CONCRETE JUNGLE

DALLAS, TEXAS

Her palette is cool. Her personality is warm. Bringing the two together became the pleasure of this project.

This client and I can sit down at noon and still be talking in the early evening. Our conversations wander well beyond design, and we usually leave feeling a little lighter. We first connected over a shared appreciation for Dorado Beach, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve property I worked on during my years at Wilson Associates. That connection grew into a friendship that makes designing her home especially personal.

She loves gray, black, white, and metallics—with the occasional green I can persuade her to embrace. My challenge was to work within that palette while bringing her warmth and generosity into the rooms. Mixing gold and silver finishes gave the gray-and-white scheme richness, balancing its crispness with a welcoming glow.

For the guest space used by her boys, we drew on their love of music, planes, and pop culture. It gave us room to be playful and create a space that felt connected to them within the larger home.

The relationship continues beyond the finished rooms. Decorating her ten-foot Christmas tree over champagne has become one of my favorite ways to return—a little design, a little celebration, and always more to talk about.