The Most Glamorous Penthouse in Dallas

In 2018, I had the privilege of touring Nancy Chandler’s glamorous penthouse. Nothing could have prepared me for what I was about to see. It was like stepping into a fantasy, and to fully appreciate this fantasy, you need the back story.

Chandler was a legendary philanthropist and socialite, best remembered for rounding up her girlfriends to found the Crystal Charity Ball in 1952. Over the past 72 years, the nonprofit organization has distributed over $191 million to 160 worthy beneficiaries. When she and her husband, Captain Alfred W. “Hap” Chandler, purchased their Turtle Creek penthouse, she wanted to create a memorable home and a showcase for the treasures they had collected on their travels.

Selecting an interior design firm in the 1970s was the easy part. There was only one choice: the design duo known as Lloyd-Paxton. When Lloyd Taylor and Paxton Gremilion opened their gallery of extraordinary furniture, antiques, and art, Dallas had never seen anything like it. To give you an idea, their clients (that we know about) included Sir Elton John, Saudi Prince Faisal, and the Sultan of Brunei.  

Glamour, drama, and luxury were in their DNA, and Lloyd-Paxton created dream homes that no one could have imagined. This glamorous penthouse was, without a doubt, their masterpiece. I interviewed Taylor before his death last July, and he told me their intention was to create drama. You have to remember this was an era when people still entertained in grand style. In his typical gracious fashion, Taylor said, “It’s a timeless and happy space.”

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While that is certainly true, they also brought the promised drama. They mirrored the living room walls, ceilings, pocket doors, and even the shutters that fold back over the dining room windows. Walls were opened so the home could revolve around the central salon, and the reflective surfaces could capture and magnify the light from the windows.

When the duo couldn’t find the right paint, they went to great lengths, purchasing every bottle of Revlon’s pearlized nail polish in Dallas. When that ran out, they bought 50-gallon containers from the company. To achieve a unique appearance, their team cracked thousands of eggshells and meticulously glued them onto the back of the glass panels before applying the pearlized nail polish.

The Terrace Room was created from an existing outdoor space. Walls of beveled mirrors were assembled on site, and an Asian screen was crafted for storage. The focal point of this room, however, is the sky.

“We installed barrel-vaulted glass through the center of the ceiling, “Taylor said. “We thought it would be pretty to look up and see the stars at night.”   

When the penthouse was listed back in 2018, I was terrified that it would sell to someone who could not appreciate its unique glamour and drama.  I’m so glad I was wrong. In 2020, Jim Pitts saw the penthouse, understood the drama and glamour, and fully embraced it. Pitts was a respected legislator, serving 11 terms in the Texas House of Representatives. Texas Monthly called him  “one of the truly great lawmakers of his era” and “one of the nicest members ever to set foot in the Capitol.”  He was also a visionary with distinct interior design ideas.

Pitts turned to his friend, the talented designer Barry Williams, one of the few people in America who would understand how to honor the Lloyd-Paxton design legacy while bringing the penthouse into a new decade.

“Jim had fallen in love with the TV series Lucifer and the bar in the character’s penthouse, so we copied it as closely as possible,” Williams said. “Creating the bar meant the beautiful Asian cabinet had to be disassembled, but we were able to repurpose the panels in the hallway. The bar backing is painted acrylic by Michael Ledoux. There was no precedent, so we had to invent it together.” 

I think Lloyd-Paxton would heartily approve.

When Williams began updating the dining room, he brought over a pair of mirrors he’d purchased at an auction. In a full circle moment, it became clear they were the original mirrors Lloyd-Paxton had made for the room.

“The hooks were still in place,” Williams said. All we had to do was hang them.” 

Williams completely overhauled the kitchen, updated the bathrooms, and reworked the entire back of the penthouse. Originally, a massive series of closets, the primary bathroom, and a small library wrapped around a central domed bedroom. The space was reconfigured to create a principal bedroom with a sitting room, and there is still room for a magnificent bathroom and spacious closet. A portion of the original closet area was turned into an outdoor space just outside the principal bedroom and a beautiful blue lacquer sitting room. All the windows were replaced, and the plumbing and electrical were updated.  

This glamorous penthouse has gained a new life thanks to Williams and Pitt. 

“The elevator opens, and you walk into an astonishing world,” Williams said. “It was uplifting to work in that space. I went about 60 times, and I loved walking in every time.”

Today, the glamorous penthouse is a testament to the vision and dedication of both past and current owners and designers. It’s not just a home, but a work of art that offers a truly unparalleled living experience.

Briggs Sotheby’s Freeman’s Judy Sessions has 3525 Turtle Creek Blvd., Penthouse 22 A, available for $3.75 million.