Laura Hunt is a child of Dallas, a native whose design name strikes passion in the veins of the editors of Architectural Digest and design connoisseurs everywhere. She is a constant on the AD 100, that venerable list of the best our world has to offer.
Did I say world? Yes. Since 1990, the bible of home design and architecture, Architectural Digest, has selected the world’s preeminent architects and designers to honor. Only a handful of Dallas names have been on that list, among them Emily Summers, Jan Showers, and Laura Hunt. I love the way they phrase it:
This exclusive list recognizes establishment icons and enterprising trailblazers whose work is as inspiring as it is influential. These are the men and women who are shaping the way we live—one building, one house, one room at a time.
Talk about shaping, you only have to trot down to 2900 McKinnon Street, head up to the 28th floor to see an architectural world of wonder that Laura has created in 2321 square feet of space.
And she did it all herself, of course, for herself. As she told Architectural Digest in 2005, then they ran a piece on her New York City apartment:
“It never takes me long to come up with a concept for a client, but when it’s for yourself, it’s always harder,” she confesses, “because you’re free to take as many chances as you like, and you do want to be adventurous—what you don’t want to be is reckless.”
Not reckless at all, more like genius. But warning: don’t go in here and expect to see the usual, and very nice of course, Azure interiors. (Or even the usual Laura Hunt work!) Oh no, Laura went in and said bye bye to every single piece of sheet rock between her exterior walls. Once she had a shell, she started in on what is probably the most perfect space in a Dallas high rise. It has some of the most amazing utilization of space in history.
Open windows, yes of course, because the Dallas skyline and horizon is the art here. But look at what she did with the fireplace. Most kitchens are open in condos because, well, you are in limited square feet. But when you prepare a meal do you really want to see all that kitchen mess? Laura told me she devised a sliding screen door opaque enough to let in light, but shield enough to close off the kitchen and make the dining room a REAL room. See?
Her bedroom: a combined study/bedroom that you need to file away in your brain for a future project. This totally answers the question of ‘what do I do with my 3000 books when I downsize’?
“I love to read,” says Laura, “and I love to read in my bedroom so why not make the bedroom a sort of sleepytime library?”
Her guest room remains a guest room, and the bathroom there is about the only thing that was actually installed in the unit by developers.
Her bathroom is a total re-do: new hand-selected granite slab counter, fixtures, cabinets, everything.
But the most exhilarating and unique space — you will surely see this soon in Architectural Digest — is her patio world. Does it look like a patio? No. That “ivy” on the walls is faux, never needs water, and masquerades the exterior walls so you truly believe you are in another room that just happens to have one side open to the fresh air. There is even a flat screen TV and fireplace. This has become an extra room that is essentially FREE, at least to Dallas County!
Let this post serve as your appetizer: stay tuned for a detailed walk-through with Laura. She spent well over a million dollars in construction, lighting and sound design, re-designed the space over several months. Genius. The result is a work of art that can be your’s for $2,399,000.
Opportunities to buy spaces created by AD 100 designers are rare. Even more rare: opportunities to see those spaces! Listing agent Juli Harrison of Allie Beth Allman & Associates is having a special agent event Wednesday evening at Laura’s home from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. starring appraiser guru Brian Hagan and… your’s truly. Azure #2803. My topic: Big Changes in the Digital Real Estate Space! 
