Loving Your Home in the Village

Love Your Home

Several years ago, in 2016, I did a series entitled "Love Your Home" by showcasing homes whose owners had learned how to love their home by making it THEIRS.

They were as varied as the people who lived inside, because that is how to truly

"Love Your Home!" 

Now that I am in a new location and a totally different type neighborhood, I thought it would be interesting to show how my neighbors have taken a unit much like everyone else's and made it theirs.

We have four different floorplans in our Village, so it will be interesting to see how each owner has personalized their home specifically for themselves.  I will be featuring two in each quarter's newsletter.

Let me introduce you to Dick and Dena Blackwell.

They moved to The Village at Prestonwood 12 years ago from a very large house here in the Dallas area.  Downsizing was a huge concern, so to simplify matters, Dena told me she got rid of all her furniture except the family piano and her beautiful glass-top dining table. They simply just started over.

Not only did they refurbish furniture wise, they made major changes inside the unit.  And that's the story of this blog.

One of the things in common in the larger units, is the fireplace and mantel.  They are all a molded white stone.

One of the first things they did to make their new home "theirs" was to remove the old fireplace and surround and replace it with a new unit and natural stones that covered the entire wall.

It updated the room and makes such a nice statement.

In this unit, there are two bedrooms with an optional office/3rd bdrm.  The built-ins were already there when they bought the house, so they did the most ingenious addition to provide a sometimes needed 3rd bedroom.

Behind these lovely finished doors is a queen-sized Murphy bed, which their granddaughters love to use.  It is operated with a hydraulic mechanism so can easily be lowered and then put back into place.  And who is the wiser!

The Blackwells took what were mundane white bathrooms and converted them into lovely spas.  Their choice of stone and design created a masterwork of pattern and color.  A linen closet was removed in order to have space for this large freestanding vanity and storage.

This bath is perfect for making guests feel at home.

The master bath is truly 5-Star worthy.

  Dena designed the low dressing table just for her and every thing is at her fingertips.

Again, the tiles were selected with great care and the shower designed for easy access.

Nothing was left undone.

Originally, the kitchen cabinets were stained and in good shape, so they simply had them painted white and changed the hardware and backsplash.

The lovely glass backsplash reflects the new undercabinet lighting.

Another adjustment was in the laundry room.  Dena wanted folding space and easy access storage.  She got both by adding the granite top and purchasing smaller front-load appliances.

The extra space gave her room for these convenient storage drawers that she needed.

Their most prized change though is not inside the house but out.

The highly sealed, red-stained garage floor is the perfect anchor for all the white wall-to-wall cabinets and storage/work space they personally designed.

Dena has all her seasonal decor carefully labeled and stored for easy access.

Dick made sure whatever Dena wanted, could be easily reached and that goes for the Christmas trees, conveniently tucked away in their own little niche.

His cherished red truck is the inspiration for the red floor and is Dick's favorite piece.

The lovely decor inside the home speaks to their combined taste and chosen use of the space.  The large orange poppy painting is the focal point and around which the house's color scheme is built.

Art work plays a large part in expressing the couple's personality.

This piece is without a doubt their favorite.  It was a gift from their daughter on their 50th wedding anniversary.  It captures all the momentous occasions in their 50 years together.  Dick said he still can find something new he hasn't seen before.

The sunroom, painted a warm chocolate is where they both spend most of their time.  Wanting to use their living room for entertaining, they chose to put their TV in this room and it is where they most enjoy being.

I can understand why they would enjoy spending time in this warm and inviting room.

Perhaps the master bedroom best reveals Dena's taste though.  She calls it her animal room and she loves the dramatic contrast to the rest of the house.

The massive lacquered cabinets and chest provide much needed extra storage and they balance the large bed and wall hanging.

This pretty wall light fixture sums up their personalities to a tee.  It bespeaks of Dick's analytical background and nature and Dena's love for femininity and drama.

This picture holds a special significance for them.  Dena tells the story of this "Butt Sketch" being done at a party many years ago when they had much smaller butts.

 Thank you Dick and Dena for sharing with us how you truly "Love Your Home!"

To see the series I did back in 2016 click this link,

Love Your Home Series Part 1

then follow the links on the bottom of the post.