Issue link: http://papercitymagazine.uberflip.com/i/1525827
At first glance, the neoclassical house on Spanish Trail is just another sprawling mansion along this leafy boulevard in Westover Hills, an exclusive, old-money enclave nestled on the western edge of Fort Worth. Known as the Young Estate, the 17,000-square- foot residence is anything but typical. Behind the stately white columns and cut-limestone façade lies a house of remarkable design importance — with a notorious backstory. Conceived in 1975 by Hollywood architect and interior designer Michael Morrison for two of Fort Worth's most colorful members of high society — late oil wildcatter William Kelly Young and his wife, Connie Bolin Young — the interiors were filled with priceless architectural elements and rare antiques, much of it acquired from palatial residences around Europe such as Mentmore Towers, a 19th-century English country house built for the Rothschild family. But the real treasures were salvaged from Rose Terrace, a Versailles-like estate in Grosse Pointe, Michigan, completed in 1934 for Anna Dodge, widow of automobile pioneer Horace E. Dodge. One of the richest women in the world, Dodge spent her vast wealth turning Rose Terrace into a palace worthy of kings. Nothing Else Like It in America Fast forward to present day. Carla Fonts, founder of the Dallas design firm Dunbar Road, has just finished phase one of an extensive two-part refresh of the Young Estate, which hadn't been touched since the 1970s. "So far, we've done the kitchen, the library, five upstairs bedrooms, and 11 bathrooms that I can remember — I lost count," Fonts says. Her clients are a couple who purchased the house 20 years ago and raised their children there; the wife is originally from Michigan and knew the house's historic significance. Fonts recalls, "One of the things they kept reiterating to us was: 'Please be good stewards of the house, honor the structure of the home.'" The Young Estate reminds Fonts of the grand antiques-filled houses by society architect Addison Mizner in Palm Beach, where her parents and grandparents lived after fleeing Cuba. The vibrancy of Palm Beach influences Fonts' own design work, with an emphasis on bright colors and a mix of European antiques. Her initial focus has been on the private areas. "Those rooms deserved to be as palatial as the rest of the house," she says. The bathrooms all have exquisite Sherle Wagner fittings, and elegant materials were used in the bedrooms including Scalamandré and Pindler silks, Lee Jofa velvet, and Samuel & Sons trims. "I wanted each bedroom to have a uniqueness," Fonts says. They range from a smoky elegant men's-club feel with plaid Stark carpeting and deep-blue velvet Holland & Sherry draperies to an English-cottage-garden look with embroidered Pierre Frey headboards and chinoiserie wallpaper. The library's frothy blue and green pastels, custom gold-leaf pagoda chandelier, and lime- green Gainsborough silk wall panels are a light-hearted interpretation of 19th-century aristocracy. "I'm a big Bridgerton fan," Fonts says, referencing the popular Netflix period drama, "so I wanted to bring in those lively, fresh colors to give the room a little uplift." Areas with historic significance were lightly touched, such as the downstairs powder bathroom, a rotunda-like space with columns, antique Chinese wallpaper and polished travertine floors with a radiating sun mosaic designed by architect Michael Morrison. A future refresh of THE DODGE COLLECTION OF EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY FRENCH AND ENGLISH ART IN THE DETROIT INSTITUTE OF ARTS (HUDSON HILLS PRESS © 1996) The original Oak Room from Rose Terrace, built in 1934, with carved 18th-century French paneling and antique rock-crystal chandeliers. Opposite page: A spectacular foyer, designed by Billy Baldwin protégé Michael Morrison in the '70s, with polished travertine floors and marble sun design.