Your Expert Guide

Westover Hills: Fort Worth's best-kept secret for easy entertaining

Agent Caren Parten.

Photo courtesy of Briggs Freeman Sotheby's International Realty

There are so many great places to live in Fort Worth that it helps to have an expert on your side. The Neighborhood Guide presented by Briggs Freeman Sotheby's International Realty gives you insider access from the agents who live and work there, providing in-the-know info about your possible new community.

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Fun fact: Westover Hills is one of the wealthiest towns in Texas. This incorporated city sits just 4.5 miles west of downtown Fort Worth; has its own town hall, city council, and police department; and boasts a lower property tax rate than other nearby neighborhoods.

"Westover Hills is a quiet community known for its luxury homes with large, landscaped lots located on peaceful, tree-lined streets," says real estate agent Caren Parten. "The spacious lots allow larger homes which are ideal for either indoor or outdoor entertaining, and the 'hills of Westover' are the best walking streets in town."

Parten, who lives nearby, has been selling homes in Westover Hills for the past 18 years. She says she typically walks through the neighborhood daily, enjoying its wide streets, namesake hills and scenic views.

Parten offered up a few of her personal favorites about life in Westover Hills. Here's her guide to the area:

Where to eat & drink
Westside diners are looking forward to two new restaurants with the opening of The Crescent and Bowie House hotels.

Bricks and Horses at Bowie House is a classic chophouse featuring offerings from locally sourced ranches and farms. With indoor and outdoor dining, the restaurant serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner in an Auberge resort environment.

The Crescent is in the heart of the Cultural District, with Emilia’s giving us a taste of Mediterranean dining courtesy of executive chef Preston Paine. For an elevated dining experience serving more refined culinary tastes, the hotel offers The Blue Room.

In addition, Hudson House launched its Fort Worth location just off Camp Bowie, at 4600 Dexter. It specializes in down-home comfort food and a variety of fresh seafood, and be sure to make reservations, even for bar seating. FYI: The parking lot has golf cart parking spaces.

Where to play
Nearby Airfield Falls Trail Head & Conservation Park offers the largest natural waterfall in Tarrant County, having access to the Trinity Trails with walking/cycling paths throughout the area. This park is home to native wildlife and a stopover for monarch butterflies during their northern migration.

The private Shady Oaks Country Club draws members looking to work on their golf, tennis, and swimming.

Feel like shopping? Head to Birdie, Hale House, You Are Here, Initially Yours, PS The Letter, Lawrence's, Zoe & Jack, or Toy Works.

What to see
The nearby Cultural District includes Fort Worth's world-class museums: Kimbell Art Museum, Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, Amon Carter Museum of American Art, and "a special hidden gem," as Parten calls the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame.

A major highlight of the area is Dickies Arena, which hosts great touring entertainment and the famous Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo.

Where to live
"Homes in this neighborhood come in so many different styles, including soft contemporary, Tudor, Mediterranean, French Provincial, Colonial, Georgian, and — my favorite — Spanish Colonial," Parten says.

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Caren Parten works and plays in Westover Hills. For more information on buying and selling a home in the area, click here, email cparten@briggsfreeman.com, or call 817-229-9826.

video qa promoted home-for-sale interview

Haute Home Listing

Iconic Fort Worth designer's mansion hits market for $4.5M

Photo courtesy of Williams Trew

A dining room/library combo is classic Minton.

Joseph Minton is arguably the most influential interior designer and art collector in Fort Worth, and now his historic former home could be yours.

Built in the 1940s on a 1.7-acre lot in Westover Hills, the Greek-style home at 65 Westover Terrace is a showplace of flawless taste thanks to Minton's late-1990s renovation.

65 Westover Terrace Fort Worth home An abundance of windows floods the home with light.Photo courtesy of Williams Trew

Photo courtesy of Williams Trew

A dining room/library combo is classic Minton.

Minton sold the home to philanthropist and art collector Sue Cutler in 2005, who added a bedroom and bathroom — bringing the total to three and five, respectively — off the living room. Cutler died this past January at age 84.

The 4,779-square-foot home has a “lot of architectural details that you don’t find in most houses here,” listing agent Martha Williams, of Williams Trew Halliday/Luxury Portfolio International, tells Mansion Global. “[Minton] lowered the floor about three feet in order to get higher ceilings.”

Williams also points out that Minton added the cupola and the downstairs powder room, painted the red brick exterior white, raised the fireplace in the living room, and added scraped hardwoods, elaborate moldings, high-end hardware, and panes to the front windows to bring in more light.

65 Westover Terrace Fort Worth home A distinctive blue and white tile grounds a sitting room.Photo courtesy of Williams Trew

Speaking of light, the exquisite mansion is absolutely flooded with it. There is also plentiful outdoor access thanks to terraces, patios, and sun-filled sitting rooms overlooking the treetops.

“It’s a beautiful wooded lot, wonderfully private,” Williams adds.

One of Minton's signatures is bookshelves in the dining room, and this home is no exception. Any bibliophile would be thrilled to fill this conversation-worthy room, that comes complete with its own bar, with hardbacks and houseguests.

The kitchen may be small by modern standards, but Minton's stainless steel countertops add a sleek touch to the warm wood. A butler's pantry expands the storage even more. Varying colors of marble make each bathroom a delightful surprise.

The recently added bedroom and bathroom next to the living room can function as the primary suite, while the original primary suite is upstairs and boasts its own dressing room. A third guest suite gets cozy upstairs with a fireplace (there are several overall).

65 Westover Terrace Fort Worth home The original primary suite has its own dressing room.Photo courtesy of Williams Trew

A one-car garage with carport and a magical set of stone steps leading to the large backyard complete the $4.5 million listing, which already shows as pending.

joseph minton westover hills home for sale