Westover House Von I.M. Pei

I. M. Pei designed only three private homes in his lifetime. Westover House is the last and the greatest. Built for both the grandeur of entertainment and the quiet pleasures of everyday life, it is one of the most significant achievements in American residential architecture.

Westover House shares its DNA with Pei’s most celebrated works, including the Pyramid at the Louvre in Paris and the East Building of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D. C. Commanding a hilltop in Fort Worth’s exclusive Westover Hills, the sprawling home is thoughtfully sited on nearly 4 gently sloping acres.

At the heart of Westover House is the garden room - a soaring, light-filled space. Its canted roof of glass and steel rises above the tree line, and Pei carried its triangular geometry throughout the house, repeating the slope in four smaller angled peaks that serve as “light grabbers” - north-facing glass panels that pull natural light deep into the living spaces from morning through dusk.

The home’s materials are of the ages. Its thick walls are concrete mixed with an aggregate of rose-quartz granite from Colorado. The unique textural fluting on the walls, inside and out, was painstakingly bushhammered by hand, line by line. Interior flooring includes Portuguese marble and Burmese teak, with outside terraces of granite.

Westover House isn’t just an architectural triumph - it is a Fort Worth legend, completed in 1969 for a horse breeder, art collector and philanthropist. Interior designers and firms who have worked on the house include Melanie Kahane, Benjamin Baldwin, Ron Bradshaw, Valliant Interiors and Windfohr Design. It has been published in House & Garden, Architectural Digest and Connoisseur magazines.

Among its rooms and features:

The garden room: A sloped ceiling of steel and glass that rises to three stories makes this among the most commanding spaces in any residence. A wood lattice sunscreen filters the light from above; below, a quietly flowing fountain channels water through the white marble floor in a slim rill. It is a room that feels perpetually open to the outdoors.

Living and dining rooms: Flanking the garden room are two formal living areas and two formal dining areas, in each case a larger room adjacent to a smaller room, flowing to each other. This unique configuration affords flexibility and spontaneity.

The art gallery: This wide, welcoming hall off the garden room serves as the connection to the home’s private side and encourages gratifying viewing of works of art.

The primary suite: The sumptuous retreat includes a large bedroom with a sitting area, study area, private bath, capacious closets and an adjacent bookcase-lined library, the latter with a fireplace and wet bar. The suite also has a second bedroom attached, with its own bath and large closet.

Westover House offers seven bedrooms in total, and seven full baths. One family/guest area offers three bedrooms with private baths, a living room and a sitting area. Two additional bedrooms and baths are in the guest quarters, which also offers its own living room, dining room, kitchen and private entry.

Other amenities include a cocktail bar, three kitchens (one commercial-sized), three fireplaces, a den and office/study in the private wing, a wellness room and an elevator. The large basement offers two climate-controlled wine cellars, two baths, a laundry and staff areas.

The property’s amenities include two gated driveways, putting green, heated pool with turfed yard, greenhouse, guard office, garage spaces for 6 cars and carport for 4 cars.

Above all, Westover House offers something that cannot be replicated: singularity. It blends grand entertaining with privacy and a surprising informality. It is an atmosphere of purity, shadow and sculptural form that happens to be a remarkably comfortable place to live.