My Houzz: Tudor Cottage in the Heart of Texas

The M Street neighborhoods of Dallas are known for Tudor-style cottages with steeply pitched gables, arched doorways, stained-glass windows and decorative brick work. The architecture of the home and history of the neighborhood immediately charmed Blair.

Sarah Greenman: What do you love most about your neighborhood?
Rhonda Blair: I love that this is, by Dallas standards, an older neighborhood with Texas Tudor and prairie-style homes. It's a conservation district, which means if the old houses are torn down or remodeled, there are regulations that preserve the old flavor of the area.

Blair moved into the house in 1995, and her partner, Bill Beach, moved in three years later.

SG: How did you know this house was the one?
RB: It wasn't so much that I knew this was "the one," but that I was moving for work and came in from Massachusetts on Wednesday to look at properties with my real estate agent, Ryon Hukill. I looked at 20 places, narrowed it down to two and made an offer on Sunday evening. I was pretty clueless about Dallas, neighborhoods and geography, but it turned out to be brilliant.

SG: What inspires your personal style?
RB: Bill and I are big on comfort, ease and flow. I like for the things on the walls to mean something to me — like Laurence Scholder's prints above the sofa. They're beautiful, but they're also Larry's, who is a local artist and our neighbor. And the tchotchkes we have tend to be attached to people and memories.

Paint color: custom Sage Green, Sherwin-Williams

SG: Did you work with any design professionals?
RB: We went to Ethan Allen when we decided to redo the living room and finish some parts of the dining room. Susan Medlin was the decorator who worked with us, and she was great. She really helped with the fabric on the chairs in the living room.

Chairs: Ethan Allen

SG: What state was the house in when you moved in?
RB: It was very clean, and all the walls were white. I didn't even think about painting until Bill moved in. He inspired me!

The paint color in the dining room is custom from Sherwin Williams, mixed to match the apple photographs (to the right of the door) by Jerome Liebling. The secretary on the far wall and the bird print to the right belonged to Bill's grandmother.

Blair and Beach were very particular about choosing colors appropriate for the home's age that also had a contemporary feel. Since each room flows into the next, the colors had to harmonize as well.

Blair purchased the dining table years ago in Lexington, Kentucky. The rosewood chairs came from an antique store in Northampton, Massachusetts, and the upholstered end chairs are from Ethan Allen.

SG: What was your biggest design dilemma?
Bill Beach: The closet space in these old Tudors is negligible.
RB: That's pretty typical for homes built in the '20s and '30s. We haven't done any remodeling, though we've been talking about it.

Bed: Havertys; paint color: Vast Sky, Sherwin-Williams

Blair's study, just off the master bedroom, is a haven where she can focus on her work as a university professor, researcher, playwright and occasional actor.

Paint color: Terra Cotta, Sherwin-Williams

Beach's home office has an easy, breezy feel. He's a real estate agent at Ebby Halliday, specializing in the Lakewood neighborhoods of Dallas.

The couple's dog, Lettie, also known as Princess Leticia, oversees Bill's real estate transactions from her personal sofa.

Paint color: Urban Putty, Sherwin-Williams

Despite some space restrictions, Blair and Beach managed to create a well-manicured backyard that boasts a raised deck and hot tub.

Homeowners Rhonda Blair and Bill Beach at home in their cozy living room.

SG: As a real estate agent, do you have any advice for those interested in buying a house?
BB: Get a good agent, someone with professional training and a listening attitude. If you've got a good agent in place, then the rest will work itself out.

Houzz call: Do you live in a Tudor? Share it with us!