(Photo by Dan Piassick)
A touch of Tuscany
Even though Mary and Kirk Oliver’s careers were located 1,500 miles away, they couldn’t fathom selling their Preston Hollow home.
The Mediterranean-style house is elegant yet inviting, and helped dissuade the couple from relocating to Philadelphia and buying a piece of cinematic history.
When Kirk accepted an East Coast job offer, the Ardrosson Estate of Villanova, Penn., was on the market. The couple contemplated purchasing a portion of the property that inspired the 1941 Academy Award winner “The Philadelphia Story.”
They weren’t ready to part with their Italian-inspired Dallas house, Mary says, so they bought a condo in Philly instead. The family still spends occasional weekends and holidays in Dallas, where they’ll soon retire.
Constructed in 2002, the 7,362-square-foot residence was inspired by another neighborhood home on Strait Lane. The house, built for a charity raffle, was featured in Southern Accents magazine.
Then, the Olivers lived in New York. Mary was so reluctant to leave her Westchester residence that Kirk promised he’d let her design any house she wanted as a consolation prize. The Strait Lane home’s staircase, natural light and warm colors immediately caught her affection.
“I never imagined living in a Mediterranean home,” Mary says. “I never imagined living in the South. We said if we were going to be down here, let’s do something we’ve never done.”
She enlisted Dallas architect Richard Davis and interior designer Margaret Chambers to perfect the Italian-style home with a myriad of windows, sweeping archways and antique furniture.
“We wanted a lot of light,” Mary says. “We wanted it to be stylish but not overdone.”
Chambers was tasked with decorating spaces that stayed in line with the Tuscan theme without being too stuffy. She handpicked every item in the house, from Latin manuscripts lining the walls to the dishes and silver.
In 15 years, they haven’t changed a thing, Mary says.
“The home has staying power.”
Because the Olivers’ house was brand new, interior designer Margaret Chambers wanted it to feel warm and authentic. “When you look at a new house, it doesn’t have a soul like many old houses do,” she says. To combat that, she mixed 18th and 19th-century antique furniture with modern pieces. “Everything being so new, it just added so much character and warmth,” she says. “I just like the way it all came together as a group. It all looks like it belongs together.” (Photo by Dan Piassick)
All of the tile in the house was laid by hand, and the archways are based on a home on Strait Lane highlighted in Southern Accents magazine. “The materials and colors used are what you would find in Italy,” Chambers says. “We treated the inside to the outside. There’s so much attention to moldings and fireplace mantles, which would be similar to what you’d find in Italy.” (Photo by Dan Piassick)
Mary and Kirk are both the youngest of seven children, so their house is constantly crowded with family and friends. “You walked in the house, and you felt like you were welcome,” Mary remembers. They wanted their three kids to have the same experience, so the house can fit more than a hundred guests comfortably. The Olivers hosted holiday parties, school events and their daughter’s post-wedding brunch at the house. (Photo by Dan Piassick)
Know of a beautiful or unusual house in the neighborhood that deserves a spotlight? Email Elissa Chudwin at echudwin@advocatemag.com
