Amy and Ric Moseley tore down their small house on Colfax and built a new 4,500-square-foot beauty in its place. The new abode is one of four must-see stops on the neighborhood home tour. Photo by Jeanine Michna-Bales
Lake Highlands homeowners let neighbors sneak a peek for a worthy cause
Photo by Jeanine Michna-Bales
With its rolling landscape, towering dogwood trees, kid-friendly green spaces and vibrant flora — especially during azalea season — Merriman Park Estates is arguably one of Dallas’ most desirable neighborhoods.
That is why, despite a growing family, Amy and Ric Moseley didn’t want to part with their property on Colfax, where they had lived in a modest home since 1999.
Amy, born and raised in Lake Highlands, says that in addition to the aesthetic surroundings, she adores the neighborhood for its sense of community. Her parents still live in White Rock Valley, and many of her high school friends have returned to the area to raise their children. She puts it simply: “Lake Highlands is home.”
After daughters Maggie and Kate, now 12 and 10 respectively, were born, the Moseleys started thinking about remodeling and expanding, but it proved complicated. Eventually they decided to tear the whole thing down and build a new home.
“It was not an easy decision,” Amy says. “We lived in that house for years and had made a lot of memories there. Seeing it come down was emotional.”
Amy and Ric Moseley tore down their small house on Colfax and built a new 4,500-square-foot beauty in its place. The new abode is one of four must-see stops on the neighborhood home tour. Photo by Jeanine Michna-Bales
Architect Lynn Beckwith of Highland Homes worked with the family to build their dream house, a process that took 18 months or so. In May 2011, the Mosleys moved into their new 4,500-plus square foot, four bedroom, and four and two half bathroom abode.
Stylishly rustic furniture, a monocromatic color scheme, wide-open spaces and …
… loads of natural light make this stop on the tour especially inviting. Photos by Jeanine Michna-Bales
Wide-open spaces — the breakfast area, den and kitchen are all attached, for example — and flooding natural light are the home’s signatures. Amy, with the help of a friend — an interior designer and Lake Highlands graduate named Lori Courrege — used muted, natural tones with splashes of rusty orange as a framework for simple, refined furniture as well as paintings by local artists.
At 8919 Colfax, tour attendees will find several works by local artists.
Photos by Jeanine Michna-Bales
Vintage chic bathroom. Photo by Jeanine Michna-Bales
“I gave artist Michelle Stroescu my colors and commissioned her to do something for the game room,” she says. Two pieces from Dallas artist Scott Kerr hang on other walls. Sliding barn doors that open to that game room at the top of the stairs play up the rustic-chic vibe. Though they look as if they could have been, the doors were not salvaged from an old world farm. The wood is new and another local artist, Cindy Householder, did the finish on the doors to give them that rustic, beat-up look. “She did an amazing job,” Amy adds.
Kate and Maggie’s rooms are as young girls’ rooms should be — dazzling blues and limes and pinks featuring fuzzy pillows, squiggly prints and funky bedframes.
The home is one of four on the Lake Highlands Women’s League’s 34th annual Holiday in the Highlands Home Tour. Though it’s not easy preparing to show your home to hundreds of visitors, Amy says she is happy to do it. “It is for such a good cause.”
Photo by Jeanine Michna-Bales
The home tour, along with an accompanying crafts market the same day, is the league’s only big fundraiser, says member and publicity chair Cheryl Zreet. The earnings are used primarily to award college scholarships to Lake Highlands students and to supplement the needs of Lake Highlands schools. Last year, Zreet says, the league gave away about $160,000. Since its inception, the organization has given about $1.318 million to scholarships and more than $602,587 to school and capital projects. “That’s almost $2 million,” Zreet notes.
Chairwomen Carolyn Murray and Allison Brown selected the four homes for this year’s tour — they include new construction (the Moseley home), a renovation and an *elaborately outfitted hunting-themed home — think horned beasts welcoming tourists as they enter — that organizers promise “will attract a lot of attention.”
Tour of Homes:
Amy and Ric Moseley, 6818 Colfax
Cara and Greg Hammons, 9712 Trailhill *
Lynn and William Davenport, 9627 Windy Hill
Nancy and John Goble, 9113 Locarno
The home tour begins Friday Dec. 7 at 9:30 a.m. and runs through 5 p.m. The market starts the same day at 9:30 a.m. at Highland Oaks Church of Christ at 10805 Walnut Hill, also the location of the luncheon (advanced tickets only), which starts at 11 a.m. The market only will be open before the tour on Thursday Dec. 6 from 1-4 p.m.
Purchase tickets to Holiday in the Highlands from Diana Milan, 214.348.8718 or dianamilan@sbcglobal.net. The home tour is $10 each in advance or $15 at the door. Luncheon tickets are $12 each and may only be purchased in advance. More info about the tour and the Lake Highlands Women’s League is available at lhwl.org.
