(Photo by Danny Fulgencio)
Four years of coveting led to this couple’s mid-century modern fantasy home
Dayna and Alex Mendonsa are living in the past, albeit a highly stylized, individually curated past of their own design. They’re new to Preston Hollow, having moved in February,
but they’ve spent years fantasizing about the Asian-inspired mid-century modern abode on Royal Lane.
“Alex fell in love with [the house] the moment he saw it,” Dayna says. “That was four years ago.”
They moved to Dallas after a stint in Vegas where he ran nightclubs for the likes of Caesars Palace and The House of Blues, and she worked as an esthetician and pin-up model. Today he’s one of the forces behind Gas Monkey while she is full-time mama to sons Brixton, 8, and Gunnar, 6. But as soon as they arrived in the city, they started collecting pieces for their mid-century dream home, without ever owning it.
They look for quality, not kitsch. Their collection includes a teal Joy Bird couch and original Eames chair; a Selig dining room table they had lovingly restored; and plenty of Sputnik lights and starburst clocks. With a moneymaking booth inside Top Drawer Antiques, they have a professional reason to fuel their collecting frenzy.
Dayna and Alex Mendonsa (Photo by Danny Fulgencio)
“He has a serious problem,” Dayna laughs. “Some people have drinking problems, some people have porn addictions — my husband buys stuff.”
Sometimes that stuff makes its way into the Mendonsas’ house, where it hangs around until something else the couple can’t live without comes along to replace it.
“There’s a constant search for just the right item,” Alex says.
Except for those items from which they will never part. Like the apple green Adrian Pearsall couch that sits on a wooden plank complete with a built-in planter full of succulents. Or Dayna’s signed David Bowie book.
“I have his DNA in this book — he touched it,” she beams.
Kismet clearly follows this couple because the day they decided to leave their Lakewood home, they went online and there it was: The circa 1960 house they had long-coveted was listed for sale.
It’s been under construction since before they even moved in, after a leak destroyed most of the floors, which they replaced with a sleek white epoxy and shag carpeting. Mahogany wood paneling from Design District store Toshmahal added an authentic feel to the living room.
The Mendonsas are still working on the kitchen, bathrooms and even an enclosed Tiki bar, although their house is already filling up with vintage surf boards, tribal carvings and totems.
“We just got the puffer-fish lights,” Alex says.
Above: Dayna Mendonsa added shag carpeting to complement the Adrian Pearsall couch and Eames chairs; Below: A Selig dining room table. (Photos by Danny Fulgencio)
Above, a Joy Bird bed is topped with broken starburst clocks; below, the backyard is all about Tiki. (Photos by Danny Fulgencio)
See this house
The Mendonsas home will be featured on the Modern-Mile Home Tour along with a selection of other unique properties.
When: Oct. 7, 11 a.m.-5 p.m.
How much: $20, proceeds benefit Walnut Hill Elementary
Tickets and more info: modernmiledallas.com
