Paper City Article

Gushing Glamour

Wed, 28 Apr 2010 04:00:58 GMT

Above left: One side of the capacious main living room. The hand-painted wallpaper here coordinates with the paper in the entry hall, just on the other side of the wall.

Above right: The entry hall, left, leading to the main living room, right. The burnished parquet floors have seen many a presidential sole.

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As design tales go, this one%26#8217;s a gripper. Consider the characters: two wildly colorful homeowners, a modernist master of an architect, a famous Tinseltown actor turned decorator and at least two White House designers. A blockbuster of a decorating movie? Roll cameras. But it gets better: This story is true, and it unfolds in the tony enclave of Westover Hills, the famously wealthy town outside Fort Worth where the hills are dotted with Tudors and traditionals, but where Anne Bass and Anne Burnett Tandy built homes by Paul Rudolph and I.M. Pei, respectively. Certainly, Westover Hills is a delicious mix of the established and the edgy %26#8212; but we cannot imagine it crashing together with more exuberance than at 1300 Shady Oaks Lane.

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Above left: The main living room, as it looked in 2009. The small green chair is Billy Haines%26#8217; iconic Elbow Chair, a chic vestige from the house%26#8217;s original Haines interior. It is %26#8220;meant to be sat upon sideways,%26#8221; says Karen Figilis, a representative for William Haines Designs, %26#8220;with your cocktail gown flowing in front of you.%26#8221;

Above right: The formal dining room %26#8212; no sign of Billy Haines left here, but a dramatic illustration of the contrast of A. Quincy Jones%26#8217; sleek architecture against crystal sconces, oil paintings and soup tureens.

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Enter Eddie and Fran Chiles, he the founder of the Western Company of North America %26#8212; a pioneering firm in improving the flow of gas and oil from wells %26#8212; and onetime owner of the Texas Rangers baseball team. Fran had an illustrious career in the 1980s as a member of the Republican National Committee. We first learn of their 1960s house from an out-of-nowhere e-mail, including the tidbit that it is for sale %26#8212; Eddie had passed away in 1993 and Fran moved out last fall. The plot thickens. There are whispers that the original interior was done by William %26#8220;Billy%26#8221; Haines, the 1920s actor who became a decorator after an infamous ultimatum by Louis B. Mayer to either marry a woman to hide his homosexuality or leave the silver screen. Haines left %26#8212; and went on to become one of design%26#8217;s greats, with a client list that included Gloria Swanson, George Cukor and Joan Crawford. Our fingers can%26#8217;t fly over the keyboards fast enough. Nothing definitive turns up. We send out an SOS. Nothing concrete comes back %26#8212; until a Chiles granddaughter quietly confirmed that it was Haines, citing a mention in the book Class Act: William Haines Legendary Hollywood Decorator: %26#8220;1970-73 Design projects include: Joe D. Bain, Bel Air and Wilton Crescent, London; Duncan McMartin, Bermuda; Helen Keltner, Bel Air; Eddie Chiles, Fort Worth, Texas; Van Horn Ely, Hobe Sound, Florida.%26#8221; Chiles had admired the work of Haines and indeed hired him for the Fort Worth house, along with Haines%26#8217; design partner Ted Graber. Oh, how we love a great opening act.

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Left: Fran Chiles%26#8217; bedroom, circa 2009.

Right A guest bedroom.

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Our story leaps from there. We learn that the 12,000-square-foot house, built in 1966, was designed by none other than Los Angeles mid-century master A. Quincy Jones, he of the elegant atriums, high ceilings and walls of sheer glass. In fact, it was Haines who recommended Jones for the job, the two having worked together often, most notably on Sunnylands, the highly chic house in Rancho Mirage, California, for publisher/philanthropist Walter Annenberg and his wife Leonore, a former Chief of Protocol for the United States. Jones%26#8217; house for Eddie Chiles is, like Sunnylands, long and low, a limestone hill-hugger with views to downtown Fort Worth and beyond. %26#8220;You can look over Eddie%26#8217;s Western Company towers,%26#8221; says architect Mark Gunderson, himself a modernist who loves the Chiles house, passing it daily when he was working on a house around the corner. %26#8220;I think that was part of why Eddie built it.%26#8221; The angular house, says Realtor Kay Day, who has the $7 million listing, sits on more than three acres along the eighth tee of the Shady Oaks Country Club. %26#8220;People would drive up and let people off,%26#8221; she says, laughing, %26#8220;thinking they were at the country club. Fran would have to arrange to get them down to Shady Oaks.%26#8221; The anecdotes go on, from Eddie picking out the limestone himself to the million-dollar landscaping to a bedroom on the lower level covered in photographs and devoted entirely to a certain Ron and Nancy. %26#8220;Reagan Slept Here,%26#8221; says Day. %26#8220;That%26#8217;s the name of the room.%26#8221;

