Who do you think you are? What business do you have? How dare you? In the seven years that we’e been crowning winners in our annual celebration of gorgeous homes, we’ve heard all that and more. Allow us to clear up any and all confusion. We are a gang of well-meaning shelter-magazine editors who have made it our business to run the roads of Dallas and select our very favorite houses based solely on curb appeal, with no regard for pedigree of home nor resident. And we dare to do it quite happily. To see a complete list of winners, go here.
Sometimes I forget that I am old—probably in itself some form of senility. But then something happens—maybe I find myself thinking something looks cute in a Chico’s commercial or perhaps I simply realize that this is my seventh year to be a part of the 10 Most Beautiful House. Whatever the case, I remember that I am not young. But I still love doing this thing because it’s the basest of contests—we really don’t care about anything other than how the house looks. We just run the roads and pick out homes we like without a care as to who lives there, what interior design travesties may or may not be going on inside, and /or who built it. I always wonder how much hate mail People gets when they publish their annual list of “Sexiest People Alive.” I’m sure readers complain about lack of symmetry in faces, charges of plastic surgery, or accusations of crimes these celebrities have committed. But it’s a beauty contest, plain and simple.
Sometimes you get lucky. You choose someone or something that is good and wonderful and important in addition to being super pretty. And that’s what happened here. Late last year, I toured the restored Stanley Marcus estate with the current owners, Patricia and Mark Lovvorn. The house was on the market, and I really wanted to buy it. Unfortunately, I do not currently, nor will I probably ever have, the necessary funds. So I decided it belonged on this year’s list of 10 Most Beautiful. So that’s the simple story on this selection.
Also, kind of cool: we profiled my friend and Stanley’s granddaughter, noted photographer Allison V. Smith. Neat, right?
