{"id":433193,"date":"2025-12-08T12:08:24","date_gmt":"2025-12-08T12:08:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/433193\/"},"modified":"2025-12-08T12:08:24","modified_gmt":"2025-12-08T12:08:24","slug":"design-ingenuity-transforms-a-historic-kessler-park-prairie","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/433193\/","title":{"rendered":"Design Ingenuity Transforms a Historic Kessler Park Prairie"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Kessler<\/p>\n

This Kessler Park Prairie is an excellent example of how Oak Cliff is becoming a mecca for beautifully designed homes. When you combine the topography, the historic homes, and the fact that Oak Cliff has become one of the coolest areas of Dallas, it\u2019s no wonder it attracts architects, artists, and interior designers.<\/p>\n

I was not the least bit surprised to find that this home belonged to one of our favorite designers and his partner: Philip Thomas Vanderford and William Chase Devasier. Vanderford is the owner and lead designer of Studio Philip Thomas, and Devasier has the superhuman task of managing the team, which, of course, he does without breaking a sweat.<\/p>\n

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Finding this home was complete happenstance.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were having brunch with friends on a perfect fall day and drove by this house,\u201d Vanderford<\/a> said. \u201cI grew up in a house built in the same era, and it resonated with me. The simplicity of character just feels like home to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

They were sold and not the least bit daunted that the historic home needed to be saved from some questionable renovations. Fortunately, the Kessler Park Prairie never suffered through one of those bad additions, so even though it went through some evolutions, it was clear to Vanderford and Devasier that the original character could be recovered and, with design ingenuity, taken to an entirely new level.<\/p>\n

\"Kessler<\/p>\n

The original porch had been enclosed at some point, which meant there were awkward windows in the dining room. So it was opened up and turned into a sunroom to make sense of the space. It turned out to be Vanderford and Devasier\u2019s favorite spot.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt has Bahama shutters, and you look out to the massive live oak trees and the pool,\u201d Vanderford said. \u201cIt\u2019s very warm and inviting.\u201d<\/p>\n

With 3,400 square feet, three bedrooms, two-and-a-half bathrooms, and a full guest quarters over the garage to work with, Vanderford decided to create a study in neutrals.\u00a0He uses a lot of saturated color with clients, and when you are looking at color all day, you want a change at home.<\/p>\n

\"Kessler<\/p>\n

\"Kessler<\/p>\n

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\"Kessler<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is nothing basic about the neutrals I\u2019ve used,\u201d he said. \u201cThere are bronzes, silver metallic, blacks, and lacquer. I wanted to make it feel rich, textured, and layered but rely on neutrality.\u201d<\/p>\n

There was one bump in the design road when Vanderford decided to use the fabrics left over from his Kips Bay Decorator Show House project in Palm Beach. \u201cIt was deep, rich, burgundy, and pink, and it was a lesson in that you can love it, but it might not be the cozy bedroom you need!\u201d<\/p>\n

And after all, what is a designer\u2019s own home but a laboratory for experimentation? Bringing a historic Kessler Park Prairie into this era is not for the faint of heart, and it does require a designer\u2019s eye to get it right.<\/p>\n

\"Kessler<\/p>\n

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\"Kessler<\/p>\n

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Of course, you will be pleased to know that the things that don\u2019t require a designer\u2019s eye have also been done to the house to ensure it endures another 100 years. The roof, gutters, windows, and HVAC systems are all new. There is a whole-house water filtration system, a UV light air purifier, micro-filter ventilation, and a new sump pump.<\/p>\n

Like any designer, once you finish a project, you start looking for the next one, even when it\u2019s your own home. \u201cAt the end of the day, I love to create,\u201d Vanderford said.<\/p>\n

\"Kessler<\/p>\n

This is an incredible opportunity to snag an absolutely gorgeous, completely move-in-ready home in Kessler Park.<\/p>\n

Compass Realtor Mike Hopwood has this Kessler Park Prairie at 1203 N. Windomere Ave. available for $2.299 million.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"This Kessler Park Prairie is an excellent example of how Oak Cliff is becoming a mecca for beautifully…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":433194,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5135],"tags":[5229,62785,1596,136002,60450,200954,10429,200955,200956,358,3187,67,586,132,5230,68,2969,200957],"class_list":{"0":"post-433193","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-dallas","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-compass","10":"tag-dallas","11":"tag-historic-home","12":"tag-kessler-park","13":"tag-mike-hopwood","14":"tag-oak-cliff","15":"tag-philip-thomas-vanderford","16":"tag-studio-philip-james","17":"tag-texas","18":"tag-tx","19":"tag-united-states","20":"tag-united-states-of-america","21":"tag-unitedstates","22":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","23":"tag-us","24":"tag-usa","25":"tag-william-chase-devasier"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115683875714226717","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/433193","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=433193"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/433193\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/433194"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=433193"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=433193"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=433193"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}