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Home & Garden

Mary Candace Evans on the Texas Horse Park

When completed, the Texas Horse Park could include 40 miles of trails for city-dwelling equestrian enthusiasts.
By Mary Candace Evans |
The Texas Horse Park will feature miles of trails on the fringe of the Great Trinity Forest.
illustration courtesy of BRW Architects

Hold your horses—but not for much longer. Soon you’ll be able to ride on miles of trails on the fringe of the 6,000-acre Great Trinity Forest a few trots southeast of downtown Dallas. The Texas Horse Park breaks ground in 2008, bringing equestrian activity to city slickers. Carpool a class full of children down to see a blacksmith shoe a horse, post a trot in the arena, or saddle up and ride.

“I’ve integrated other critters into our firm’s projects,” says Craig S. Reynolds, THP architect, FAIA, “but never a horse.”

His firm, BRW Architects, was charged with designing a 500-acre horse park that must suit several equestrian disciplines, from dressage, show jumping, eventing, endurance, reining, vaulting, and para-equestrian. Footing in the arena dirt is crucial, and each discipline has a different footing preference, Reynolds says.

When completed, there will be five arenas with multiple barns—from the traditional center corridor design to shed rows for competition—as well as a horse rescue area.

Texas boasts more horses than any other state, but ironically it has never generated a profit from the horse business. The unmet potential is massive: Many Texans pack up their horses and trailer them across the country to compete in events. Why not giddy up and bring that revenue into Dallas?, asks Janie Cole, THP board member.

“This facility can generate $30 million to $50 million a year for the local economy,” Reynolds says. “There is a tremendous need for a venue that would not just contribute to community outreach or entertain local conventions, but draw national as well as international competitions to our doorstep.”

Lakeside Patios
Richard Carey
of Stone Legends says that Texas leuders limestone is the most sought-after limestone in the world. And Larry Lavine, the proprietor of the new Red’s Patio Grill at Lakeside, can’t argue. Lavine may well have emptied an entire quarry when he designed the patio at his newest establishment for the perfect, year-round neighborhood patio restaurant where people could unwind after work and grab great comfort food—ribs, fish, meatloaf, and hamburgers—while enjoying the fresh air.


photography by
Scott Harben

Paris Report: Mauve is Back

Jim Williamson at ID Collection says mauve was being shown at almost every major fabric house in Paris—along with tropical prints and brightly colored metallic leathers in embossed pythons. Black and white and pink are still huge, as is modern, clean line furniture with a few well-placed antiques or quality reproductions mixed in. And get your walls ready—wallpaper is coming back big-time in huge bold patterns and textures. Coppery orange, acid greens, and browns will be everywhere.

Forty percent of Red’s total square footage is patio. Positioning it on the east side of the building saves diners from sunset scorching during summer months, while fans and a misting system keep customers cool. In winter, it may be even warmer on the patio than inside: Lavine unrolls plastic curtains and cranks up an industrial infrared heating system he found in Canada. With the fireplace, wood-fired rotisserie, limestone walls, and poured concrete floor, diners on the patio are treated to a true outdoor experience complete with artist Keith Turman’s bar stools made from found objects such as a chair, part of a shoeshine stand, a hammer, and an old railroad spike. And Lavine, the genius behind Chili’s, managed the decorating, which he says is every bit as vital as the fare.

Sandy and the Shelton
S.M.I. Designs Inc.’s Sandra Irvine, ASID, has been working night and day on The Shelton Preston Center’s 129 luxury residences that promise to bring haute high-rise living to Highland Park. After spanning the potential buying market of 35 to 60 year olds, Irvine has created what she calls a “traditional with an edge” atmosphere in the lobby, clubhouse, and models to please any client. “We’ve got singles, families, and empty nesters,” she says. The project and models are due to open in early March.

New Designs
This doesn’t happen to every designer: The very first hotel lobby Brant McFarlain decorated—The Hotel DuPont in Wilmington, Del.— snagged a national ASID award. It’s been a winding path for McFarlain, from his stint with Leo A. Daly to interviewing with Lionel Morrison and Susan Seifert of Morrison, Seifert, and Murphy, where he worked for more than two years on projects such as the Nana Grill, The Four Seasons, and the home of builder Diane Cheatham. But for two years, McFarlain has been on his own and stunningly so, wrapping homes and clients such as John Runyon, whose mid-century modern abode was featured in PaperCity last January, and his latest, Parigi Restaurant on Oak Lawn Avenue.

“Parigi is Italian for Paris,” says McFarlain, who recast the eatery in French modern deco with a warm feel.

Off to Milan in June, McFarlain is launching his own (very sexy) line of Italian-made signature lamps and crisp-as-a-collar home accessories, with a furniture line to follow.

“What Gucci did for clothes, I want to do for the home,” McFarlain says.

E-mail Mary Candace Evans at candye@dmagazine.com.

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