I always listen first — to how clients live, and to what the architectural bones quietly ask to become. In Dallas’ storied Park Cities, this English Georgian-style home immediately whispered of a London townhouse. A home’s façade is not merely curb appeal; it is the prologue to the story within. Here, the design narrative called for careful edits, both subtle and bold, to honor its British soul.

We began at the threshold. A reclaimed European black-and-white tiled entry, paired with a mirror-lacquered door, told a tale of evolving English style. The checkerboard floor, a classic motif of Georgian and Victorian design, sets a high-contrast, ceremonial welcome. These antique encaustic tiles — practical yet poetic — meet the mirror-sheen of the lacquered door, a material evolution born in the Edwardian era. Together, they anchor the home between two grand periods of design history.

Outside, the once-narrow walkway was widened into graceful curves, a gentle nod to another time. Blackened custom iron handrails, antique garden urns, period-correct lighting, and delicate European numerals stitched layers of old-world charm into the approach — small details that gather into something greater.

Inside, history and modern life dance together. True warmth comes from layers: stories whispered in materials, memory woven into every room. Scaling the furnishings for a 6’7″ client became an artful balancing act, ensuring comfort never sacrificed beauty. The living room’s transformation began at the heart: the fireplace. Gone is the glossy marble of the late 1980s; in its place, rare hand-painted antique tiles salvaged from France now ground the room with centuries of patina and soul.

This Texan family, spanning generations, lives for relaxed hospitality. Their Library Room was reimagined as a cinematic haven, enveloped in lush, pet-friendly fabrics in a symphony of warm, saturated tones. Light spills from a pair of blue tourmaline-hued Murano glass lamps by Marbro — elegant as jewelry. In a quiet corner, a treasure: a walnut buffet by John Widdicomb, crafted in the 1960s and passed down through family hands. Its sleek lines and Chinoiserie brass pulls now claim center stage, an heirloom made modern.

The Library Room, now richly reimagined, is no longer just a room in the middle of the house— it’s a feeling. The kind of cozy place you enter… and never quite want to leave.

Location: University Park, Dallas
Scope: Interior & Architectural Design
Historic Architecture Consultant: Virgil W. McDowell Inc
Landscape Architect: Shelley Potter, ASLA
Private Residence: 2872 sq. ft
Completion Date: Summer 2025