The Best Designers in Dallas 2011

Our annual list, plus some of these top local experts tell us about the looks they like best.

David Salem

Biggest design influence: Alberto Pinto
Your color of 2011: Anything but blue and brown
Design element you’re so over: Built-in wall units
The new neutral: Gray
Every home should have: A fireplace
If you were a designer in another country, it would be: Spain
Favorite home store: ABC Home & Carpet
The most overused word in the design world: Contemporary
Favorite coffee table book: Vanity Fair: The Portraits

Charlotte Comer

Biggest design influence: Two-dimensional art. I’ve learned scale, proportion, and balance from the art at the Kimbell Art Museum, where I was a docent for 10 years.
Your color of 2011: Icy-toned colors mixed with full-bodied color
Design element you’re so over: I always try to use any design element differently and appropriately for each space. My work is never trendy, always timeless.
If you were a designer in another country, it would be: Italy
Favorite home store: Anywhere on or near Rue Jacob, Paris
To red or not to red: Use a lot or just as an accent.
Most overused word in the design world: Bling
Favorite coffee table book: Equus by Tim Flach

Allen Kirsch

Biggest design influence: Mies van der Rohe
Your color of 2011: Orange
Design element you’re so over: Televisions above fireplaces
The new netural: Mushroom gray
Every home should have: A large cocktail table
Favorite home store: Crate & Barrel
To red or not to red: It’s okay anywhere but walls.
Favorite coffee table book: Cabinet of Natural Curiosities

John Marrs

Biggest design influence: My grandmother. She let me do whatever I wanted to do with her house—and she loved it!
Your color of 2011: It won’t be gray.
Design element you’re so over: Coral
The new neutral: I guess gray.
Every home should have: Dimmers
If you were a designer in another country, it would be: England because they don’t take it so seriously
Favorite home store: Anyplace I can find a treasure at a great price
To red or not to red: I love it! You gotta have guts to use it!
The most overused word in the design world: Right now, it is “green.”
Favorite coffee table book: Designers Here and There because I’m in it

Tiffany McKinzie

Biggest design influence: Charlotte Moss and Charles Faudree
My color of 2011: Gray—all shades of it. Everything from the lightest gray/white to the rich, deep hues.
Design element you’re so over: Heavily ornamented and overly embellished accessories
If you were a designer in another country, it would be: France
To red or not to red: Personally, I adore red but use it in limited doses.
Favorite coffee table book: Winter House by Charlotte Moss

Joe Minton

Biggest design influence: Billy Baldwin’s understated chic
Your color of 2011: Parrot green and Hermès orange
Design element you’re so over: Heavy, swagged valances
The new neutral: Silver
Every home should have: Dogs, wood-burning fireplace, live flowers
If you were a designer in another country, it would be: England
Favorite home store: Restoration Hardware
To red or not to red: Red has been my favorite color for years. It can be a neutral.
Most overused word in the design world: Eclectic