From 2024
Bryan and Megan Fears had given up on their two-and-a-half-year dreamhouse hunt—so much so that they had hired architecture and design firm Maestri Studio, led by Eddie Maestri, to help them renovate their ranch-style home in the East Dallas neighborhood of Emerald Isle. The furniture had been ordered, and the plans were underway. But a fateful bike ride put a new plan in motion.
“My son Parker and I were riding around the lake, and I saw a little ‘coming soon’ sign,” says Megan. It fronted a Howard Meyer–designed Georgian sitting on three acres that overlook White Rock Lake. She texted Bryan the promising news.
The couple had dreamed of having a country house inside the city—something with acreage. Even better if it had views of the lake. Bonus points if it was an older home with historic character. This house checked all the boxes. The couple quickly called on real estate agent Douglas Newby. “We viewed the house on Sunday and put an offer in on Monday, and that was it. We just knew,” Bryan says.
The Scenic Route
Take a driving tour of a few of architect Howard Meyer’s most famous local works.
The Fearses’ home on White Rock Lake is one of architect Howard Meyer’s rare traditional designs. The architect, who studied under William Lescaze while at Columbia University, is lauded for his modern residences and buildings.
“He would be considered one of the two or three most important modernists from the midcentury,” notes real estate agent and architecture expert Douglas Newby. “He had a strong architectural point of view that was embracing midcentury modernism while also drawing from other great modernists who proceded him. He was able to triangulate from the international modernists he studied with in New York, the Prairie style of Frank Lloyd Wright, and the regional Texas modern greats like David Williams and O’Neil Ford.”
Lucky for us, Meyer lived in Dallas from 1935 until his death in 1988, and he designed some of the most iconic pieces of architecture in the city. Want to see more? Plot the following addresses and take a driving tour of several of Meyer’s most significant local architectural works.
5381 Nakoma Drive
Ben Lipshy, a civic leader and former chairman of Zale Corp, hired Meyer to design his International Modern–style home in 1951 in the tree-lined neighborhood of Greenway Parks.
3525 Turtle Creek Boulevard
The 22-story apartment building at the corner of Lemmon Avenue and Turtle Creek Boulevard was built by Jerome Frank and Edward Dicker in 1957, and it is one of the few modern high-rises included in the National Register of Historic Places.
3216 Jacotte Circle
In 1937, Dallas businessman and philanthropist Eugene Sanger commissioned Meyer to design his first Dallas residence. The modern home sits on a cul-de-sac off Mercedes Avenue in Lakewood Heights.
8500 Hillcrest Road
Meyer designed Temple Emanu-El, a midcentury-modern Jewish synagogue, in conjunction with Max M. Sandfield and with William Wurster as consultant. Built in 1957, it is one of Meyer’s most celebrated works.
The home, which was built in 1939, had gone through a few minor rounds of additions and improvements—enough to have modern-day perks like a pool and pool house, a screened-in porch-turned-family room, and a basement that had been converted into a home theater. But to their delight, it retained the feel of an older home; the stairs creak, the doors stick, and the closets and bathrooms are small compared with those in most homes of its stature. Bryan jokes about the bathroom that their two boys, Parker and Hunter, share, complete with the original pedestal sink and shower. “All the way through high school. Right there. This is it, gentlemen,” he laughs.
Even though the couple adamantly agreed that they didn’t want to knock down walls, reconfigure bathrooms, or make cosmetic changes to the exterior, they did call on Maestri and his team to help with the interiors. “They love the house, and they didn’t want to come in and change it,” explains Maestri. “They really wanted to respect the history and the bones.”
To complement the home’s Georgian architecture and the Fearses’ easygoing nature, the Maestri team landed on a relaxed take on an English-countryside aesthetic. “They have chickens and two dogs,” Maestri explains. “It’s a lived-in family home, so I think even though the rooms are formal, nothing is too precious. The interiors feature quality items and nice upholstery, but it’s not a ‘don’t sit on that sofa’ kind of house.”
Take the dining room. Maestri’s team helped the Fearses design a custom Gracie mural to don the walls, complete with scenes featuring their animals and the home’s facade. Ambella Home chairs upholstered in Perennials and RM COCO fabrics surround the Old Biscayne Designs mahogany dining table. But the formal room isn’t relegated to fancy dinner parties alone. “We host everything from holiday dinners to casual pizza nights with friends in here,” Bryan says. In the formal living room, seating vignettes create an easy flow for entertaining. But one corner of the room, near the pair of custom chaises covered in Colefax and Fowler “Sinclair” fabric, is where Parker likes to practice the electric guitar.
“The interiors feature quality items and nice upholstery, but it’s not a ‘don’t sit on that sofa’ kind of house.”
—Designer Eddie Maestri
The couple also looked to Maestri to help them redesign the backyard’s pool, pool house, and surrounding landscape for the ultimate spot to entertain friends and family. Maestri’s team covered the walls of the pool house (which doubles as a guest suite) in a playful “La Palma” wallpaper by Mokum Textiles, and they refinished the pool with bold black-and-white tiles. “We wanted it to feel like a retreat with a fun vacation vibe. It feels like a destination,” Maestri says. Megan and Bryan fire up the pizza oven and make their signature Aperol spritzes while the kids splash in the pool.
While the backyard is an entertaining haven, the front yard is a peaceful retreat, with a rolling lawn and a beautiful ivy-covered facade. Through the front door is an unimpeded bucolic view of the lake. The house, they know, was an impossible dream that somehow came true. Remarks Bryan, “It’s really nice coming back from work to the ‘countryside.’ ”
Library The bar off the library can be concealed behind a secret door—a detail that leads the Fearses to believe it was a post-Prohibition precaution. “It’s the only door in the house with a dead bolt on it,” says Bryan. Rug: custom from Interior Resources; swivel chairs: Ambella Home covered in Colefax and Fowler wool; drinks table: Baker; armchair: Minton-Spidell covered in Hubbard wool herringbone; art: by Steven Miller via Conduit Gallery
Author
