À Dallas, un Univers Incomparable

Written by Anne-Marie Cattelain-Le Dû

(Translated) Starting from scratch and surrounding themselves with a solid team to build their first home: this was the approach of a young Texan couple. He, a financial director; she, a yoga instructor, with four children under five and the intention of expanding their family. They bought a corner lot dominated by a massive, century-old oak tree in Highland Park, east of Dallas, Texas, a quiet, urban neighborhood with green spaces, beautiful villas, trendy boutiques, restaurants, and bars. They chose architects, the firm SmithArchitects, capable of both navigating this complex configuration and being sensitive to eco-responsibility, using sustainable and refined materials such as gray limestone, adjustable wood panels to regulate the temperature according to the sun, stucco, and more. The architects designed 500 square meters of living space on 1,100 square meters of land, including 500 square meters of green space. They opted for a well-thought-out three-level plan with living spaces both below and on the ground floor, opening onto the outside: kitchen, utility room, living room, dining room, master suite with its own bathroom, media room, office, yoga studio, cloakroom, and laundry room. And, on the first floor, overlooking the treetops, a huge living room and four bedrooms, each with its own bathroom.

Once the structural work was complete, Joshua Rice, an interior designer, was contacted to furnish the elegant shell within its large garden, complete with trees and a swimming pool overlooking the house. His brief was clear: to create a calm, luminous atmosphere, grounded in its time through its quirky and joyful design—a home that was easy to live in, not a museum. “My starting point,” explains Joshua Rice, “ was the gray limestone used by the architects for the exterior and interior walls. This base gave me the direction, prompting me to use dark gray Ceppo marble on the living room floors, the kitchen countertops, and some of the living room furniture. Then, I created a palette of discreet, natural, earthy, and rather dark hues, allowing me to play with the light. A palette in harmony with these building materials to design a sophisticated, contemporary home.” My young clients, enthusiastic and open to my suggestions, quickly embraced the idea of ​​combining limited-edition furniture from the 20th century with pieces by contemporary designers to personalize their home as much as possible, making it unique and adding depth and character, whether through sculptural lighting or custom-designed furniture, so that they and their children could easily make it their own. Once the agreement was signed, Joshua and his team began designing, researching, and exploring to ensure that every space in the house would be exceptional. Cabinets, bathtubs, and sinks in stone, concrete, and marble were the focus. "My clients are big fans of modern design, but also of vintage and technology, which are my passions. My studio even created a 3D model of the half-round bathroom tiles, which were then manufactured by the same Italian company that develops a collection of stone furniture, Pibamarmi in Arzignano, Veneto, in collaboration with a house in Los Angeles." " Wood also plays an important role, from the warm grey Fenix ​​laminate to the wide plank light oak parquet flooring of the smoked oak paneled wall, to the light oak of the master suite contrasting with the dark blue Japanese tiles and dark Icelandic marble.

“The construction went smoothly because my clients knew me well, having been my neighbors before they bought their land. Aware of what was at stake, they relied on SmithArchitects for the house design, my studio for the interior design, and Randy Kienast of Kienast Homes and Paper Kites, landscape architects, for the garden. I also consulted Jared Gaspar, an art expert.” Despite Covid slowing down the construction—the structural work was only just finished in March 2020—and causing a surge in material prices, the owners persevered. And, four years after the laying of the foundation stone, we all toasted together in front of the beautiful facade, with the children by our side. We were delighted with the result.

Photography: Robert Tsai, Pages: 66-83