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 Interior of the Southern Accents Showhouse -- Part I

When I was first told that Joe Minton was being considered to be the interior designer for the Southern Accents Showhouse I wasn't sure what I thought.  I had seen many photographs of his work, knew he was known as one of the best interior designers in the United States and knew he would do an incredible job.  However, even though our offices are within a mile of each other, I had never met him before and had a big concern for the builder/interior designer relationship.  In addition, because of our time constraints on building and finishing the house I was worried about working with someone I had never worked with before.


Well, to say that things went well is an enormous understatement.  Joe and his staff were not only incredible to work with professionally, I feel that we have all become great friends.  They took on the project like they were being paid by their highest-paying clients.  And the outcome speaks volumes for the hard work and dedication they put into the project.

It is difficult to pick where to start with the pictures of the interior because every room is not only beautiful, but very fitting.  When asked what was his favorite room in the house, Joe said, "Whichever one I'm standing in."  Above is the formal living room which is sits directly in the middle of the house.  Even though this room is quite large, Joe's take on this room was to create a comfortable feeling of an estate in the English countryside.  His mixture of furnishings  and antiques are perfect for this room.  The floors in the living room (and throughout most of the house) are wide-plank, hand beveled oak.  The ceiling has enormous oak trusses.

I designed the paneling for the library in a Jacobean style.  Joe's selections for the room are classic English and the room is set up for work, reading or to simply watch television.  Everyone raves about this room and it was difficult to get visitors of the showhouse to move on from this room.

The master bedroom and bath are my favorite we have ever done.  The room is large enough to have two sitting areas.  Joe designed this with a nod to old Hollywood.  The walls are painted in a pearl color and the ceiling is in a very pale blue.  The windows overlook the pool and backyard.  There are two entries into the master bathroom -- her side and his.  On her side, you entire into an octagonal dressing area and on through two closets.  One closet is set up for handbags, shoes and out-of-season clothes and the other is a mirrored room with hidden closets.

The master bath resembles a bath you would see in the Savoy Hotel.  All white Calacatta marble with bespoke cabinetry.  The marble floor was designed to match the millwork on the ceiling.  This room is very bright and soothing.  Joe's mixture of stark white with antiques is beautiful.

When Joe first showed me the sample of the de Gournay hand-painted wallpaper for the dining room I was a bit scared.  The background color was ORANGE.  I think my first comment was, "Wow!".  After more thought, Joe had de Gournay change the colors of the paper and the room is about as much of a statement as a room can make.  The peonies in the paper are about 12"-14" in diameter.  The room is square and perfectly set up for a round dining table which I love.  There is a black tiled fireplace (we put tile in all the fireplaces) with a mantel from England.  The ceiling is silver leafed with a glaze on it.

The conservatory (above right) is one of the rooms of the house that gives a nod to the great estates of the 1920s.  Just beyond the entry hall, this room draws your eye through the house and to the backyard when you open the front door.  With black limestone floors, antique mirrors on one entire wall and french doors opening to the loggia the conservatory calls for morning coffee and a newspaper or afternoon tea.

The bright and cheery laundry room is done in crisp white walls, ceilings and cabinetry and a concrete tile floor from Ann Sacks.  The dog doesn't come with the house (he belongs to Joe).

 

Right after we finished the install on the house we were asked if Indulge magazine could do a fashion shoot at the house.  The first picture is in the master bedroom, the second is in the entry hall, the third and fourth are in the study and the bottom two are in the master bedroom and study.

In my next post I will be covering the rest of the downstairs and the upstairs.

Modern Twist on Classical Designs -- Part II

Okay, I've been flooded with emails about my post yesterday.  I guess I've struck a chord that makes me realize I'm not the only one that loves modern adaptations of classical and period revival homes.  The work that some talented architects are doing simply amazes me with their incredible eye for detail, scale and proportions.  Their imagination and ability to take what they see in their head and put it on paper sometimes astounds me.  As I wrote yesterday, there are many failures in trying to do this.  However, another architect (who trained under Bobby McAlpine) is doing it very, very well.  I recently came across his work and have already become a huge fan.  His name is Ruard Veltman and his staff of Ruard Veltman Architecture in Charlotte, North Carolina.  They describe their company as "an atelier residential firm, fluent in a range of historical styles without being bound by tradition."  The designers render their drawings by hand which I love.  While I am not an architect, I do design many of the homes we build.  I have been a student of architecture for many years, drawing floor plans and rearranging furniture since I was 11 years old and I find it impossible for someone to truly put their creative imagination for a design into a computer without drawing or sketching it out first.

Here are some pictures of Ruard Veltman Architecture's work.  The first home is what he calls Jacobean Tudor:

Look at this wine storage.  Incredible.

Here is Ruard's take on a Mediterranean style:

I believe the above picture is a basement level wine room.  The below pictures are of his take on an English Cottage:

Ruard is a very talented architect and I'm looking forward to seeing more of his work.  If you know of any architects doing similar work, please forward their information to me.

Modern Twist on Classical Designs

Modern adaptations of classical architecture have their place.  It is very easy to completely destroy what started out as a great design.  I see it all the time on additions to old houses.

However, when done right and an architect puts his spin on period revival architecture the outcome can be outstanding.  One of the best I know of for doing this is Bobby McAlpine and his partner Greg Tankersley of McAlpine Tankersley.  They describe their work as "nurturing, compassionate, soulful," the firm's architecture, wedding historical precedence with graceful modern living, is a timeless and romantic pursuit of "The Inheritable House".

And do they ever.  What is even more amazing is that their firm is headquartered in little Montgomery, Alabama.  You know how us Southerners (I'm from Baton Rouge) love great architecture.  Below are some pictures of their work.  These pictures came from both Southern Accents and Veranda.

The picture above and directly below are of Bobby McAlpine's house he built in Montgomery quite a few years ago.  He has since sold it and restored another house.

The three pictures above are of a house I saw when I was visiting family in Memphis and taking my early morning architecture drive (I do this in every city I visit).  At the time, I didn't know it was a McAlpine-Tankersley house but it caught my eye from 500' away.

The next two pictures are of Greg Tankersley's personal house.

I'll do more posts on modern adaptations of period revival homes and the architects who are doing great work.