Ruth I'm sure you made the good choice with that bike... and after all that's a Duke. As you say, we're already sold to them
Personnaly, I think all bikes can look ugly at some point. Sometimes I find mines ugly anyway. Most of the time it's because I'm not looking at them from the right angle, or I've had a bad day, etc... A lot of things can make look ugly the most beautiful bikes...
To come back to the 749, I think it looks like a proper Ducati as it's different from the rest of the production, in a positive way. That's what modern Ducatis (post Paso

) have always been. Older ones may have, I don't know
Anyway, enjoy your new toy.
I can't wait of being able to afford the only bike on my wishlist at the moment, a red ST2 to take Julie touring on the continent :-)