Photography by Danny Fulgencio.
The only two-story house in the 300 block of South Winnetka is probably the oldest.
Owners Grant and Courtney Williamson think it was built in 1902, although official records put it at 1912.
They bought the house three years ago, and it also came with more recent notability. Music producer John Congleton owned it previously, and rumor has it that rapper Andre 3000 once recorded here.
They took out a renovation loan and learned that it required them to take care of all the unglamorous but necessary stuff first, namely, new electrical and a new roof. The roof wound up costing twice what they expected when workers found an older roof under their old roof.
In the backyard, they filled in a 10,000-gallon koi pond and ripped out rotting wooden decks. One bonus of that was the discovery of a 1940s tile patio outside the backdoor.
Aesthetically speaking, a lot of the transformation came from cans of paint. They had the exterior painted white with black trim. Inside, they painted everything white. They added some recessed lighting and replaced all of the ceiling fans.
Photography by Danny Fulgencio.
The one room they fully renovated is the upstairs bathroom, where they removed a claw-foot tub (they kept a second claw-foot tub in the downstairs bath) and added a glassed-in shower. Blue-and-white floor tile adds a pop of color, and an oversized round mirror brings the room together.
Courtney Williamson says her minimalist style comes naturally.
“We get rid of things a lot,” she says. “When new things come in, something’s got to go.”
It’s important to choose things for your house that you intend to keep for a long time, she says. And they pick up things on their travels that fit into their style and remind them of their trips.
Photography by Danny Fulgencio.
Liz Lambert of Bunkhouse, the designer of Hotel San Jose in Austin and El Cosmico in Marfa, is a style influence.
In the guest bedroom, Williamson pairs a Naugahyde chair from her grandparents’ beach house with a sleek metal table from Ikea.
It’s a way to take something kitschy and make it feel modern, she says.
The Williamsons moved to Oak Cliff from a townhome in Lakewood, and besides their unique house, they fell in love with the neighborhood.
“We really bought into the community more than just a house,” Grant Williamson says. “People actually use their front-porch swings. People use their frontyards way more than their backyards, which says a lot about the neighborhood.”
