One of Dallas’ finest, largest and most luxurious estates is the Walnut Place located in the Mayflower Estates section of Preston Hollow. This is also considered as one of the most architecturally significant estates in the southern United States.
Designed by a world-renowned architect back in 1938, Walnut Place now stands in a 25-acre land with the main home measured at 28,000 square feet after the restoration and expansion.
Walnut Place has a silver-leafed Art Deco bar room, a 19th-century Italian-burled walnut library, large main rooms, a two-story 6,300-square-foot guest house, a separate 7,200-square-foot three-bedroom family home with separate entrance, a large recreation complex, a large outdoor living area, tennis court, greenhouses, rose and vegetable gardens.
Walnut Place will now go to auction with no reserve bidding opening on December 19th.
This view of the house from a distance boasts of the massive lawn of well-maintained grass of the estate bordered with multiple tall trees that are even bigger than the house itself. Images courtesy of Toptenrealestatedeals.com.
This is a closer look at the front of the house showing the gorgeous landscaping of the shrubs and grass flanking the walkway and driveway toward the main entry of the house. Images courtesy of Toptenrealestatedeals.com.
This side of the home shows the perfect complement of the tall trees and lawn of grass to the elegant exterior walls of the house that has tall windows. Images courtesy of Toptenrealestatedeals.com.
This is a closer look at the back of the house that has rows of elegant tall archways that complement the beige exterior walls. Images courtesy of Toptenrealestatedeals.com.
Upon entry of the arched main door, you will be welcomed by this grand bright foyer with gray and white checkered marble flooring to pair with the beige walls and arched entryways. Images courtesy of Toptenrealestatedeals.com.
This living room has a tall arched ceiling with exposed wooden beams paired with a warm and homey large fireplace housed by a massive stone structure that reaches to the ceiling across from the comfortable sofas. Images courtesy of Toptenrealestatedeals.com.
This is the formal living room with a grand air of elegance and luxury to its tall coffered ceiling and even a grand piano at the far end by the tall row of windows. Images courtesy of Toptenrealestatedeals.com.
This living room has a warm and elegant fireplace across from the homey sofas and cushioned armchairs under a couple of simple chandeliers. Images courtesy of Toptenrealestatedeals.com.
This is the formal dining area with an elegant brown wooden dining table paired with wooden chairs complemented by the natural lighting that comes in through the tall curtained windows at the far end. Images courtesy of Toptenrealestatedeals.com.
The large wooden dining table of this formal dining room is topped with an elegant crystal chandelier hanging from a white tray ceiling. Images courtesy of Toptenrealestatedeals.com.
This is the spacious primary bedroom with a large bed paired with a cushioned day bed at the foot on an area rug. These are then warmed by the large fireplace on the side of the cushioned armchair. Images courtesy of Toptenrealestatedeals.com.
This other bedroom has a lovely wooden four-poster bed that stands out against the carpeted flooring and beige walls warmed by the yellow lights of the lamps. Images courtesy of Toptenrealestatedeals.com.
This gorgeous bathroom has a dark wooden vanity across from the freestanding porcelain bathtub that complements the marble flooring. Images courtesy of Toptenrealestatedeals.com.
This other bathroom has a more detailed marble flooring that extends to the backsplash of the bathtub placed at the corner across from the wooden cabinet. Images courtesy of Toptenrealestatedeals.com.
This charming and luxurious area is the bar of the estate with dark wooden elements to the bar and the walls that make the cushioned built-in curved bench stand out with its green tone. Images courtesy of Toptenrealestatedeals.com.
This is the magnificent home office with a tall white ceiling contrasted by the colorful patterned area rug that covers most of the flooring paired with a large wooden desk that matches the cabinets flanking the tall window. Images courtesy of Toptenrealestatedeals.com.
This is the luxurious wine cellar with the walls dominated by wooden structures for wine storage. In the middle sits a wooden table for wine tasting. Images courtesy of Toptenrealestatedeals.com.
This is the gorgeous home theater with comfortable black leather chairs placed in elevated platforms for an unobstructed view of the large screen. Images courtesy of Toptenrealestatedeals.com.
