STEVE BROWN/DMN

Jim Hurt of Texas Traditions Custom Homes “had to go through a lot of hoops” to finance a speculative home just off Henderson Avenue.

A few years ago, the sight of a house going up near Lower Greenville Avenue wouldn’t have prompted a second look. But these days, a foundation being poured or lumber being raised is a lot less common in Dallas. The recession and lousy housing market have put a lid on most teardown home building.

LANNIE BOESIGER/Method Homes

A prefab cabin by Method Homes

When Arb and Andrea Rylant of Ovilla in Ellis County wanted a vacation home, they let their son do the building. Mark Rylant and his Method Homes of Seattle built his parents an environmentally friendly and sleekly modern prefab cabin in Washington state's Cascade Mountain range.

Randall Davis Co.

Randall Davis has teamed up with developer Hines to build the nine-story Terranova condominiums on Douglas Avenue. It would be the first residential high-rise built in Preston Center in more than a decade.

Hearth, Patio & Barbecue Assn.

A direct-vent gas fireplace manufactured by Travis Industries is shown in a bathroom.

In the past, new-home buyers usually had two places for a fireplace — the family room or the living room — and two materials: brick or stone. Now, homebuyers are asking for fireplaces in bathrooms, kitchens, bedrooms and patios as well. And they have more choice of materials, modern designs and temperature and remote controls.

TERRI GLANGER

Karla McKinley in her wild and wonderful bungalow.

The journey started when Karla McKinley moved into a 1930s University Park bungalow with her husband and their three teenagers. It ended with leopard-print-upholstered walls and a garden trellis-clad foyer.
Photos
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