When D Home was in its early days, I would walk up to front doors that intrigued me and leave my business card in the mailbox with a hand-scrawled note asking if the owner might let me scout her house and possibly photograph it. (Upon reflection, this is just the kind of stranger you warn your children about.) I am stunned that people actually called me back, and over the course of those first years, I met numerous people whom I now count as friends. I rarely turned up anything publishable. It wasn’t because the houses weren’t beautiful—they were brimming with originality and style—but some houses, like people, simply are more photogenic than others.
We now have a cadre of editors who have eliminated my need to leave little notes in random people’s mailboxes. As you will see in this issue, they have turned up three utterly photogenic interiors: a David George-designed 1960s house that Allen Kirsch recreated for his Bluffview client; Charlotte Comer’s 94-year-old Vickery Place cottage; and Carter Bowden’s antiques laden, mid-century modern house in Fort Worth. These three residences, as different as they are at first glance, are all part of a growing movement in Dallas toward smaller, meticulously decorated houses, a stark contrast to the chest-beating Starter Castles of the ’90s. There is no doubt that for the next few decades, smaller, finer houses (think 2,500 to 5,000—not 15,000—square feet) and spacious high-rise apartments will be the dominant choice of the affluent market, whether they are 40-year-old professionals with growing families or empty nesters with re-imagined lives. Rather than filling up warehouse-like spaces with furniture that more rightly belongs in European hotel lobbies, we will be creating chic little rooms, perfectly rendered. Comfortable. Beautiful. And so photogenic.
Another trend in Dallas that caught our attention is the number of Master Gardeners in town, which is growing exponentially. Contributing editor Loyd Zisk introduces you to three who took gardening from a hobby to a more serious—and richer—level. Reading their stories inspired me to look into this program, and (now that I do not do so much door-to-door scouting) I am actually contemplating becoming a Master Gardener myself. Read this article and see what you think. Maybe a group of D Home readers could do this together!
Most important, this issue marks our 7th annual “Best of Everything” edition, where we bestow the coveted “best” status on people, places, and things in Dallas. We’ve been working for months on this story, and—big praise here—I think it is our best ever. Enjoy this issue, and let me hear from you.
Christine Allison
Editor and Publisher
[email protected]
