16th annual White Rock Home Tour, April 20-21, includes gay couple’s home
DAVID TAFFET | Senior Staff Writer
taffet@dallasvoice.com
Kevin and John share a home in the Lake Highlands section of Dallas that has been in Kevin’s family since his grandparents built it in 1955. His mother lived in the house for a number of years and, for the last six years, he has shared the sprawling ranch-style home with his husband John.
For much of the time Kevin and John have occupied the house, it’s been under construction. And it’s still not finished. Yet the home, with its beautiful renovations and expansion, has been chosen to be part of this year’s White Rock Tour of Homes to be held this weekend.
The 16th annual home tour will be held on April 20 and 21 from noon to 5 p.m. each day. Tickets are $25 in advance and $30 during the weekend and are available at WRHomeTour.com. All money collected goes to DISD’s Hexter Elementary.
John and Kevin expanded their house to include a new master suite and office. In an area that used to include a kitchen and the old master bedroom, walls were removed to create an open kitchen area and a great room.
“We expanded our living space where we spend time,” they said.
Sitting on more than an acre of land, the newly expanded house doesn’t overpower the property like so many East Dallas McMansions do. Instead, it gracefully compliments the contours of the land.
As they planned the expansion, the men “respected the architecture and history of the house,” John said.
He explained that the mid-century home was built during an era of larger windows, minimal trim and generous interior use of brick. Those features were carried through into the expanded master suite. Although smaller closets were a feature of that era’s houses, the new master closet they describe as “really large.”
The kitchen appliances are new but respect the design of the era.
“When we incorporated the old master suite into the kitchen, we took down a wall, added counter space and
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