Party Mansion
Luxurious mega-villa at Preston and Walnut Hill was built to entertain — a lot
You have probably seen this house a thousand times and wondered what it looks like inside. Well, now is your chance, because 9625 Preston Rd. is on the market for just under $6 million, and it’s a stunner.
Enter through the oversized, corner door of glass and ironwork. I have always loved the positioning of this door, as if the architects said, you know, we don’t really know if we want to face Preston or Walnut Hill. So they chose both.
This Italian-styled mega-villa, built in 2004, straddles the entire intersection well. Ten-foot walls protect the home from the busy street, which is a non-issue anyway, given the sprawling 1-acre lot.
This may set the tone of the home to you: The wine cellar is off the breakfast room!
The entrance is equally dramatic from the inside, defining the corner into a huge, etched archway with steps descending to the grand formal living room. To the east is the formal dining area, and the soaring ceilings of the entire living area open up to the second story.
Also downstairs are a study and second family room as well as the kitchen, which boasts one of the most stunning counters in North Texas — onyx, lit from below — top-of-the-line appliances and custom cabinetry. And this may set the tone of the home to you: The wine cellar is off the breakfast room!
There is also a bar/butler’s pantry, where I envision a server being stationed during a party. From this room, and the expansive breakfast room, a hallway leads to the laundry room, one of the powder baths and the master retreat.
This house coins a new phrase: “master reposing area.” You certainly cannot call this a master sitting area, because no mere sitting happens here. Those twin chaise lounges invite you repose like Cleopatra and Mark Anthony may have, watching TV while a fire flickers in the fireplace, sunset dancing on the pool outside your door.
Speaking of that backyard, the entire home, all 10,000 square feet, wraps around the pool, water features and entertaining spaces, affording water views from every room. Try, if you can, to see the home at sunset, because the views must be spectacular.
In total there are five bedrooms, five full baths and four half-baths. The home also has four bars — almost as many bars as beds.
Ah, but I digress from our tour. Back to that master retreat, where there is a bar in one corner and a spa bath with Jacuzzi tub that abuts a huge walk-in shower, enormous double vanities and a window to the outdoors. (I think there is a wine fridge in the bath too.) The master closets are luxuriously enormous, with custom glass doors for all the hanging storage in addition to ample shelving.
Upstairs find a full media room, game room, and three more bedrooms — including one that has an anteroom, mimicking the master but on a smaller scale. All bedrooms are quite private and separated, including the one accessible by balcony.
In total there are five bedrooms, five full baths and four half-baths. The home also has four bars — almost as many bars as beds.
More luxurious touches throughout include museum-quality finish on the walls, gleaming ebonized wood and marble floors, enamel-coated mouldings and trim, and custom-made grates for heat and air. Listing agent Clay Stapp says the home has been recently redecorated to lighten and brighten the interior, and it looks like the designer took a light saber to everything. The result, of course, is sparkling.
There is also a four car garage and large motor court behind the double-swing metal gates, which require security to enter. Speaking of security, there is also a manned guardhouse.
Stapp also says this home is for a buyer who wants to make a strong statement. I will add that it’s perfect for the buyer who wants to entertain — I’m visualizing a Cattle Baron’s Ball pre-party — who also wants a little paradise in the center of town, because there is no more convenient location.
This is also for the buyer who wants a large lot without the tremendous work that accompanies 1-acre-plus living. There are patches of green grass and expansive gardens, but this yard was designed to be extremely low-maintenance for an estate of this magnitude. All you do is keep the fountains clear, stoke the fires and ensure the bars are well-stocked with bubbly!
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A version of this story was originally published on Candy’s Dirt.