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Left: The pool pavilion, with its stained-glass window from the Travis Avenue Baptist Church in Fort Worth, secured by Fort Worth designer Ken Blasingame, who worked on the house after William Haines and Ted Graber.

Right: The arrival sequence, chez Chiles. The bordered-travertine floor continues directly through
the double doors into the entry hall. Architect Jones was a proponent of blurring the indoors and out %26#8212; visually and otherwise.

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The house is about to have another act. After subsequent interior work by Ted Graber (he worked extensively on the Reagan White House) and most recently by Fort Worth designer Ken Blasingame (he, too, worked on the White House, for George and Laura Bush), then an estate sale last November, 1300 Shady Oaks Lane will become a literal stage for several decorators when it turns showhouse in September, sponsored by the preservation group Historic Fort Worth. Blissfully, the house is still with us %26#8212; mid-century architecture finally earning its rightful place in the same sentences as the words historic and important %26#8212; as is the vision of a certain oilman standing at his long, low limestone house, looking out over the glittery city, surveying his modernist kingdom. Roll cameras...

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Image at top of story: The entry hall, with its Chinese wallpaper %26#8212; likely from Gracie, as decorator William Haines favored the legendary hand-painted papers %26#8212; that also appears in the living room beyond the wall. Realtor Kay Day says the wallpaper panels have been appraised at $175,000.

Image below: Architect A. Quincy Jones devised a powerful porte-cochere, not only for shelter but also for a sense of importance upon arrival. The Chiles house, though, is often mistaken for the Shady Oaks Country Club, as the house is sited along the club%26#8217;s eighth tee. Fran Chiles would have to arrange transport to the club for folks dropped off unawares.

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Click on "launch slideshow" at top of story for a closer look at the Chiles' Westover Hills house. All photographs by Trey Freeze, www.mosaicphotomedia.com.

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Modern Mastered

Tue, 27 Apr 2010 04:25:29 GMT

It isn%26#8217;t every day an architecture firm receives a commission from clients as stylish and sophisticated as this pair. Then again, seldom do you find anyone more engaged in the design process than the homeowners who asked the principals of Houston architectural firm Stern and Bucek %26#8212; William Stern, David Bucek and Daniel Hall %26#8212; to be their collaborators on these surrounds.

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Image: In the suspended fireplace, a flame appears from beneath black recycled, mirrored glass. In the dining room, the vintage Knoll dining table is surrounded by a dozen white leather Christian Liaigre chairs for Holly Hunt, from George Cameron Nash. Black patent-leather chairs. Juliska crystal and candelabras from David Brown. Flowers by Johnathan Andrew Sage.%26nbsp;

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This couple appreciates a modern sensibility in both architecture and furnishings. As collectors of contemporary art and vintage furniture (much of it mid-century classics), their personal style is defined by a clean classicism infused with drama and a whole lot of glamour. Think Kelly Wearstler chattering with Jonathan Adler about the genius of Karl Springer and Milo Baughman over lunch. The team from Stern and Bucek respectfully acknowledged and granted the couple%26#8217;s requests, which included a sunken living room just off the entry with ceilings that soar to 12 feet %26#8212; a space that can extend outside to one of three courtyards.

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Image: The family room melds into the dramatic black-lacquered kitchen. Storage is cleverly concealed on both sides of the two islands, floor to ceiling, and all along the right wall. On the counter, a framed Cont%26#233;-and-graphite piece on Mylar and paper by Steve Burtch, through Devin Borden Hiram Butler Gallery. Pair of Chinese armchairs, repainted with high-voltage yellow lacquer and upholstered in black mohair by Knoll.

