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Texas’ Best Rooms: 10 Stunning Retreats That Every Design Lover Must See

BY // 01.23.17

From high-rise aeries, to art-filled city abodes, to far-flung habitats, these rooms with Texas roots were some of 2016’s most inspirational.

(1) Chinese daybeds designed by Nussbaumer in the sitting room of a client's master suite
(1) Chinese daybeds designed by Nussbaumer in the sitting room of a client’s master suite

1. Aerodynamic
Designer: Michelle Nussbaumer
Here’s something you don’t see very often: a great use of airspace in a room. Here, designer Michelle Nussbaumer has positioned a fantastic pair of Chinese canopy daybeds in a client’s master suite, to great effect. For more on this room, click here.

(2) Antique mirrored Mexican chest and marble-and-brass lamp. Untitled abstract portraits by Sergio Zenteno, circa 1980, from Dermot Begley, L.A.
(2) Antique mirrored Mexican chest and marble-and-brass lamp. Untitled abstract portraits by Sergio Zenteno, circa 1980, from Dermot Begley, L.A.

2. White space
Designer: Garrett Hunter
Because interior designer Garrett Hunter’s Houston high-rise abode is a glowing, aerie that makes you feel like you’ve stepped into a cloud. The seamless, white-out effect is a perfect backdrop for high contrast art and furniture collected by Garrett and his partner, Jaime Loera — here, worn and old mix beautifully with colorful, contemporary art. For more on this sky palace, click here.

(3) In the dining room, antique French settee with original upholstery. Nic Nicosia's "Real Pictures #6," 1991, from Lisa Brown Consulting.
(3) In the dining room, antique French settee with original upholstery. Nic Nicosia’s “Real Pictures #6,” 1991, from Lisa Brown Consulting.

3. Chiaroscuro
Designer
: Brooke Roberson
Before Brooke Roberson started designing interiors, she was a professional photographer, and her keen eye for creating mood and drama is starkly evident in a room of her University Park house. A beautiful, inherited French settee is left in its tattered state, and paired with a haunting black-and-white photograph by Nic Nicosia. Both pieces leave us wondering, imagining, and dreaming. For more on Roberson’s retreat, click here.

(4) A loft above the living area serves as a library. Japanese painted screen, circa 1960, from Coconut Company, NY. Custom sofa in Donghia wool/silk velvet, with pillows in Oscar de la Renta green silk, all from Dennis Brackeen Design Group. Antique tapestry pillow from Antique Textiles Collections, NY. Philip and Kelvin LaVerne coffee table, circa 1960. Buccellati vase. Miles van der Rohe for Knoll stools. Antique Persian rug from Jamal's Rug Collection, Los Angeles.
(4) A loft above the living area serves as a library. Japanese painted screen, circa 1960, from Coconut Company, NY. Custom sofa in Donghia wool/silk velvet, with pillows in Oscar de la Renta green silk, all from Dennis Brackeen Design Group. Antique tapestry pillow from Antique Textiles Collections, NY. Philip and Kelvin LaVerne coffee table, circa 1960. Buccellati vase. Miles van der Rohe for Knoll stools. Antique Persian rug from Jamal’s Rug Collection, Los Angeles.

4. Speaking volumes
Designer
: Greg Fourticq
Greg Fourticq, a former vice president of retail for Calvin Klein and Donna Karan in New York City, relocated to this River Oaks-area house designed by Frank Welch in 1982. Fourticq was influenced by artist Donald Judd’s masterful use of volume and space, along with the pared-down aesthetic of Klein and Karan, when he furnished the rooms. An unexpected loft library hovers over the living area, which is furnished with the large-scale furniture and art Fourticq favors. For all the details on Fourticq’s dream house, click here.

(5) Designed by Jamey Garza, an event space was turned into a private home.
(5) Designed by Jamey Garza, an event space was turned into a private home.

5. Open range
Designers
: Constance and Jamey Garza
Garza Marfa owners Jamey and Constance Garza live in a compact, 1,200-square-foot cinder block and stucco house in Marfa that feels as vast as the West Texas sky. Jamey designed the 25-by-44 great room to include dining and sleeping areas, much the way artist Donald Judd made use of his own spaces. Steel-gridded, clerestory windows — lacquered orange — play off furniture and rugs of their own design. For more on this magical Marfa escape, click here.

