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Texas’ New Home Mecca: Dazzling Space Blurs the Line Between Store and Gallery — Don’t Miss the Chair Tower

BY // 04.03.17
photography Nathan Schroeder

FORTY FIVE TEN’S NEW INTERIORS BOUTIQUE, FOR HOME, MIXES RETAIL, ART GALLERY, AND TRADITIONAL SHOWROOM TO DAZZLING EFFECT.

When Forty Five Ten moved from its longtime spot on McKinney Avenue to its new Main Street digs this fall, president and co-founder Brian Bolke seized the opportunity to turn the empty space on McKinney in Knox-Henderson into a boutique dedicated to interiors, named For Home. Here, the boundaries between retail, art gallery, and the to-the-trade showroom blur — and the effect is dazzling.

Let’s start with the 14 antique silver-leaf Queen Anne chairs sourced by Antwerp architect Axel Vervoordt, which for many years surrounded the dining-room table at the home of beloved Dallas antiques dealer Betty Gertz of East & Orient Company. Forty Five Ten’s home creative director Rob Dailey has stacked them in a dramatic 10-foot-high tower, like an art installation. The $21,000 price tag is a steal, Dailey notes, especially for so many.

“I think someone will take them just like that,” he says. “I’ll even come to their house and stack them.”

A single teak chair from David Sutherland, which Dailey has upholstered in hand-embroidered fabric from Lost City, vies for attention in a room dominated by artwork selected by gallerist Talley Dunn, who has hung works by artists Helen Altman, Ted Kincaid, and Kana Harada. The chair has a bittersweet story: It’s embroidered with a Farsi love poem by the 10th-century Persian poet Rabia Balkhi — who, legend has it, wrote the original version in her own blood as she lay imprisoned and dying.

Bolke, Dailey, and home buyer Lucy McCabe have drawn on their considerable local and international connections to bring in coveted lines, one-of-a-kind pieces, and top talent — For Home is the only retail store in the world authorized to carry Christian Liaigre’s collection of candles, home fragrances and accessories, says Dailey.

The gallery includes works from Talley Dunn Gallery and pieces from David Sutherland, East & Orient, and George Sellers. Sable and acrylic bench from Allan Knight & Associates.

In a barrier-busting move, For Home has lured to-the-trade-only showroom owners and collections into the retail fold, including George Cameron Nash, who is featuring upholstery and case goods by Cameron Privé; lighting by Vaughan and Donghia; and accessories by Michael Taylor Designs and local artisan Larru Leathers.

You’ll see plenty of David Sutherland showroom teak furniture and white plaster tables by John Dickinson. And showroom owner Allan Knight has brought his Lucite furniture and customizable lighting on board.

Designers Emily Summers and Jan Showers have their glamorous modern collections prominently showcased in their own dedicated spaces. Showers’ lineup includes a mix of her chic designs for Kravet, inspired by mid-20th-century French and Italian furnishings, and vintage accessories and lamps, along with large-scale photography by artist Celia Rogge.

Look for Emily Summers’ vintage Gio Ponti, Tommy Parzinger, and Milo Baughman furniture. “We have a lot of furnishings not traditionally available at the retail level,” Dailey says. “Customers won’t have to wait, since most everything is available for immediate delivery.”

Homegrown purveyors abound. Peacock Alley’s signature white sheets, coverlets, and towels create a luxurious drift of snow on one side of the store, and there are delightful insect and animal sculptures by Dallas artist George Sellers, including a carved white plaster hare and a massive gilded wasp.

Forty Five Ten has had a long association with local artist Jan Barboglio’s works in iron, so naturally an entire room is devoted to her collection, now updated with a Dailey and Barboglio collaboration on seating upholstered in crisp white Perennials fabric.

Thankfully, the charming interior and exterior courtyards and the beloved T Room restaurant remain, with the mozzarella and avocado panini on the menu and champagne in the fridge.

For Home, 4510 McKinney Ave., 214.559.2280.

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