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But the most prominent design statements in this Museum District home are the spectacular, almost floating staircase and the three-sided fireplace %26#8212; suspended, no less. %26#8220;The owner wanted a strong front staircase,%26#8221; says Daniel Hall. %26#8220;We decided it needed to be open, but we didn%26#8217;t desire a traditional open stairway with the treads on the side. What this became was a center spline set of stairs %26#8212; that%26#8217;s the piece that goes right up the center, and the treads are cantilevered off that support. Then the guardrails attach to the treads, and it all ties together.%26#8221; The fireplace, clad in a stunning ebony veneer, separates the space between the living and dining rooms, as well as the entry area. With the flick of a switch, flames rise from a shallow mound of recycled black glass rocks, igniting a center of beautiful warmth.

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Image left: In the family room, the vintage Harvey Probber sectional sofa is covered with a graphic black-and-white print by Jack Lenor Larson. Mirrored console table by Todd Hase. Vintage Pace Collection cocktail table.

Image right: Beneath the floating staircase enclosed by striking glass panels is a trio of seasonal fresh branches and orchids by Johnathan Andrew Sage.

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%26#8220;You can stand by the base of the stairs and look out the front and side and back windows and see every courtyard %26#8212; that is very unusual in a house,%26#8221; Bill Stern says. %26#8220;You have rooms that are defined separately. There is transparency yet this ability to interact with rooms on the outside. When things begin to transition in spring, summer and fall, it%26#8217;s wonderful because you%26#8217;re in this environment where you are inside/outside.%26#8221;

Image left: In the sunken living room, the pair of vintage sofas with lacquered-black frames with brass nail-head trim are covered with a graphite cotton club velvet fabric by F. Schumacher %26amp; Co. Ebony demi-lunes flanking the window have mirrored tops with Greek-key detail. The tables and crystal glass lamps are all from Area. Octagonal cocktail table topped with Venetian glass bowls and vases. Milo Baughman chrome-backed swivel chairs upholstered in moss-hued cashmere wool by Robert Allen.

Image right: In the bar niche just off the kitchen, the walls are covered in a polyurethane black-and-white-painted boa print by Stark. War Bowl by Dominic Wilcox for Thorsten van Elten, fashioned from melted plastic toy solders, from Peel Gallery. Vintage panther sculpture from Metro Retro Furniture. Ranunculus from Johnathan Andrew Sage. The glass bar tray from Area is filled with Juliska and vintage decanters.%26nbsp;

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Point man Daniel Hall worked closely with the owners and Austin-based designer Joel Mozersky of One Eleven Design through the architecture and interior-design phases. %26#8220;The owners wanted to build a house they could live in and entertain in that wasn%26#8217;t overly formal,%26#8221; says Hall. %26#8220;At the time, they had one child, but we knew they%26#8217;d be expanding their family further, so the bedrooms upstairs were important, as were the entertaining and play areas for the children.%26#8221;

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Image: The master bathroom is floor-to-ceiling Venatino Italian marble. Japanese soak tub from Ann Sacks. Marble sinks from Waterworks. Dornbracht Lulu fixtures from
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The house was built on two lots %26#8212; not side by side, but back to back, which allows it to elegantly straddle the lot line. The second lot became an expansive green space for children with a pool shaded by timber bamboo trees and a manicured garden, care of Gregory/Henry Landscape.

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Image left: In the couple%26#8217;s master bedroom, a black-lacquered berg%26#232;re is upholstered in Kelly Wearstler%26#8217;s emerald-cut fabric in lotus and ivory, from F. Schumacher %26amp; Co. Vintage %26#8217;70s chrome lattice-like headboard was found at an Austin flea market and later restored. Karl Springer black-and-chrome bedside tables from Fat Chance in Los Angeles. Snakeskin-covered lamps from Area. Gray silk and linen rug from Creative Flooring Resources.

Image right: The walls of the downstairs guest bathroom are covered with jade-green malachite wallpaper from the Fornasetti collection by Cole %26amp; Son. Arne Jacobsen faucet and Vitraform clear glass sink, both from Elegant Additions.

