2004 Dallas Design Survey

Technically, individuals who have a license are designers. If they don’t, they are decorators by default. When we asked what they preferred to be called, a sizable number of designers didn’t care one way or the other. As one designer-slash-decorator put it: “I have a license, and I’m a designer, but if someone calls me a decorator, I don’t take offense. Billy Baldwin was a decorator. That’s got to be good enough for me.” The American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) has mounted a comprehensive initiative to raise the bar for individuals entering and working in the design profession, not only to protect the designers but also the clients who hire them.

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What person—living or dead—has had the most influence on your career?

When we asked our designers this question, the answers that flowed back were fascinating. In the predictable (but no less important) category were mothers, fathers, and grandparents who, along the way, established a certain taste level or standard for doing business and creating good design. Others named professors and employers who, over the years, left an important mark. Christ was frequently named. But the top three muses were Frank Lloyd Wright, Billy Baldwin, and Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis.

Thomas Jefferson

O’Neil Ford and Philip Johnson.
Edith Wharton and her 1896 book, The Decoration of Houses.
Painter Andrew Wyeth’s ability to capture a moment in time made me want to do that for my clients.
Jeremiah Eck. I love the residences he designs: simple, clean, contemporary, and timeless.
Andre Malraux translates the experience of perceiving art and the visual world to the realm of the soul.
My first boss taught me all about the business, people, and how to sell your ideas.
The Old Masters.
Jerry Nielson, ASID, taught me to always have a reason for what I do, to use elements and principles of design, and to give back to the profession, whether people recognize it or not.
Voltaire and Catherine the Great: their era featured great furniture and design, as well as wonderful art and craftsmanship. (Though I do not admire their personalities.)
Trisha Wilson, ASID, showed me what a woman can do on her own.
Thomas Chippendale.
Venetian architect Carlo Scarpa. His art is in the smallest details.
Richard Meier, a great modernist.
Antonio Gaudi because of his use of free-form, his ability to mix color and materials, and the humor in his design.
Oprah Winfrey’s commitment to be the best she can be.

Oprah Winfrey

Henri Rousseau, Andy Warhol, Pablo Picasso, Modigliani, and Frank Lloyd Wright.
Gauguin.
Charles and Ray Eames. Their extremely innovative furniture design and construction redefined the style of their era.
Dorothy Draper brightened classic elements by painting them boldly and increasing the scale to huge proportions.
Kathy Andrews with David Weekley is tremendously talented.
Louis XIV. I was deeply influenced by the elegant style and rich color of Versailles.
Eileen Gray—a woman with many obstacles who excelled.
Louis XVI style.
Le Corbusier.
Frank Lloyd Wright designed spaces that have passed the test of time. And who wouldn’t love an architect who throws art glass into beautiful and functional projects?
An architect I worked with for 12 years who always asked “why” and “how” about everything.
St. Theresa of Avila, a 15th-century mystic who gave profound insight into spiritual life and is still current today.
Martha Maclay of Wilson & Associates. I learned a lot from her about style and detail.
Bill Blass.
Jackie Kennedy’s exquisite taste and class, which brought formality back into style.
Paul Rudolph: “A building is never finished; it is always in a state of transition.”
Monet’s use of color, balance, visible brush strokes, and real people in his paintings.
 

Jackie Kennedy

The work of Henri Matisse influenced my use of color, William Morris taught me about structured interpretation of floral motifs, and Gregg Hlavaty taught me the importance of geometry in space planning.
Florence Knoll was both a strong businesswoman and designer. She was not afraid to take charge.
Alvar Aalto designed a variety of things (architecture, fabrics, furniture, vases, etc.).
The Adam Brothers’ classical styling made me think about shape, scale, and balance; Barbara Barry’s timeless, elegant look also influenced me.
Billy Baldwin gave us great arrangements of comfortable seating mixed with antiques and contemporary clean lines.
New York designer Edward Zajac is a genius of couture design.
Architect Ricardo Legorreta.
Frank Gehry’s sculptural work.
Richard Trimble, ASID; Emily Summers, ASID; Jan Showers, ASID; Rosemarie Rene, ASID; Blane Ladymon, ASID; Sherry Hayslip, ASID; Kay Troutt, ASID; and John Phifer Marrs, ASID.
The architectural details and decorating styles of Sister Parish and Robert Adams.
Mies van der Rohe’s designs were clean and clear expressions of form and structure.
Queen Elizabeth. I love the era: its beautiful furniture and the “pomp.”
Frank Sullivan was ahead of his time.
Leonardo da Vinci because he was able to work from both sides of his brain.
Thomas Jefferson.
Architect Frank Gehry took risks with materials, such as corrugated cardboard for furniture.
Norman Brinker, who gave me the opportunity to do the interior design on his home and changed my life.
Thank you, Norman!

Frank Lloyd Wright

Mickey Munir. Just talk to him; you’ll know why.
Peter Marino.
Henry Moore.
Michelangelo, a true Renaissance man who was able to intertwine his many interests and talents.
Michael Wilkov, president and CEO of Cantoni, taught me to differentiate between true style and quality and cheap imitations.
Billy Baldwin.
Tonny Foy and Lionel Morrison.
Bill Reed, who showed me the practical marriage of true creativity, niche marketing, and profit motive.
Bill Gates, who revolutionized all industries.
Joe Chastain and Earl Hart Miller—two early Dallas designers with elegant and timeless taste.
Architect Mario Botta.

