As anybody who’s overseen construction of a brand-new house will tell you, there’s a lot of blood, sweat, and stress headaches that comes with the process. Homeowners Kristen and Joe Cole know this well, having obsessed over every inch of a midcentury-style structure in Austin that took them 18 months to build. The couple moved into their dream house in early 2017, figuring that they’d be living there long enough to see a few scratches on the woodwork. Not a chance. By the summer of 2018 the couple had already bid farewell to their new neighbors in Austin and finalized a move to Dallas, where Kristen needed to be for her job as president and chief creative officer for fashion retailer Forty Five Ten. “It was sad to walk away from a home we had built for a year and a half, but Joe and I believe that you have to be fluid in life,” she says. “We rolled with it.”

Designed by architect Lionel Morrison, the house was built in the 1990s for blue-chip art patrons Howard and Cindy Rachofsky. “They are collectors on an entirely different level from us,” says Kristen. “They are an inspiration!” (Fun fact: The Rachofskys still live in the neighborhood, in a Richard Meier–designed house down the street.)

And they rolled fast. “We did not want another construction project,” says Joe, who works as creative director for Headington Companies, which owns Forty Five Ten. “We wanted something easy.” They hoped to find a house that they and their two young sons could move into right away—no architects, building permits, or renovations required. And as luck would have it, the very first one they saw was a contemporary four-bedroom, six-bathroom property in pristine condition, built in 1997 for renowned Dallas art collectors Howard and Cindy Rachofsky. “Honestly, when we saw it, I felt like the universe was on our side,” says Kristen, who also loved the elegant neighborhood, Preston Hollow. “It was meant for us.”

Passionate art collectors themselves, the Coles were especially drawn to the house’s sun-drenched expanses of clean, white space, perfect for their growing collection of contemporary paintings and sculpture by artists like Katherine Bradford, Elizabeth Neel, Sarah Braman, and Al Freeman. “The architecture led the decision,” says Joe. “We loved that it felt so gallerylike.”

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Once the Coles sealed the deal, the process of settling in was equally as smooth. Because the house was such a blank slate, it was a breeze to install their art and rehome most of the contemporary and '60s vintage furniture from their Austin house—like the Karl Springer coffee table, Ligne Roset sofa, and Hans Wegner Wishbone chairs. “Joe and I have a good, quick rhythm for designing together,” says Kristen. The biggest change the couple made was a rather subtle one: the plush wall-to-wall ivory carpeting on the second floor, which runs through the bedrooms and the open-air den, where the couple hang out in the evening after the kids go to bed. “It feels great on bare feet,” says Kristen. “It makes everything cosy.”