Inside a History-Filled Dallas Home With a Vibrant Reboot

Interior designer Sara Garza, as those who know her will attest, is a rebel with a cause—especially when that cause involves saving a home from demolition. “We actually wrote them a letter asking for a chance to keep it standing,” says Garza of her current family nest in Dallas’s Oak Cliff neighborhood, the them in question being the grandchildren of the original owners of a 1940s home, who were considering selling to developers. Garza’s heartfelt appeal struck a chord, prompting the family to reconsider. “Meeting the grandson was such a treat,” recalls the founder and principal of Dallas-based Punch World Studio. “He shared stories that made us love the place even more.”

Garza was captivated by its rich history. Once spanning several acres, the property originally included a greenhouse and a horse stable—its only remnant now a hitching post by the back door. There was even another house behind the main one, built in the 1930s. History seemed to be tucked into every corner. “We were told that the grandmother arrived in Dallas with 11 dollars and Stanley Marcus’s phone number, befriended the Marcus family, and became a Neiman Marcus showroom girl. And that his grandfather worked at Frito-Lay and had a hand in inventing the Dorito. With a legacy like this, how could anyone ever tear this house down?”

Ask her to pick favorites, and Garza doesn’t hem or haw. “If I had to choose, it’d definitely be the living room. We spend so much time there as a family, reading and relaxing,” she enthuses of the space, made even more joyful by a tufted wall rug by Sam Lao and Worn’s Delphina Stripe Tabouret.

Built during World War II, the home didn’t adhere to a specific architectural style, which gave Garza the opportunity to start with a clean slate—though, as she tells it, she never truly erased its history. “What we loved most about this place was its mix of a-little-bit-fun and a-little-bit-fancy, so we really leaned into those qualities,” she shares, explaining how the goal was to honor the home’s past chapters while crafting new ones. “The interior had the potential to go in a few different directions, but we like to think of ourselves as a fun family—bold dreams and big feelings—and I wanted that to shine through in our home,” says Garza, who lives with her husband, Rocky, and their two kids: nine-year-old son Ezra and six-year-old daughter Marlow.

“I’ve always wanted a yellow kitchen,” Garza gushes. “I also love that it has a swing door to the dining room—it’s perfect for closing off when we’re hosting, making everything feel more intimate.” The wooden cactus lamp is a rare 1970s find. The kitchen millwork was done by NKDR Builders.

The dining area is framed by an opening in the living room’s built-ins, designed by Garza’s parents using Burly hardware from Assembly Line. Curios and tchotchkes, like an antique Tiffin Coralene Poppy Art Nouveau vase from the 1920s–1930s (top shelf) and a sea-green vintage vase from the local shop Dolly Python (right side, middle shelf), bring the space to life.