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What are Dallas’ design strengths?

Renzo Piano’s Nasher Sculpture Center

Dallas residents realize the satisfaction of living in a beautifully designed home.
Trend toward more casual design with more open spaces and not so many individual rooms.
Dallas is high-style and has Third Coast status, the World Trade Center, and a multicultural mix.
The public appreciates good design work.
Access to the World Trade Center and Design District.
Fabulous design district and rich local history.
Dallas is catching on to contemporary design.
Lively, competitive antique market and strong interest in design.
Appreciation of quality and love of color.
Fabulous resources, craftsmen, and artists.
Dallas residents have great taste and awareness, show attention to detail, and are willing to invest in décor.
Endless shopping, great buys, and great educational opportunities.
Diversified talents with a passion for design.
A vital business economy that can afford new, exciting architecture.
Endless possibilities—Dallas is open to innovative ideas.
Sources from all over the world, Mexican influences, wealthy clients, and lots of opportunities for designers.
Hospitality design and leadership.
The network of showrooms, size of the antique market, and longevity of the showrooms.
Constant inspiration and motivation.
The Market Center and Design Center, including Slocum Street, and the fact that the overwhelming majority of clients lean toward classic, long-lasting styles rather than following trends.
Dallas’ eclectic style and sense of Southern hospitality and comfort.
Competition keeps everyone searching for the perfect spaces for their clients.
A designer doesn’t have to leave the city—Dallas has everything you need or want, regardless of the area of design you practice.
Great contractors, custom manufacturers, and material resources as well as strong ASID organization.
Quick to show the hottest trends and great textile sources.
High-society families and international business visitors.
Appreciation of good design.
Centrally located.
There is great opportunity for someone to have a profound impact upon Dallas architecture and urban design.
Great variety of design firms.
Expanding dedication to the arts.
(Finally) attracting world-class architects (Renzo Piano, Ricardo Legorreta, etc.).
Energy and love for the “big” of everything.
Energetic population.
Dallas isn’t afraid to try new things.
Dallas design easily competes with New York, Los Angeles, and Miami.
Great restrained houses from the ’20s through the ’50s, a number of really good contractors, and a number of really good clients.
Entrepreneurial spirit.
Nice people and great periodicals.
Good design doesn’t have to be expensive, but money helps—and there’s a lot of money here.
Some designers take design risks, mostly in restaurant design.
Dallas has a fashion sense that is evidenced in every area.
Dallas is young, bright, energetic, and adaptive.
Cosmopolitan city with taste.
Thinking outside the “today” box, with an appreciation of style and sense of history.
Design awareness is growing with the population.
Geographically desirable location.
What is left of our historic context: Swiss Avenue and Highland Park; area museums; and the Dallas Institute for Humanities and Culture.

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What are Dallas’ design weaknesses?

Too many buildings by David Schwarz

Fad-driven, bad residential architecture, and too much bad faux painting.
The contemporary market is not as strong as the traditional.
Poorly proportioned spaces with the more-is-more philosophy, especially in the
suburbs.
Clients with no imagination!
Too much traditional and formal design.
Anyone can get a tax number and call themselves a decorator.
Too conservative.
Designers are too competitive—there is enough business for everyone.
There is no Ikea.
Faux chateaux with fake furnishings to match.
Fearful of modernism and regionalism.
Public access to trade-only sources.
Keeping up with the Joneses—it’s so Dallas!
Closes too early.
Too little consistency in the city’s architectural vernacular.
Builders/developers have too much impact on design.
Too many designers design for themselves and not their clients.
Delusions of grandeur and lack of support for the visual and decorative arts.
SMU offers no design program, and there are too many ugly showrooms in the World Trade Center.
There’s too much catering to new money—very expensive and not always in good taste.
Builders who create massive houses with innumerable small, isolated rooms.
Low-balling designers who don’t charge enough for product and showrooms that cater to the public.
Big-box home centers and too few home shows.
We do not preserve architectural history.
Too many inappropriately high ceilings.
Wallpaper sources are weak.
McMansions and overscaled furniture and chandeliers.
Dallas is slower to adopt design trends than the East and West coasts.
Cookie-cutter designs.
Weak sense of proportion and scale.
“Yee-haw” tasteless trends.
Lack of architectural detailing in interior spaces.
Plethora of “Dolly decorators” and wannabes because of Dallas Market Center.
Too few risk-takers, too many big-box houses, and the lack of a distinguishable “here” here.
Too many do-it-yourself “Suzy Q” decorators who give decorating a bad name.
Stuck on Southwestern.
Arrogance.
Being so far from Fort Worth.
Gaudy North Dallas design in new construction and the mishmash that is Old World-style.
Dallas designers are forced to try to use materials and color to bring overscaled spaces conceived by architects back to a comfortable, human scale.
Furniture and accessories made of gilded plastic or faux grained plastic.
There is little understanding of modern and contemporary design; building support for local artists is slow going; and excess has become its own style.
In the quest to become a respected city, designers and inhabitants prefer to import talent rather than develop our own.
Too many discount houses.
Too catty.
Too-small design budgets.
Failure to demand good architecture from builders and failure to build homes responsibly in response to resource consumption.
Everything is so Dallas instead of DFW—remember that the “FW” is for Fort Worth!
Wholesalers selling retail.
Slavish copying of historical styles and the infatuation with Europe.
Poor urban design (with few exceptions) and lack of risk-taking in architectural and interior design.