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(6) Swoon, the Studio's downtown offices
(6) Swoon, the Studio’s downtown offices

6. Working it
Designer:
Swoon, the Studio
You’d never know it, but this chic space is actually a conference room at Swoon, the Studio, the innovative design company run by Samantha Reitmayer Sano and Joslyn Taylor, who gather their team of creatives around the table for meetings, presentations, and, of course, lunch. Natural materials, such as wood, rattan, and stone come together to create the organic glam interiors they are known for. For more on Swoon’s looks, click here.

(7) In the dining room, Singer & Sons table and chairs, attributed to Gio Ponti and Bertha Schaefer. Lindsey Adelman Studio light fixture. Artwork Marilyn Baum. Vintage palm-tree floor lamps by Maison Jansen.
(7) In the dining room, Singer & Sons table and chairs, attributed to Gio Ponti and Bertha Schaefer. Lindsey Adelman Studio light fixture. Artwork Marilyn Baum. Vintage palm-tree floor lamps by Maison Jansen.

7. Sleek salon
Designer
: Bodron + Fruit
Dallas-based firm Bodron + Fruit designed this sophisticated and modern high-rise abode for a recently widowed client in Houston, using much of the original classic modern furniture she’d purchased in the 1950s, ’60s, and ’70s. For PaperCity’s complete story on this sky-high stunner, click here.

(8) In the cottage living room is the couple's book collection. Painting by Hamptons-based artist Terry Elkins. Custom sofa and sectional in Belgian linen, early Christopher Spitzmiller lamp, rug, and coffee table, all from Mecox.
(8) In the cottage living room is the couple’s book collection. Painting by Hamptons-based artist Terry Elkins. Custom sofa and sectional in Belgian linen, early Christopher Spitzmiller lamp, rug, and coffee table, all from Mecox.

8. Channeling John Staub
Designer
: Mac Hoak
Mecox founder and owner Mac Hoak’s manor-style house was designed in 1931 by J.T. Rather Jr., the partner of legendary architect John Staub. The living room of a cottage in the backyard houses a portion of his vast book collection. With its vaulted, beamed ceilings and casual furniture, you not only see a bit of Staub’s French farmhouse inspiration, but a bit of the laid-back beach life Hoak brought with him from the Hamptons. For the full scoop on this Houston dream home, click here.

(9) The choir loft and pulpit have been converted into meeting spaces.
(9) The choir loft and pulpit have been converted into meeting spaces.

9. Sacred space
The look
: Converted 1910 church
A reclusive young billionaire converted this 1910 former church into a working space like nothing we’ve seen before: A choir loft and pulpit serve as beautifully spare meeting areas for one of his companies, Therapoda, a dinosaur expedition company. A reconstructed triceratops and T.Rex hold court in the entry (we kid you not). For the full story on this $8.4 million church, click here.

(10) In the living room, the rug from Tai Ping Carpets was custom-designed by Jeffrey Lee of Grange Hall. The pair of sculptural tables was designed by Lee and custom-made by Michael Wilson Design in Wimberley. Lobmeyr candy jars and cast-bronze lamp from Grange Hall. The elephant-hide sculpture is Erik and Martin Demaine's "Untitled," 2011. Handmade book is Kim Jones' "Untitled," 1970-1992.
(10) In the living room, the rug from Tai Ping Carpets was custom-designed by Jeffrey Lee of Grange Hall. The pair of sculptural tables was designed by Lee and custom-made by Michael Wilson Design in Wimberley. Lobmeyr candy jars and cast-bronze lamp from Grange Hall. The elephant-hide sculpture is Erik and Martin Demaine’s “Untitled,” 2011. Handmade book is Kim Jones’ “Untitled,” 1970-1992.

10. Blue chip
Designers
: Nancy G. Leib and Paul T. Dickel
Designed by Paul T. Dickel and Nancy G. Leib for an art collector, this Greenway Parks house is as much a work of art as its contents. It is crafted in warm materials such as rift-cut white oak, polished pigmented plaster, Lueder limestone, and wood-molded brick from 125-year-old St. Joe Brick Works in Louisiana. Sculptural elements, such as the tables and custom rug, were added by Grange Hall’s Jeffrey Lee, to soften things even more. For a closer look at this art palace, click here.

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