COLLEYVILLE, Texas It's easy to pardon Ron Sturgeon's obvious pride in his luxury French doghouse.
This former auto-salvage yard magnate having started his adult years living in a mobile home has now created a luxury 10,000-square-foot French chateau. Not just for himself, but also for nearly 100 images of Man's best friend plus shrines to one of the world's premier toy car collections, some real wheels, an eclectic array of antiques and Marilyn Monroe.
He moved into 1707 Cheek Sparger Road to live with canines of silk, silver-plate, bronze, ceramics, wood, tin, etchings, pastels, tapestries, pillow shams, photographs, cast stone and other media.
Among his prized companions are the collies, terriers, pointers, poodles and other breeds rendered in 34 of the world's 19th and 20th century oil masterpieces focused on dogs: ageless pets viewed here in Lutron radio-controlled lighting, rivaling any museum, and natural light from 24-foot, floor-to-ceiling, butt-jointed glass walls.
Plus, very much alive and lively Cavalier King Charles Spaniel puppies have their own ceramic-tiled room outfitted with custom plumbing, backyard access via their own downsized door and cable-linked color TV. Dixie and Willie now reside at "1707-A Cheek Sparger," as embroidered to scale on their hotel-style canopy awning over their door with its entry mat bordered by a pair of miniature potted trees.
"I love dogs," says former Volkswagen mechanic Ron Sturgeon, 48, a self-made businessman who started his auto-focused career just out of high school with $4,000 and a limping 1965 VW Beetle.
The spaniels are successors to Mr. Clouseau, Sturgeon's late toy poodle, a constant companion for 15 years as Ron built his businesses, AAA Small Car World and then his Auto Recyclers chain.
Dog-gone-it, the Sturgeon from the moment this pragmatic entrepreneur formulated the house plans in early 2000 crafted a multiplex.
That's not to mention the home's antiqued Tuscany, Renaissance and other interior themes or its real 1840-vintage antique Irish pub bar. Or the two carved-wood St. Bernards as black end-pieces of one of the largest Black Forest clock sets ever made (circa 1750-1810). Or the century-old stained glass skylight built into the home's Medieval turret tower and the 19th century European doors to the library. As well, nooks and crannies run rampant with 70 clocks, like the popular 19th century calendar models.
"Why would I just hoard these often rare and always fun toys or these classic paintings and antiques? Yes, I'm proud of my success and what I've collected, but all of it makes sense only if I share it with others," he says.
So come, walk through the 12-foot tall, Old World-style iron doors into Sturgeons' elegant foyer and formal living room on marble floors under the 24-foot high cherub-adorned dome. Ahead is a 24-foot butt-jointed glass wall.
Welcome to the chateau of brick, native rock, cast stone (fancy finished concrete), stucco, copper, steel (framework), cobblestone and glass.
To make the ideas into reality, Sturgeon hired an award-winning team led by custom builder/full-service contractor Dan Thomas and Schaumburg Architects P.C., both based in Fort Worth.
Shades of Mary Poppins, its eight different fireplaces are vented by seven different chimneys one of spiraled brick, another of cast stone, a third of brick and stone, one in the round, one nearly traditional, etc. on concrete tile roofing pitched to a steep 16-inch rise per 1-foot width. "Chimneys should be fun," vows Schaumburg.
Says Ron, "I never wanted to be involved in the details. We didn't want to choose the colors. I did choose the brick and rock for the outside, and had my own ideas, and I reserved the right to approve or reject the selections and decisions made by our team. But basically I said, Call me when it's ready.' "
"In three months, twice as fast as would have been typical for a project like this, we had the plans ready for construction to begin," says Schaumburg. "Sturgeon brought in a lot of criteria, 70 pages of photographs of ideas and details, plus the general spatial parameters. He did a lot of homework."
Sturgeon says his passion for detailed plans stems from earning his "junkyard dog" title as an honest mechanic, creative marketer, business computer innovator and hard-nosed trader while expanding from a VW repair shop into six auto-salvage yards with worldwide annual sales exceeding $13 million. Then in 1999, this self-educated business executive sold his Auto Recyclers chain to a subsidiary of Ford Motor Co.
That's when he decided it was time to create his dream home. In addition to Thomas and Schaumburg, he hired architectural interior designer Carol Martyr, interior designer Kay Crinkelmeyer and artist/designer/painter Tim G. Morris to make it a reality.