This is the library of the house with tall built-in bookshelves on the walls surrounding a sofa set that is warmed by a fireplace for a perfect reading area. Images courtesy of Toptenrealestatedeals.com.
This is the large pool of the estate surrounded by lush green lawns of grass and several sitting areas to better enjoy the pool side under the shade of tall trees. Images courtesy of Toptenrealestatedeals.com.
This is a part of the magnificent landscape surrounding the estate. There is a large creek at the back of the house surrounded by tall trees to make a perfect scenic view. Images courtesy of Toptenrealestatedeals.com.
This part of the landscaping gives a fantastical and rustic vibe that adds to the charm of tall trees and creek. Images courtesy of Toptenrealestatedeals.com.
This is an aerial view of the large property. Here you can see the main home surrounded by tall trees and lush green lawns and beside it is a separate guest house almost hidden by tall trees. Images courtesy of Toptenrealestatedeals.com.
More sellers of luxury properties are taking the auction route to market and sell their properties. There are a number of reasons that it makes sense, especially when buyers shopping at the top level of the market are so few.
Auctions get wider attention and the larger auction houses understand the value of advertising globally to reach the major wealth centers rather than restricting themselves just to the U.S. Another reason is the uniqueness of most high-end real estate of which there are few comparables for establishing a fair market price which the bidding process helps to establish that level.
Some of the most notable home auctions have been the elegant Gianni Versace Mansion on South Beach in Miami Beach, Florida in 2013 which sold at $41.5 million to the Jordache Jeans family and the Virginia Klug Winery, which Donald Trump purchased for $6.2 million at a foreclosure auction in 2011. Trump was also the second-highest bidder on the Versace Mansion. Another luxury auction is on the horizon when Dallas’ Walnut Place begins the bidding process on December 19.
In the Mayflower Estates section of Preston Hollow, Walnut Place is one of the most architecturally significant estates in the southern U.S., designed in 1938 by world-renowned architect Maurice Fatio. The Swiss-born Fatio was well known for his projects in New York and Florida where he designed over 200 homes, many built in Palm Beach for the super rich including Harold Vanderbilt, Marjorie Merriweather Post and E.F. Hutton. He was so famous in the 1930s that Cole Porter wrote: “I want to live on Maurice Fatio’s patio.” Walnut Place was Faito’s last work; he died in 1943 from lung cancer.
Walnut Place was commissioned by Italian Count Pio Crespi and his American wife, Flo Crespi. He had been sent to Dallas by his family to establish trade for their cotton empire. Money was no object to stand in the way of creating the Crespi’s Texas palace. Once in residence, the Crespis entertained lavishly, playing host to presidents, celebrities and dignitaries from around the world.
The male guests were entertained by the count in his silver-leafed art deco bar room and enjoyed after dinner cigars and brandy in the 19th-century Italian-burled walnut library while the ladies gathered in the elegantly appointed main rooms. The Crespi family lived on the original property on 12 acres and the main house until 1997.
The next owners set about a complete restoration and expansion that took three years and 250 designers, builders and artisans to complete. They doubled the size of the property to 25 acres making it the largest single residential property in central Dallas.
They also expanded the original 10,000-square-foot mansion to 28,000 square feet, added a two-story 6,300-square-foot guest house, a separate 7,200-square-foot three-bedroom family home with separate entrance, a large recreation complex, a large outdoor living area, tennis court, greenhouses, rose and vegetable gardens and added landscaping to a wooded lot along the creek.
Originally listed in 2013 as an off-market pocket listing at $135 million, it was later dropped to $98 million but did not sell. The owner relisted at $100 million with a different agent, Allie Beth Allman, who made the listing public. After only nine months, she sold Walnut Place in a cash transaction of undisclosed amount to mega investor, banker, mathematician and poker player Andrew Beal.
Having never moved into the mansion, Beal listed it in January, 2017 again with Allie Beth Allman.
Walnut Place, one of Dallas’ finest and largest estates, is going to auction with no reserve bidding opening on December 19th.