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%26#8220;If you look at a lot of the high-end houses that are built,%26#8221; says David Bucek, %26#8220;they are very big, and they seem to be valued for their size %26#8212; [as if] the bigger they are, the better they are. But what happens is you cover up your site; you have this very big house on a very small lot. Through these courtyards, and paying mind to what front face we projected to the street, we were able to form negative spaces within that make it feel like a great place to be.%26#8221;

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Image left: This child%26#8217;s room features a single wall papered in a reissue of "Alphabet 397710" by Alexander Girard, circa 1952, by Maharam. Set of two Louvre daybeds by Todd Hase, with pillows by Jonathan Adler. Tiny chalkboard table and striped foam Eva chairs, both by Offi, from Sunset Settings.

Image right: A view from the front courtyard of the house reveals the architects%26#8217; use of custom concrete slabs, brown-toned gray brick and Prodema, a prefab veneer.

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This couple and their architects are never people to follow the crowd, so they broke a lot of new ground. Taking the stucco option off the table (they%26#8217;d done it elsewhere) they chose a warm, brown-toned gray brick and incorporated it in the construction along with two complementary materials. Since deed restrictions mandated that masonry be the predominant material (the word %26#8220;concrete%26#8221; is used), they ordered precast custom concrete walls %26#8212; an application often associated with commercial construction. And lest you assume that any old poured concrete will do, think again. With more than 60 color options and myriad textures available, this team was able to create an almost limestone-like appearance, quite unlike anything ever seen in this city. Finally, they warmed the exterior %26#8212; and most significantly, the huge front doors %26#8212;%26nbsp;with a prefab veneer called Prodema, which has a hue reminiscent of Ip%26#234; wood. Studded with oversized custom satin-nickel knobs, the doors are a welcoming, playful touch that makes visitors feel as though they%26#8217;ve come for drinks at Auntie Mame%26#8217;s. %26#8220;Prodema is from Spain, and the panels were custom-made and had never been used in this area,%26#8221; Stern says. %26#8220;It%26#8217;s like something you might find for an interior wood surface, but it%26#8217;s made for the exterior. It%26#8217;s been up at least two years now, and it looks as good as the day it was installed.%26#8221;

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Image: Stern and Bucek principals, from left: Bill Stern, Daniel Hall and David Bucek.

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At the end of the project, the collaborators acknowledged that they%26#8217;d learned a lot with %26#8212; and from %26#8212; one another. As Stern notes, %26#8220;This is certainly different from our other projects. To me, the success of a house is when we and the client are equally satisfied. It%26#8217;s very important to work with a client%26#8217;s particular taste %26#8212; that moves us forward. We%26#8217;re moving them forward, and they%26#8217;re moving us forward.%26#8221;

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Image top: In the living room, flanking a Platner table, is a pair of Milo Baughman chrome-backed swivel chairs upholstered in moss-hued cashmere wool by Robert Allen. The dramatic suspended fireplace, clad in Macassar ebony, separates the living and dining rooms.

Image below: A Japanese maple tree in the side courtyard outside
the living- and dining-room areas.

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Rooms That Inspire

Wed, 03 Feb 2010 04:42:25 GMT

William Stubbs

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What room inspires you most? Ralph Lauren%26#8217;s office in his home in Bedford, NY: old world, old wealth, abundant, opulent, eclectic, luxurious, filled with interest, layers, textures and richness.
Why? A contemporary glass-top desk with chrome sawhorse legs, plaids, paisley, classic Persian rugs, paneling, books, photographs, paintings %26#8230; you name it, this room has got it. My personal style is somewhat more restrained than this photograph, but not much. The inspiration I draw from this photograph is to provide interiors that provide comfort, function and interest, and that draw you in to be a part of this warm and safe place.
Design resolution? My resolution for 2010 is to be better. I want the homes that I design to feel more nurturing, to provide an environment that promotes great relationships. I find that as I mature in my design practice, creating beautiful spaces is not enough. I want spaces that are stunning and at the same time cherish and serve their occupants.

Image above: Ralph Lauren%26#8217;s Bedford, New York home office, 2004. From the book "Ralph Lauren" by Ralph Lauren (Rizzoli, 2007).

