Take a drive through any one of our neighborhoods and homes right and left will catch your eye. But it’s not just the newer modern constructions with sharp lines and clean design that stand out.

Nestled in between those, you’ll find attention-grabbing ranches and estates that date to the ’20s and ’30s, rich in character and personality. There’s a good chance these homes have been designed by Charles Dilbeck, an architect responsible for many iconic Dallas homes, including the French farmhouse at 6820 Avalon.

Once called “One of Dilbeck’s most important works,” this 3,800 square-foot-home is set in a nearly half-acre other-worldly landscape. Many of the details of the four-bedroom, four-bath house feature the prized aesthetic notes for which Dilbeck was known.

We recently put the home on the market, and it went under contract within 8 days, a testament to the timeless appeal of Dilbeck’s design sense in today’s sea of minimalist contemporary architecture.

Since being built in 1937, the home underwent several renovations. A kitchen upgrade created a light, open and inviting space. Bathrooms also received facelifts, and the master suite and downstairs living room were added. Yet all updates were made keeping the original design character of the home in mind. Original details like the timbers, hand-carved wood pieces and pecky cypress wood ceilings remain.

Dilbeck was known for mixing materials and styles of design in ways that were completely original, which can be seen in the home’s mix of brick, stucco and half-timbers as well as brick laid in a random pattern. Along the low rooflines, you can spot cupolas, dovecotes and odd hips of different styles sizes and styles. Likewise, windows of different sizes, inconsistent ceiling treatments and a mix of doors in different woods, finishes and sizes all harken back to the Dilbeck traditional style.

Dilbeck believed homes must be welcoming and rooms designed in human scale. Famous for his fireplaces, Dilbeck’s design contains four with signature surprises including an oversized piece with random brick detailing and corner fireplaces in small rooms.

In a fanciful homage to Dilbeck, an outdoor potting shed has been transformed by a previous owner to an office replete with running water. Designed to look like a miniature Dilbeck home, the outdoor studio even boasts a crooked shutter and a Dutch door.

The self-educated architect Dilbeck left an indelible and inimitable mark on Dallas through homes such as this one, leaving us with significant pieces of living history to enjoy for decades to come.

We know your neighborhood’s present, past and future. Thinking about buying or selling? Call The Rhodes Group.

We grew up here. We live here. We’ve been buying and selling real estate in the area for two generations, immersed in the ebbs and flows of the local neighborhood markets. Deep ties to the community keep us in the know. It’s not just a slogan… WE KNOW YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD.