A Family Home Near Dallas Embraces The Spirit Of Togetherness

Between parties with nearby family and playdates for their three young boys, time is always a precious commodity for one Dallas-area couple. “We have a full, sometimes chaotic, life,” the wife reflects with a laugh. “But to create something beautiful in the midst of that makes it more special than a life that is perfectly curated.” Their vision was clear: to craft a gracious, generous home that would make even their most ordinary moments together feel memorable.

Achieving this required a delicate balance for designers Emily Mooney and Cary Ray, tasked by the clients to create spaces that felt elevated while remaining cozy and comfortable. “This needed to be a family-friendly home, where you’re never afraid to sit on the furniture,” Ray says.

Architect Christy Goode Blumenfeld began by constructing the abode’s refined foundation, incorporating details rooted in historical classicism while leaning more toward understated elegance than rigid formality. Through arched French doors, the foyer introduces this traditional sensibility with checkerboard marble floors, a sweeping curved staircase and a whimsical oval window that lets in pools of eastern light.

Guided by builder Jim Strange’s talented team of artisans, creamy white millwork sculpts the interior, from the dining room’s wainscoting and coffered ceilings to the custom-cut trim framing the rounded archways and paned windows. Underneath this eloquent molding lies concealed messages and prayers scrawled by loved ones during a gender-reveal party that took place while construction was still underway. “That was the first time we hosted our friends and family at the house,” the husband recalls. “It became the celebration of all we hoped the home could be.”

Ensuring these traditional details never teeter toward stuffiness, the designers incorporated materials that would show age over time. The quartersawn oak floors were warmly stained to highlight their signature grain, while reclaimed beams—still visibly marked from their former mortise and tenon joints—brought timeworn texture to the ceilings in the living room and primary bedroom. In the kitchen, the soapstone countertops, hand-painted tile backsplash, floating brass shelves and variegated walnut island will only grow richer with use.

Engrained with ready-made character, the home was also carefully considered for hosting. Rather than employing separate formal and casual seating, gatherings center around an expansive great room that connects the kitchen, breakfast nook and living area, with overflow pouring onto the back porch.

“The wife loves to be in the kitchen, but she still wanted to feel part of everything,” Blumenfeld explains. “The kitchen became the hub, with views to the rooms the family uses most.” Despite its size, the open layout never feels cavernous thanks to its collected coziness. In the living room, for instance, plush sofas are nestled among built-in shelves lined with books alongside floral-print armchairs in the wife’s favorite shade of blue.

For hallmark holiday feasts, festive decor in the dining room shines thanks to a neutral ivory and ink palette, which coalesces in the misty landscape mural wallpaper. “We wanted to make sure the space made sense for all seasons of entertaining, so it looks beautiful at Christmastime and in the summer,” Mooney describes.

This layered eclecticism continues throughout the home, with a juxtaposition of old and new to keep things feeling fresh. Midcentury modern classics such as minimalist spider light fixtures introduce sleeker profiles. Custom pieces like the brass-capped walnut dining table, meanwhile, impart traditional silhouettes to balance the more historical architectural elements. The designers also added antiques acquired during a road trip with the wife to Round Top. A play of patterns and textures blankets everything in rich tactility—from the layered antique and jute area rugs to the custom striped and floral upholstery. In turn, walls became a gallery of paintings by Texan artists such as Jill Holland and Paul Meyer.

Bedrooms remain private retreats, especially the couple’s suite cocooned in moody, dark grass cloth. The children’s bunk room, however, featuring cozy built-in enclaves curtained with drapes, was made for sleepover parties. “Having a room where they all can be together and stay up late giggling and throwing toys between the bunks is a huge gift,” the wife says. “My heart feels so full when I see them enjoying that space.”

Now, as the home is regularly crowded with loved ones, its soulful details grow all the more enchanting when scattered with the ephemera of their lives—drink glasses, shoe piles and echoes of laughter. “It’s become this beautiful backdrop for the things in our life that really matter,” the wife shares.