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Jon Green

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What room inspires you most? Dodie Rosekrans%26#8217; %26#8220;winter dining room%26#8221; in the 12th-century Palazzo Brandolini in Venice. Once home to an 18th-century Austrian princess, it is where Wagner resided when he wrote Lohengrin.
Why? The evidence of this room%26#8217;s organic layers of decoration flow seamlessly from century to century, from the original coffered ceiling to the intricate gilded baroque appliqu%26#233;s to the wildly colorful malachite and coral details care of the most recent decorator, the late Tony Duquette. Each update has added more exuberance, excitement and stimulation taking precedence over subtle tastefulness. The mood of the room is at once deeply historical and brightly modern. I enjoy observing my fellow diners gawk at the room, being swallowed up in its ambiance %26#8212; particularly my hostess, who cannot stay focused on a conversation, but rather gazes around from the ceiling to the portraits imbedded in the decayed mirrors, to the gold lam%26#233; drapery and antique Grecian kraters. I feel the way she does, every time.
Design resolution? Less subtlety and more color. Maybe I%26#8217;m losing my eyesight, but I don%26#8217;t see enough color in homes. I want my interiors to have a playful and carnival-like aesthetic.

Image above: Dodie Rosekrans%26#8217; 17th-century mirrored dining room at the Palazzo Brandolini in Venice, designed by TonyDuquette in the 1990s. From the book "Tony Duquette" by Wendy Goodman and Hutton Wilkinson (Abrams, 2007).The tea paper sitting room in Albert Hadley%26#8217;s New York apartment, 1992. As seen in "Parish Hadley: Sixty Years of American Design" by Sister Parish, Albert Hadley and Christopher Petkanas (Little, Brown %26amp; Co., 1995).

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Lisa Epley

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What room inspires you most? The scene of Kelly Wearstler in her own kitchen.
Why? The kitchen buildout is contemporary, dark and sleek. She bothered with the details, mirroring the inside of the back of the cabinets and adding halogen lighting inside with glass shelves so the light travels all the way down to the bottom shelves, illuminating everything inside. Those details make her kitchen special and exciting. She%26#8217;s filled the shelves inside with all her favorite antique china, silver, crystal, to display her treasures when she%26#8217;s not using them. A lot of the prettiest things we all own are stored away for some future day that sometimes never comes. I say get that stuff out, use it and enjoy it everyday.
Design resolution? To continue my quest to eradicate hideous florescent lighting wherever I see it, encourage myself and my clients to be a little more daring in decorating and keep trying to make the world a prettier place, one house at a time!

Image above: Designer Kelly Wearstler%26#8217;s kitchen, as photographed in her book "Domicilium Decoratus" (ReganBooks, 2006).

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J. Randall Powers

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What room inspires you most? Albert Hadley%26#8217;s living room.
Why? It is all that is good in decoration.
Design resolution? To continue to do what I do best. Interesting design, a good sense of decoration and appropriateness, unerring attention to detail and never to follow trends or allow my clients to be influenced by fads.

Image above: The tea paper sitting room in Albert Hadley%26#8217;s New York apartment, 1992. As seen in "Parish Hadley: Sixty Years of American Design" by Sister Parish, Albert Hadley and Christopher Petkanas (Little, Brown %26amp; Co., 1995).

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Ann Wolf

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What room inspires you most? The gallery room at The Carlyle hotel designed by Renzo Mongiardino. It was inspired by the sultan%26#8217;s room in Istanbul%26#8217;s Topkapi Palace and is proof that truly inspired design never dates.
Why? The combination of color and pattern in this room is sublime. I am awed by the hand-painted wallpaper depicting vases of flowers and baskets of fruit intricately surrounded by stunning borders. The velvet banquettes with antique kilim appliqu%26#233;s and the red fringed-velvet chairs make me want to sit for hours dreaming of exotic and glamorous locales. The brass swing-arm lamps with patterned shades cast just the right amount of flattering light. It%26#8217;s simply the most romantic room, ever.
Design resolution? No more relentless matching! I want to explore the infinite permutations of color. I yearn for a loden room with lavender accents. I will not succumb to beige! And I%26#8217;m loving Danish mid-century furniture, all things brass, hand-printed fabrics and Scandinavian ceramics.

Image above:%26nbsp;The gallery room at The Carlyle hotel in New York City designed by Renzo Mongiardino.

