Period Revivals in Cowtown

Fort Worth is known as cowtown -- where the west began.  While that puts images into people's minds of horses, cattle, ranches and cowboys (and we do have that) many do not realize the incredible amount of great Period Revival houses in our city.
Throughout Westover Hills, Rivercrest, Park Hill, Colonial Country Club and Mistletoe (along with others) there is some of the finest examples of period revival architecture in the country.  Here are just a few of my favorites:

This fine Norman-Tudor Period Revival was built in 1930 in Westover Hills to be the Fort Worth Star-Telegram's "Home Beautiful".  It is the flagship of Westover Hills and was designed by Victor Marr Curtis.

This Spanish Colonial, also in Westover Hills, is a great example of a Period Revival and part of what makes Westover Hills a beautiful example of a mix of architectural designs.

I am not sure of the year this house was built, but is next door to the Spanish Colonial above and recently went through a major remodel and is beautiful.

This Tudor Revival, built in 1934 and designed by Joseph Patterson, is a home we did a remodel on a few years ago.  In Westover Hills also, it has a beautiful setting.

At the entry to Westover Hills, this home was built in 1936 and also designed by Joseph Patterson.  I love the iron flag flying on top of the turret (which is the staircase).

Set at the back of Rivercrest Country Club, this incredible Mediterranean villa was built in 1916 and designed by David Adler of Chicago.

Although the picture of the house is not great, the entrance to this English estate, built in 1927 and designed by Houston's John Staub, is one of my all time favorites.

Next door to the above English estate is another Tudor that was designed by Dallas' Fooshee and Cheek and built in 1929.  Both of these houses face #15 of Rivercrest Country Club golf course which is the hole that Ben Hogan once said was the worst hole in golf.

I will do more posts on Fort Worth's beautiful examples of Period Revival homes, as this is just a few of the many.

The Exterior of The 2009 Southern Accents Showhouse

Although you may have seen the pictures on-line, I wanted to write a post about the 2009 Southern Accents Showhouse we finished in August of last year.  I have to say that I cannot be more proud of it.  From the exterior to every single detail, this house is a true showhouse.  However, in today's market of over the top showhouses, our's quite different.  You will not find a multi-tiered theatre room or a pool with waterfalls.  This house is a statement of how to design and build a new old house.

Larry Boerder, the architect, did an incredible job of designing the house in a Cotswold style that would sit beautifully in the English countryside.  The house is set on 2/3 of an acre and was designed to appear as if it had been added on to over the years with two wings off the main portion of the house.   The  hand-chiseled stone is as close as we could find to a Cotswold stone and is beautiful.

The back of the house is every bit as beautiful as the front.  With a large loggia (we did put a flat screen on above the fireplace), classical pool (we did do some simple fountains), over the top landscaping and an outdoor kitchen built completely out of oak beams, the backyard  and back of the house are magnificent.

If you've read my blog very long you know that I usually design most of the homes we build.  This one was a little different but I made sure I designed some part of it -- the outdoor kitchen area above (and many of the details inside).  Although the design is similar to one I had seen before, I incorporated the beam and bracket details Larry designed for the house.  We planted Merlot Wysteria on the corners of the outdoor kitchen to eventually cover the entire roof. 

The sidewalk and driveway are cobblestone pavers that fit the house perfectly.  Notice the large overhang and brackets over the garage.  This is actually one of my favorite architectural details of the exterior.


My next post will be on the interior.  Joseph Minton and his staff did an incredible job of making sure the exterior and interior blend perfectly.  We actually had one lady tour the house who had come from England and commented that the house would fit perfectly in the Cotswold region.  Here's Joe and his staff.