For this Dallas family of four, home is ultimately where the heart is.

Romabio’s Bianco White coats the exterior of the storied property.

Preston Hollow neighborhood of Dallas lies this magnificent manse rife with history, natural beauty and new design. Upon setting out to build their ultimate family home, Junior Desinor and his wife, Kristin, employed SHM Architects to help turn their dreams into a reality. One of the key sources of inspiration was the original property dating back to the 1940s, which the Desinors decided to reimagine into a guest house. “I promised the owner that I would not get rid of their home,” shares Junior Desinor. The original house was 3,400 square feet rich with memories. “We wanted to build around this beautiful 1940s home, and the trick was to figure out how we could tie [in] a brand-new construction, making it look uniform to the original space.”

The Desinors enjoy family movie night in the cozy media room.

Thanks to the design minds of SHM and ringleader David Stocker (principal at SHM), they did just that. Enlisting traditional architecture (think paneled windows, classic doors and drapery), the floor plan is almost identical to the original build.

Tapping interior designer Blythe Rhodes with RODI Interiors to help transform the space into the family’s vision, one of the themes weaved throughout the home is symmetry. “Blythe recommended we do a mirrored formal living room,” notes Desinor. “The two tufted couches are on either side of the gold center table and then coffee tables on either side.” Take a spin around the 8,000-square-foot main house—consisting of five bedrooms and 5½ bathrooms—and you will truly feel a sense of symmetry.

Natural light is welcomed inside the home by the large-scale windows.

From the grand living room down to the cozy media nook, there was no space left without meticulous thought behind it. “We truly live at home, so we wanted a house that had everything we could think of,” notes Desinor. “For the media room we took inspiration from a private jet—lined recliners, an element of glam, etc.” And glamorous it indeed is. In fact, the handprinted artwork from Market Hill can also be found on someone else’s walls (ahem, Duchess of Cambridge...).

The entire home exudes a majestic quality that any guest would be drawn to. In fact, might we be so bold as to invite ourselves over for movie night?

The pool was designed to echo the architecture of the home.

DESIGN DETAILS

LOCATION

Preston Hollow

ARCHITECTURE

SHM Architects
shmarchitects.com

BUILDER

New Leaf Custom Homes
newleafcustom.com

INTERIOR DESIGN

Rodi Custom Homes
rodicustomhomes.com

LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE

Alchemy Exteriors
alchemyexteriors.com

The primary bedroom carries a playful mix of print and design.

RESOURCES

AMERICAN MASONRY SUPPLY

Fireplaces in formal living room
ams-cs.com

COSTA CHRIST

Photograph in formal living room
costachristmedia.com

KELLY WEARSTLER

Sconces in formal living room and primary bedroom
kellywearstler.com

LOLOI

Rug in formal living room
loloirugs.com

RESTORATION HARDWARE

Tufted couches and pendants in formal living room
rh.com

ROMABIO

Exterior paint
romabio.com

WEST ELM

Media room chairs
westelm.com

WISTERIA

Gold centerpiece in formal living room
wisteria.com