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Renea Abbott

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What room inspires you most? The ballroom of Quitandinha, a resort and casino outside Rio de Janeiro, designed by Dorothy Draper in the 1940s. Biographer Carleton Varney says, %26#8220;It was [Draper%26#8217;s] confidence, as much as her taste, that gave her the ability to take on such massive projects.%26#8221;
Why? I love the bold black-and-white color schemes she frequently used and punctuated with jolts of color.
Design resolution? I%26#8217;d like to decorate with more pattern on pattern. I also love the black-and-white contrast, especially in flooring or, next year, maybe on a ceiling.

Image above:%26nbsp; Dorothy Draper%26#8217;s trademark black-and-white floors, in the ballroom in Quitandinha, a resort and casino outside Rio de Janeiro. From "In The Pink: Dorothy Draper, America%26#8217;s Most Fabulous Decorator" by Carleton Varney (Pointed Leaf Press, 2006)

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John Kidd

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What room inspires you most? The drawing room of designer John Saladino%26#8217;s former New York apartment, pictured in his book Style by Saladino.
Why? I%26#8217;ve been inspired by the work of Saladino for the past 15 years %26#8230; I admire the restraint, the mix, the neutrality and the color, the old and the new, the yin and the yang represented in this room. A perfect mix that is timeless.
Design resolution? I want to be more about patina and less about paint.

Image above: John Saladino%26#8217;s former New York drawing room. In "Style by Saladino," by John Saladino (Frances Lincoln Limited, 2000).

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Ginger Barber

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What room inspires you most? John Saladino%26#8217;s media room in his California hills home as seen in his new book Villa.
Why? There is an instant calm and deep appreciation for the %26#8220;mix%26#8221; that is so important in any room. Everything should be wonderful and give the eye a place to call home. It%26#8217;s not what you put in a room, but what you take out that really counts. That%26#8217;s the biggest struggle in good design. A confidence in having enough even with very little.
Design resolution? To continue designing with a good sense of scale and simplicity of materials. To bring great energy to a room, but at the same time create a serene space, that feels as if it has been there a long time, not %26#8220;decorated.%26#8221;

Image above: John Saladino%26#8217;s own media room, photographed in his book "Villa" (Frances Lincoln Limited, 2009).

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Richard Holley

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What room inspires you most? A photograph from an article entitled %26#8220;Skrebneski Photographs Skrebneski,%26#8221; published long ago in Architectural Digest.
Why? The contradictions of modern minimal architecture with the second-century B.C. torso. Also the tranquility of 18th-century furniture and the energetic bang of the 1932 Valmier painting.
Design resolution? To edit.

Image above: Skrebneski%26#8217;s home as seen in Architectural Digest, date unknown.%26nbsp;

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Angie On Top

Tue, 29 Dec 2009 05:04:20 GMT

Angie Barrett is good at pushing buttons. She%26#8217;s got one that gets her in the mood for cocktails. She%26#8217;s got another that starts things flickering all over the place, in high definition. She%26#8217;s even got one that whooshes her sheers open. Yes, indeed, the woman knows her way around a control panel.

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Welcome to La Barrett%26#8217;s lair, a proper double-door penthouse atop One Arts Plaza, the mixed-use development by architect Lionel Morrison, with cinematic views of the city that would make even Spielberg weep. Over here, all of downtown. Over there, Uptown. Directly below? Rem Koolhaas, I.M. Pei, Norman Foster, Renzo Piano and Edward Larrabee Barnes, all looking up %26#8212; by way of their museums and arts centers %26#8212; to the woman who seemingly rules the world. If Angie Barrett ever develops an Evita complex because of her balcony, we can%26#8217;t say we%26#8217;d blame her.

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Her ascension here from a Tudor manse in University Park began when she realized she had too much. (Yes, even she, who collects couture, furniture and books like most people might collect stamps.) %26#8220;It was really frivolous,%26#8221; she says, %26#8220;to have a 9,000-square-foot house.%26#8221; So a hunt began, heavy on the high-rises. La Barrett saw them all, but something kept drawing her to One Arts Plaza, even though it had barely broken ground. She waited. And waited. And waited. At last came the day when she could don a hardhat and go halfway up the building%26#8217;s 23 stories. She saw the view from the 11th floor %26#8212; %26#8220;and went downstairs and signed.%26#8221; Twice. She didn%26#8217;t buy one penthouse: She bought two. (Hey, a girl can%26#8217;t be expected to scale down cold turkey.)

