[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DMexkmdkQrI[/youtube]

An annual early childhood PTA event showcases three homes of varying shapes, sizes and styles

Sarah Steele dreamed of living in a big old house like those in some of Dallas’ historic neighborhoods. Her husband, Josh, on the other hand, wanted to build a new house, maybe out in the suburbs.

“I did not want that,” says the mother of two, shaking her head in mock disgust. So the couple compromised and built a 3,800-square-foot two-story home on a corner of Bargiames Lane in the rolling White Rock Hills neighborhood. The result is a new build with classic good looks.

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Sarah and Josh Steele’s home, 8811 Bargiames Lane

It caught the eye of Whitney Ragsdale, who happened to be scouting homes for the 2011 Lake Highlands Area Early Childhood PTA Home Tour, the organization’s most important annual fundraiser.

Ragsdale was “kind of freaking out,” she says, because some of the homeowners slated for the tour had moved or were unable to participate.

“I’m not a cold-caller type,” she says, so finding replacements wasn’t easy.

Since she frequently drives through White Rock Hills, she had watched the Steele’s home emerge.

“I don’t normally like new builds, but I loved this one,” she says. So she left a note on the Steeles’ door letting them know that she “was not a stalker” but that she was interested in using the home on the tour.

“It’s for a cause that benefits the whole Lake Highlands community,” she says.

Several weeks later, she heard from Sarah Steele, who agreed to participate.

Visitors to the Steele home during the April 13 “Derby Day Run for the Roses Home Tour, Brunch and Auction” will be welcomed by wide open spaces, hardwood floors, loads of natural light, muted tones and pretty details in the form of colorful canvases and hand-painted designs on the children’s bedroom walls.

Ragsdale made sure all of the stops on the tour belong to families with children, since most of the tourists will be PTA members who also have children.

“They want ideas for organizing children’s toys and things like that,” Ragsdale says.

The Steele family includes two girls — 6-month-old Blythe and 4-year-old Ashlyn. The girls’ rooms are upstairs, joined by a Jack and Jill-style bathroom, and share the second floor with a large, colorful and impressively organized playroom, a media room and an office.

Sarah and Josh Steele work full-time; their daughters attend White Rock North School.

The three homes on the tour are located within three different elementary school attendance zones, and each has a different style, Ragsdale says.

Joselyn and Bryan Taylor’s home tour contribution on Arbor Branch in Merriman Park is a remodeled 1970s home. Sarah Steele is friends with the Taylors.

“But we have a very different style,” Steele says.

Joselyn Taylor, judging from her popular design blog at simplelovelyblog.com, favors bold colors and contemporary features.

The third home on the tour is an updated 2,000-square-foot ranch style home on Aldwick near Lake Highlands Elementary that belongs to Reed and Jennifer Wilcox.

This is the seventh year the LHAECPTA, comprising primarily Richardson ISD parents, hosts its spring home tour. The group holds monthly meetings featuring guest speakers and also hosts year-round activities for kids and parents. The home tour proceeds, organizers say, allow the group to keep doing that.

LHAECPTA presents the seventh annual home tour, Brunch and Auction Wednesday, April 13, from 8:45 a.m.-1 p.m. at the Highlands Oaks Church of Christ, 10805 Walnut Hill. Tickets for brunch and the tour are $25 and can be purchased online at lhaecpta.org.