Client referrals are often deal-sealers for custom home builders, providing a level of certainty to a notoriously unpredictable process
But in the case of Scott and Carmen McArron’s Bluffview home, eventual builder Sam Hall of Sustainable Structures of Texas (SSOTX) recalls of his personal connection to the client: “It’s why I almost didn’t get the job.”
The McArrons’ doubt had nothing to do with Hall’s quality of work or professionalism. Rather, it was a question of style. Four years prior, an acquaintance of Scott’s had hired SSOTX to build a “Hill Country modern” house in Preston Hollow. Scott and Carmen, meanwhile, were seeking a house that defied definition or era. “We wanted something that wouldn’t be typecast for a certain time period in Dallas, Texas,” Scott says.
Having long been fans of SHM Architects, the McArrons enlisted Mark Hoesterey, one of the firm’s founding design principals and studio heads, without hesitation. “We knew we wanted the clean, modern SHM lines. We wanted the natural light; we wanted their windows,” Scott says. Carmen, whose tastes lean more traditional, steered the team clear of anything overly stark. “I didn’t want it to be cold; I wanted it to be cozy,” she says.
Nailing down the look of their timeless, modern-but-not-too-modern home required some research—and a few field trips. “The McArrons were unique in that they wanted to study and understand much of the Texas vernacular modernism movement in residential architecture,” says Hoesterey. “We traveled to Houston and around Dallas to be inspired by the great timeless residences of Scott Lyons, O’Neil Ford, Arch Swank, John Staub, and E.G. Hamilton—all true pioneers of their day.”
“We wanted something that wouldn’t be typecast for a certain time period in Dallas, Texas.”
—Homeowner Scott Mcarron
Together, they zeroed in on a streamlined structure with strong midcentury influences and little in the way of ornamentation. Given that his friend’s house was quite different in style, Scott worried Hall wasn’t the right builder for the job—until Hall invited the McArrons to tour a modern project they were building in University Park. The fact that the house would be built to sustainable standards was, Scott says, “a bonus.”
It’s Easy Being Green
Sustainable Structures of Texas’ Sam Hall says half of his clients hire his firm for their environmentally friendly practices, whereas the other 50 percent consider that secondary to their skill as a builder. He shares his top tips—and dispels a few myths—for building green.
Let go of any preconceived notions.
Hall says one of the biggest misconceptions is that green homes have to look a certain way or cost more. Though that may have been the case 10 years ago, these days more and more manufacturers are coming on board, allowing him to “build beautiful things that are also sustainable.”
Flexibility is essential.
Be prepared to hear things like, “I can’t buy this door because they don’t use the right kind of glue; are you OK with using this other kind of door?” cites Hall as an example. Depending on your level of commitment to the cause, you may not always get your first choice.
Get your builder involved early.
Hall weighed in early and often on choices made for the McArron project. Having your builder onboard from the get-go will allow them to offer sustainable input on selections before it’s too late.
Enlist a green consultant.
To meet the City of Dallas’ Green Building Program requirements, a project must utilize a third-party green consultant. Hall says hiring one helps but also warns that their recommendations can quickly balloon the bottom line. He’s partial to TexEnergy Solutions, whom he touts as “really reasonable.”
To help bring a touch of Carmen’s traditional taste, the couple hired Jenkins Interiors. “They’re very family minded, so many of the choices were about the needs of their kids,” says owner and lead designer Leslie Jenkins. “The task was taking that type of architecture and making it very livable. There is a lot of glass in the home, which makes it beautiful, but we also had to think about how to give them privacy and warm it up.”
The Jenkins, SHM, and SSOTX teams worked together to marry the varied aesthetic approaches. Elements typically seen in more traditional interiors were employed but given a modern treatment—like the stain-grade, rift-cut white oak and simple profile of the picture frame molding in the entry. The dining room walls and ceiling were coated in high-gloss blue paint, a finish not commonly seen in modern homes.
The strength of the professional team meant that even spontaneous changes were handled with aplomb. The original plan to use brick on the first-floor exterior and stucco on the second got scrapped once the McArrons fell in love with a brick from Old Texas Brick after months of fruitless searching. “Once Scott saw it, he said, ‘I want the second floor to be this brick as well,’ ” remembers Hall. “We had to go back to the structural engineer and make sure the foundation could handle that, and we had to do a couple of things to change it.” But Hall agrees it was well worth the effort. “People would stop and say, ‘What is that brick?’ It’s not too rustic, and it’s not too modern. It was the win of the project.”
The main goal of the house, which was completed in 2021, was to create a place their three children—Mia (20), John (18), and Mary Scott (9)—could enjoy before the older two flew the coop. Indeed, in the last few years, the house has played host for many a school gathering and pre-graduation event.
But even on quieter occasions, the house facilitates special shared moments, with family time spent in the morning room and evenings spent watching TV together in the lounge or, more recently, enjoying some friendly competition in the bar. “All three girls in the family have taken over the bar as their mahjong room,” says Scott. “It’s fun to see my wife, my 20-year-old, and my 9-year-old being able to share something like that.”
Author