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So now that she owned 3,000 contemporary square feet inside Morrison%26#8217;s pristine concrete box, she needed contemporary architects to go with it. A few whispered referrals later, she found herself in the offices of Droese Raney Architecture, helmed by two gents who specialize in subtle retail and residential interiors with flashes of wit and warmth. (They are the duo behind stores for Billy Reid and Elaine Turner, plus the woodsy renovation of Forty Five Ten.) Barrett says it was %26#8220;love at first sight%26#8221; with Lance Raney and David Droese, so the three set off on an adventure that produced a highly open floor plan, incredibly executed details, custom-made everything and the world%26#8217;s only full-height, all-lacquer Bulthaup kitchen. (Three Bulthaup technicians who only spoke German came to Dallas for two weeks to install it.) Behind the museum-white walls, Raney says, the penthouse is as %26#8220;complex as a pocket watch,%26#8221; with Droese affirming that there are %26#8220;miles of cables and bundles of control wires.%26#8221; Barrett says that because her audiovisual man was in the apartment a full nine months perfecting her highly complex system, she plans to claim him as a tax deduction.

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All the while, Barrett gathered new furnishings for her sky-high new life, since planning the penthouse took almost two years and construction took another. Precious few pieces came over from the Tudor, and only prized works of art. Barrett packed her bags for myriad trips to New York and Paris, hitting shop after shop, gallery after gallery. When she wasn%26#8217;t traveling, she was online and on the phone, studying and buying %26#8212; trust us, the woman knows her stuff. In the wee small hours of one morning, though, Barrett was on the line to Germany, angling for a pair of rare Gio Ponti lounge chairs up for auction. It was only after she%26#8217;d won them that she realized the price was in Euros, not dollars. (Maybe a little more shuteye next time, La Barrett?) Stories like that abound, even down to the move-in, something Barrett calls %26#8220;Friday the 13th, part one, Friday the 13th, part two%26#8230;%26#8221; But in the end, Angie got what she wanted, a highly personal dwelling with a heady mix of contemporary art and cerebral furniture. It%26#8217;s a place where, at the punch of one button, the music cues up, the TVs begin to glow with Cary Grant movies, the curtains draw back and all of Dallas is at Barrett%26#8217;s Louboutin-shod feet. Even when she opens the penthouse%26#8217;s front doors, a stream of air whirls in from somewhere %26#8212; a draft, perhaps? %26#8212; and begins to blow her blonde tresses back just so. %26#8220;Do you have a button for that, too? we ask. She grins her knowing Angie grin, then volleys right back. %26#8220;See? You%26#8217;re catching on.%26#8221;

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To go on the penthouse tour, click "launch slideshow," above.

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For much more of La Barrett's lair (including her vibrating guest bed), click here.

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Angie Barrett, sky high: How did we get the portrait? Click here.

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Image at top of page: Angie Barrett photographed on the roof %26#8232;of her building, One Arts Plaza, on November 24, 2009, in her own Nina Ricci gown. Special rooftop access courtesy of One Arts Plaza; helicopter courtesy %26#8232;of SW Aviation.

The Art of the Object

Wed, 02 Dec 2009 12:01:19 GMT

When most people look at an egg cup, apothecary jar, spool of twine or metal baking round, they can%26#8217;t see beyond its original use. But in the hands of Becki and Jur van der Oord of Installations Antiques, such inconsequential pieces are reexamined, then artfully composed into stunning, unexpected Joseph Cornell-esque assemblages. Small wonder, then, that their Heights-area shop %26#8212; the equally imaginative rebirth of a 100-year-old warehouse %26#8212; takes us through the looking-glass into a world filled with new-use treasures. Such juxtapositions as glove darners, natural science specimens and spectacles create a tableaux of restrained color and form, which philosopher Horace called %26#8220;poetry without words." We concur.

Coming in January: In the Closet with...

Tue, 08 Dec 2009 04:29:48 GMT

%26#8230;I%26#8217;ll never tell. (Yet.) This is a sneak peek at our January feature house. It%26#8217;s a moment I happened upon as I wandered around with my own little camera. Allow me some clue-inducing name-dropping: Vivier, Cavalli, Goyard, Herm%26#232;s, Louboutin, Cruiser, Grace Kelly. Intrigued?