Architects @ Home

Bob James
Living Room  (Pictured left) “A grid is a useful tool to help organize space, “ Bob James, A.I.A., says. “If you create horizontal lines that match up from material to material, it starts magically working. On the banks of the creek you see all these horizontal layers of limestone, and I wanted to play off that in the house.” bedroom  “My wife wanted a canopy bed, but we have such a beautiful view that we didn’t want posts to interfere with it,” Bob says. “So we screwed I-bolts directly into the wall trim, connected stainless steel cable and turnbuckles, and hung white linen gauze. The whole thing was executed for about $200.”

Bedroom  “My wife wanted a canopy bed, but we have such a beautiful view that we didn’t want posts to interfere with it,” Bob says. “So we screwed I-bolts directly into the wall trim, connected stainless steel cable and turnbuckles, and hung white linen gauze. The whole thing was executed for about $200.”

Exterior  Bob and his wife Vicki recently built their house on a vacant North Dallas lot alongside a creek and city park. “The house has a very  ordered and structured view from the street, with clean lines through

the house that slowly dissolve into a natural environment,” says Bob. “It’s a slow progression from a very ordered existence out into the chaos of nature.”

Cliff Welch

Exterior  “We didn’t necessarily follow all the rules and wait for a house to come on the market,” says Cliff Welch, A.I.A. “We were driving around looking at houses, and this one jumped out at us. So we stuck a business card in the mailbox asking if they were interested in selling.” Architect Glenn Allen Galaway originally designed the 1954 East Dallas house that Cliff and his family now call home.

Living Room  Cliff and Donna painstakingly restored the house, winning a Preservation Dallas award. “There’s a simplicity and honesty to the house with these large glass walls that bring nature in,” Cliff says. “We stuck with natural materials and classic furnishings. Sometimes just getting rid of clutter elevates all the elements in a space.”

Screened Porch  “Our house has actually influenced my own practice. I’ve learned what a wonderful space a screened porch can be, and I recommend them to clients,” says Cliff. “You may not be out there much in August, but you can be there
pretty much the rest of the year.”

 

Bob Meckfessel
Exterior  “Most architects have an interest in finding alternatives to the standard suburban arrangement of grassy front lawn, house, grassy backyard, fence,” says Bob Meckfessel, A.I.A. “We’re taught to tie the house into the site and break down the barriers between the interior and the exterior.” Bob and his wife Pat chose their 1947 stone house in part for its location—the top of a rocky hillside in Oak Cliff. 

Living Room  “The fireplace had a very traditional mantle, which we tore off,” says Bob. “We added the steel surround to create a focus for the room, bolting up panels of raw steel to create a pattern.” They chose architect-designed furniture, such as the Alvar Aalto chairs and Eames coffee table, for their “clarity and simplicity.”

Kitchen  “Architects generally like to see how things work and let that be expressed in the design,” says Bob. The Meckfessels gutted the kitchen to create large, functional space. “It’s sort of the control center of the house,” he says.