For me, there’s no better way to tour a home than with other architecture aficionados. With cocktail in hand, you can move room-to-room with other like-minded people as you each find points of interest to share. That’s part of what I love about the Dallas Architecture Forum‘s 365 Modern Living Cocktail Receptions. This series covers some of the modern architectural treasures that Dallas holds in such a relaxed, open way. It’s part lecture and Q&A, part social hour as attendees can chat with the designers in a creation of their very own.
This year’s series, which features three incredible properties in some of the most sought-after neighborhoods in Dallas, kicks off on Tuesday, May 5, at 6 p.m. with a Frank Welch-designed modern with traditional touches in Greenway Parks. The reception lasts until 8, with a talk from the designer at roughly 6:45. You can still buy season passes for this unique series, which cost $250 for two passes for Dallas Architecture Forum members, and $300 for two passes for non-members. Purchase tickets on the Forum’s website, and find out more about the other events in the series, which are scheduled for May 19 and June 17.
Jump for a sneak peek inside this gorgeous home!
From the front, this home looks like a modern spin on a French Quarter residence, with an expansive balcony and covered porch that runs the length of the home. It was designed by Frank Welch, FAIA, and Scott Marek, AIA, of Frank Welch and Associates, with interiors by Laura Lee Clark Falconer and landscapes by Robert Bellamy. We’re just absolutely taken by Welch, whose memoir “On Becoming an Architect” just hit the shelves. Welch was just cutting his teeth when he met O’Neil Ford, and since then he has become, as Mark Lamster put it, “the leading exponent of a distinctly Texan form of modern architecture.”
There are plenty of clean lines throughout, but there are unexpected curves, too. The staircase is a focal point in the home, with rift-cut white oak that cascades along the floating steps, easily viewed from the two-story bank of windows surrounding it. There are some subtle touches, including the flooring finished with a rich stain Welch calls “Crude Oil,” a perfect foil for the neutral walls and copious windows that flood each room with light.
Contemporary furniture and fabrics add the pops of color a space like this needs to keep from feeling drab and spare. And while the clean lines of the home have their own sense of interest, combined with smooth neutral walls, it makes the home a perfect backdrop for the owners’ art collection, library, and any gathering you can imagine. The Bulthaup kitchen is the heart of the home, and will accommodate a family with ease, and the outdoor living spaces are generous, lush, and relaxing.
We cannot wait to see this home in context. What about you?
