game on

APreston Hollow home increases its fun factor

On a clear, spring day, the sounds of chirping birds and cascading waterfalls echo throughout the Petroff home. It’s easy to forget you’re in the city just yards from busy streets.

Kip and Suzi Petroff created an urban oasis after a remodel that expanded the back of the house and added walls of windows that open into the huge patio and backyard. The pool’s rugged rock formation and waterfall provide a natural ambiance surrounded by clusters of perennial flowers. A smaller patio juts out from the sunroom and master bedroom on the west side. That’s where Kip and Suzi got married in July 2010.

“It was so hot, so we had a 10-minute ceremony,” Suzi says. “Then, people spontaneously jumped in the pool with all their clothes on. It was a fun wedding.”

The fun-factor is reflected throughout the Petroff home, which includes a gym and two game rooms where people can play pool or shuffleboard, watch television and serve food. Between Kip and Suzi’s relatives, family gatherings can get pretty large.

“Our family is very active,” Suzi says. “It’s like the Beverly Hillbillies. We’re huge and rambunctious. We wanted a place where we could all get together and have fun.”

There is also plenty of open space where Suzi and her 15-year-old son, Michael, can practice the less rambunctious art of tae kwon do. They are both black belts.

The Petroffs work from home, which makes a comfortable design all that more important. Kip is a lawyer and was a lead prosecutor in the infamous Fen Phen case. Suzi is a former theater arts teacher and now writes educational material. They both run the New Hope Foundation, a local nonprofit that aims to help break the cycle of poverty in South Dallas. Their offices are on opposite ends of the house, and the two meet in the kitchen every day at around 5 p.m.

Suzi admits that, at 11,500 square feet, the house is too big, especially for a couple their age. However, the Petroffs have at least one big event each year at their house, accommodating more than 100 guests at time.

“The best compliment we could have is, ‘Your house is so much fun.’ That’s what we want to hear.”

J Diane Colter, DDS

Dr. Colter specializes in comprehensive dental care for infants, children, teens and children with special needs.

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ABOVE This upstairs enclave provides solace for houseguests looking for a quiet place to read a book, take a nap or play on the computer, which is tucked away in a cabinet. The most

ABOVE One of two game rooms in the Petroff house, this hideout features a shuffleboard table, a kitchenette for entertaining and plenty of open space for just about anything.

LEFT The back yard provides the ideal setting for a big family cookout, complete with two grills and two large seating areas. The landscape is like a natural playground with a trickling waterfall that cascades over a rock formation. Guests can lounge in the hammock, soak in the hot tub or take a dip in the pool. Cigar smokers have free range of the sunroom near the hammock. Hidden behind the rocks is a miniature nature trail — pure heaven for the Petroffs’ young Husky, Lucy.