A wall of wine + art = true happiness

Steve Green loved living on Rosa Road so much that not only did he and his former partner, Kenneth Craighead, build a house there in 2000, they also constructed a similar one next door in 2016.

The new house has a few tweaks. It’s one-story instead of two. The distance from the garage door to the kitchen is fewer steps, and there’s a serving counter in the butler’s pantry for entertaining. Most appealing to Green: the ceiling is raised above the roofline, so there are more vertical windows.

Architect Paul Pedigo designed the house, which recently was featured on the AIA Dallas Tour of Homes. Green credits Craighead for the interior design.

The house is built around Green’s two great passions. “Art and wine are two big things with me,” says Green, a lawyer and co-owner with Craighead of Craighead Green Gallery in the Arts District. “They’re good habits to have and bad habits, too.”

The new house has more linear footage of walls to showcase their art. “We have more walls to use, and the light is more natural because there’s a lot more windows here as well.”

Enter the house and you’re greeted by Wallace, a 5-year-old Scottie, and a painting of a gorilla. The look on the gorilla’s face reminds Green of his two Scotties’ expressions when they’re naughty.

Every room is filled with art. Even the laundry room houses a collection of colored glass plates. His favorite piece is in the living room and is called “Die Massen,” which means “the masses” in German. “I like it because what is it?” Green says. “Is it people walking on the street or in a subway or are they sitting in a stadium? It’s mostly men, but there are about 12 women interspersed. It’s always been a piece that sings to me and evokes lots of conversation.”

Next, he excitedly points out an abstract piece in the hall. Peer through a small ball in front of the painting, and you see Mona Lisa. “It’s interesting because of the engineering and the thought process behind it. It’s so cool when you realize what it is.”

He also loves the trompe l’oeil by Yrjo Edelmann. “It’s a favorite because he and his wife were such good friends [of ours].”

The wine tasting room is decorated in black and white with an entire wall dedicated to the wine collection, all 1,200 bottles. The chandelier is made of red grenadine bottles.

The house is half stone and half stucco with stone running throughout the house. The patio faces a saltwater pool that’s surrounded by fake turf instead of grass — easier upkeep with the Scotties. The landscaping, minimal with drought-tolerant, native plants, highlights sculptures. Green describes the grass in the other half of the backyard as so soft it’s like walking on carpet.

Green grew up nearby — north of Royal and Midway — and attended W.T. White High School.

“I like Rosa because it’s a lane so it has somewhat of a quaintness about it.”