Dear Reader
Across the Pond
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As we were putting together this European Style issue, I thought about geese.
I pass a gaggle of them every morning on Lakeside Drive as I take my daughter to school, racing to beat the tardy bell while thinking in bursts about photo shoots, college visits, and what’s for dinner tonight.
Then come the geese. Every so often, usually during morning rush hour, they decide to take a very leisurely stroll across the road. And no matter how harried the drivers are, the response is universal and quite touching: people smile.
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| Discover the virtues of European style at the Hoffman residence. |
That we live in an era where we even have a time of day called “rush hour” is, upon reflection, pretty scary. Our problem in modern Dallas is that we don’t know when to stop. Europeans have a rush hour, but when it’s over, they slow down. They linger over meals. They linger with friends. They linger in their kitchens and parlors amidst pieces of art and furniture that have been passed down through the generations. And they don’t believe in drive-thru decorating. To a European, the idea of building a home and furnishing it at all once would be madness.
That is why, in this issue, we thought to visit people and houses in our midst that reflect a richer, more considered manner of life. You’ll tour three Dallas houses that have a European sensibility, a sensuousness we can learn from. They are filled with beloved objects, layered with personal history and taste, and, most of all, they are houses where people actually live. European style doesn’t mean that you need Louis XV chairs or Biedermeier chests. It doesn’t mean old or antique—indeed, it is often contemporary—but it does mean that one has taken the time and joy to create a world where there is no rush hour, no need, even, for feathered friends to slow you down.
Wishing you a blessed holiday season,
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CHRISTINE ALLISON
Editor and Publisher
[email protected]
