEO of Middleby Corp., parent company to such high-end appliance brands as Viking.
Rest assured, this 12,842-square-foot Spanish-style manor on Bachman Creek has kitchen gear in spades. But what's more impressive is the number of places to use them. This resort-like property boasts four full indoor and outdoor kitchens — making it easy have a dinner party, or even two, anywhere on the 1.1 acres.
Designed by Stocker Hoesterey Montenegro Architects in 2007, the home at 10731 Bridge Hollow Court includes six bedrooms and nine baths (echoed, coincidentally, in its $6.9 million listing price by Allie Beth Allman & Associates). Five suites are located on the second floor, but the fun's in the basement with a mirror-lined exercise room; game room with full bar; and 500-square-foot media room with stadium seating, glammed up with red and gold accents.
This resort-like property boasts four full indoor and outdoor kitchens — making it easy have a dinner party, or even two, anywhere on the 1.1 acres.
The home's public spaces are bright and warm. Pale pillow-cut limestone squares underfoot reflect light that pours in from Crittall doors and windows lining the entry alcove and great hall. Just inside the entrance, a great room boasts dual fireplaces, rich hardwoods and a heavily beamed, A-frame paneled ceiling evocative of a ski lodge in the Sierra Nevada.
A morning room with pool views, sunny breakfast area and well-equipped butler's pantry radiate off the kitchen like spokes on a wheel. At the center sits the main kitchen — a tasteful showcase for cookery with a six-burner, dual-oven Wolf range that hunkers under buff cabinetry and tightly patterned Moroccan tile.
An island with with deeply paneled cabinets seats four and holds one of the room's two sinks. To one side, two Turbo Chef ovens and a built-in china cabinet flank a bank of refrigerators and the entry to the butler's pantry, which is a kitchen unto itself, with a separate array of shiny stainless steel ovens and other cooking gear.
Down the hall, a formal dining room seats 10 and features hand-scraped, herringbone-pattern hardwoods and an enormous teardrop chandelier. A multi-paned glass door leads to a stone-lined basement wine room with areas for tasting and storage.
The master suite is a retreat that takes up an entire wing of the mansion. Sleeping quarters open up to a sitting room and private patio, with views of the pool and creek beyond. In the bath, fluted accents adorn his-and-her vanities. Italian marble tiles lead to a multi-jetted garden shower. Around the corner, a secluded tub sits next to a fireplace, begging for a luxurious soak.
Outdoors you'll find more kitchens, of course, including a barbecue patio off the home's main cooking area for the chef who needs to quickly put a char on a handful of scallions. A second fully outfitted picnic kitchen sits between the pool and the creek, with a wood-burning oven, deep fryer and another barbecue.
Nearby, a metal-clad gazebo with fireplace makes a nice place for a sandwich. A loggia stretches across the rear of the home. Its proximity to the forever-edge pool with its cool blue mosaic tiles and unique U-shaped spa makes it the perfect place to sip a sangria.
A host of high-end features make mansion living easy. Lutron and Crestron systems control automated features and lighting. A sprinkler system takes care of the lawn, and an elevator shuttles inhabitants to all three floors. Almost an afterthought, the modest garage has room for three cars and nothing else, which is unfortunate. It would make a great place for another kitchen.