Short answer
Highland Park is a separate municipality, not part of the City of Dallas. It issues its own permits, sets its own requirements and runs its own inspections. A contractor who works mainly in Dallas may not know the process, and that shows up as delay.
The houses are the point. Much of the housing stock dates from the 1920s and 1930s, and the plaster, the millwork, the doors and the proportions are frequently better than anything that would replace them.
Budget a larger contingency. A house of this age has had systems replaced, walls moved and additions built, often more than once. What is behind the walls is genuinely unknown until they open.
On this page
A separate town, and what that means
This is the single most useful fact for anyone renovating here, and the one most often discovered late. The Town of Highland Park is an independent municipality surrounded by Dallas. It has its own building department, its own adopted codes and amendments, its own inspectors and its own review process.
Practical consequences:
- Confirm requirements with the town directly, at the start. What applies in Dallas may not apply here, and vice versa.
- Review timelines are the town’s, not yours. Build them into the programme rather than assuming a Dallas-like duration.
- Contractor familiarity matters. A builder who works here regularly knows the submission requirements, the inspectors and the sequence. One who does not will learn on your project.
- Tree protection is taken seriously in the Park Cities. Confirm what applies to any tree affected by your work before designing around it.
- Construction hours, parking, dumpsters and site conduct are governed locally and enforced. Neighbors notice, and so does the town.
The jurisdictional picture across the whole area is set out in permits and trades in Dallas, and the broader Park Cities picture in the Park Cities renovation guide.
What these houses actually are
Highland Park was developed largely in the 1910s through the 1930s, with a substantial amount of period revival architecture — Tudor, Colonial, Mediterranean and Georgian among them — alongside later infill and rebuilds.
What that means for a renovation:
- Rooms are defined, not open. The plans were drawn when a kitchen was a service room at the back and the dining room was formal. Most renovations here are about connecting those spaces sensibly — see open plan or defined rooms.
- Ceilings and proportions are generous in the principal rooms and tight in the service areas.
- Kitchens are small and separate, usually with a pantry and a breakfast room adjoining. That pantry is worth keeping — see butler’s pantry and scullery design.
- Bathrooms are few and small by current expectations, and adding one usually means borrowing from a bedroom or a closet.
- Closets are minimal. Storage is the most common brief in these houses after the kitchen — see closets and storage design.
- Nearly every house has been altered before. Which means the framing you find may not be the framing that was drawn.
Working in the Park Cities regularly means knowing the town's process, which surprises tend to appear behind these walls, and which original details are worth the cost of restoring.
Jan Revels designs and general-contracts across Highland Park, University Park and Preston Hollow.
What is worth keeping?
| Element | Usual verdict | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Original hardwood floors | Keep and refinish | Old-growth timber; can be sanded several times |
| Original doors and hardware | Keep | Solid construction and detail that is expensive to replicate |
| Plaster walls | Repair rather than replace | Harder, flatter and quieter than drywall |
| Millwork and trim profiles | Keep, and match for new work | The profiles are the character — see the millwork guide |
| Steel casement windows | Assess individually | Beautiful and thermally poor; restoration is specialist work |
| Original tile in baths | Assess | Sometimes remarkable, sometimes simply old |
| Wiring and plumbing | Replace | Age and prior modification make this the safe default |
| Kitchen and bathroom layouts | Rework | These rooms were planned for a different way of living |
The rule that holds: keep what was made better than it would be made today, and replace what has worn out or was never good. Doors, floors, plaster and trim are usually in the first category; systems and service-room layouts are in the second.
What surprises should you expect?
- Framing that has been modified. A previous renovation removed something and headed it in a way that would not be done today. This is the most common structural finding — see removing a load-bearing wall.
- Mixed generations of wiring. Original, 1960s, 1990s, all in the same wall.
- Galvanized supply pipe that has narrowed internally over decades.
- No insulation, or insulation added badly, which matters more in a Texas summer than in most climates.
- Uneven floors. A house of this age on North Texas clay has moved, and floors that are out of level affect every cabinet and every tile installation.
- Older building materials in houses from this era, which are tested for before disturbance as a matter of routine. Any competent contractor raises this without being asked.
- Ductwork routed through what you wanted to remove.
None of these is unusual and none is a reason not to renovate. They are the reason a house of this age carries a larger contingency than a newer one — the sizing is in change orders and budget control.
Lot constraints and adding on
Highland Park lots are generally well built out, and the constraints are usually the binding factor rather than the design:
- Setbacks, lot coverage and height are set by the town and frequently determine that an addition can go in exactly one place, or nowhere.
- Establish these before any design. A morning spent confirming what the lot allows is the highest-value time in the project.
- Trees are a real constraint and a real asset. Confirm what protection applies before planning around one.
- Reworking usually beats adding here, because the constraints are tight and the existing houses often contain underused rooms — see add on or rework.
- Matching materials matters more in a neighborhood where the streetscape is coherent. Brick, roof tile, window proportion and trim all have to be right.
Modernizing without stripping the character out
- Open selectively. Kitchen to breakfast room, almost always right. Living to dining, usually wrong.
- Case new openings properly, with a surround matching the existing trim. A bare drywall opening announces the renovation instantly — see paneling, ceilings and trim.
- Match trim profiles by taking a section to a millwork shop rather than choosing the nearest stock item.
- Keep the window proportions. Replacing tall period windows with shorter modern units changes the face of the house permanently.
- Modern kitchens can be quiet. Simple cabinetry, restrained hardware and a calm counter sit comfortably in a 1920s house; a highly styled contemporary kitchen fights it.
- Put the technology out of sight. Concealed televisions, hidden equipment and lighting that reads as period fittings.
- Improve comfort invisibly. Insulation, better glazing where appropriate, and correctly zoned cooling do more for how the house lives than anything visible.
Key takeaways
- Highland Park is a separate town with its own permits, inspectors and timelines.
- Confirm requirements with the town at the start, and use a contractor who works here.
- Keep floors, doors, plaster and trim; replace systems and service-room layouts.
- Nearly every house has been altered before, so the framing may not match the drawings.
- Establish setbacks, lot coverage, height and tree protection before designing anything.
- Reworking usually beats adding on, because the lots are tightly constrained.
- Match trim profiles and window proportions, or new work announces itself.
Frequently asked questions
Does Highland Park issue its own building permits?
What should I keep in an older Highland Park house?
What usually goes wrong in these renovations?
Can I add on to a Highland Park house?
How do I modernize without ruining the character?
Jan has practiced interior design in Dallas since 1997 and founded Chateau Concepts in 2001. She holds a BFA in Interior Design from the University of North Texas. She designs and general-contracts residential and commercial projects across the Park Cities, Preston Hollow and North Dallas. Read her full profile →
Written and reviewed by Jan Revels before publicationWork with Chateau Concepts
Jan Revels handles both sides of a project in Dallas and the Park Cities — the design and the build.