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Houzz Tour: Texas Home That’s Elegant and Dog-Friendly
A designer found on Houzz ties together large rooms with shimmering metallics, abstract art and durable furnishings
With their children away at college, this couple were ready to change their lifestyle. They moved from a traditional home in California to a more modern new build in Dallas, close to where one of their daughters attends school. Their new house has large rooms and high ceilings, and they found that much of their traditional furniture wasn’t a fit for the style or scale of the home. While searching Houzz, the wife admired the work of interior designer Dona Rosene. Rosene helped the couple find a new transitional style that’s elegant and comfortable and can stand up to the wear and tear of their beloved bulldogs.
Photos by Michael Hunter
House at a Glance
Who lives here: A couple and their three bulldogs
Location: Preston Hollow neighborhood of Dallas
Size: Six bedrooms, six bathrooms, three half baths
Designer: Dona Rosene
The entryway presented a Texas-size challenge. “The ceilings are two stories high and it was a challenging space,” Rosene says. “Addressing the scale properly was very important because standard-size furnishings can look very Alice in Wonderland in a large space like this.” A tall indoor tree, large paintings and a wide console work with the scale of the space.
Rosene related the foyer to the hallway visually by using matching rugs in each spot, then created a sitting area in the curved space underneath the stairs. A matching runner for the stairs was still on order on the day of the photo shoot. The runner will provide better grip than the slippery wood does and make the stairs safer.
Find an interior designer on Houzz
House at a Glance
Who lives here: A couple and their three bulldogs
Location: Preston Hollow neighborhood of Dallas
Size: Six bedrooms, six bathrooms, three half baths
Designer: Dona Rosene
The entryway presented a Texas-size challenge. “The ceilings are two stories high and it was a challenging space,” Rosene says. “Addressing the scale properly was very important because standard-size furnishings can look very Alice in Wonderland in a large space like this.” A tall indoor tree, large paintings and a wide console work with the scale of the space.
Rosene related the foyer to the hallway visually by using matching rugs in each spot, then created a sitting area in the curved space underneath the stairs. A matching runner for the stairs was still on order on the day of the photo shoot. The runner will provide better grip than the slippery wood does and make the stairs safer.
Find an interior designer on Houzz
This vignette in the entry exemplifies the way Rosene helped pull the home together. She used abstract art and the sheen and sparkle of metallic textures throughout the house to provide a cohesive and elegant feel.
The console mixes traditional wood with a modern metal base and artisanal glass doors. The clients had a pair of the gold lamps from their California bedroom and wanted to use them. Rosene found a place for one of them here, replacing the shade with a black one that has gold leaf inside.
The rug has an ocelot pattern. “They didn’t want to invest in hand-knotted rugs because of the dogs, so the trick was to find machine-made rugs with a dense pile and colors that were forgiving,” Rosene says.
The console mixes traditional wood with a modern metal base and artisanal glass doors. The clients had a pair of the gold lamps from their California bedroom and wanted to use them. Rosene found a place for one of them here, replacing the shade with a black one that has gold leaf inside.
The rug has an ocelot pattern. “They didn’t want to invest in hand-knotted rugs because of the dogs, so the trick was to find machine-made rugs with a dense pile and colors that were forgiving,” Rosene says.
This is the view of the dining room from the front entry. “The wife recently told me that her favorite thing about the house is walking into the entry and just feeling good. She said that even though they don’t use the dining room that often, simply walking in and looking at it makes her very happy,” Rosene says.
The designer tied together some of the homeowners’ existing pieces and the existing chandelier with new design elements. “The builder had already installed great light fixtures before they bought the house,” Rosene says. “We lucked out.”
The couple brought the rug with them from California and Rosene determined this was the best spot for it. She played up its gold and silvery hues with a grasscloth wallpaper that has a metallic sheen. The colors in the drapery fabric she chose also work well with the rug.
The homeowners already had the dining table, but their existing dining chairs were too traditional. Rosene replaced them with comfortable crushed velvet, Art Deco-style chairs that play off the silvery grays in the rug and wallcovering. They also brought the mirror with them, and Rosene knew its large size would work well with the chandelier and high ceilings. She hired artist Carol Pankratz to alter its original greenish frame by adding gold and black to it.
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The designer tied together some of the homeowners’ existing pieces and the existing chandelier with new design elements. “The builder had already installed great light fixtures before they bought the house,” Rosene says. “We lucked out.”
The couple brought the rug with them from California and Rosene determined this was the best spot for it. She played up its gold and silvery hues with a grasscloth wallpaper that has a metallic sheen. The colors in the drapery fabric she chose also work well with the rug.
The homeowners already had the dining table, but their existing dining chairs were too traditional. Rosene replaced them with comfortable crushed velvet, Art Deco-style chairs that play off the silvery grays in the rug and wallcovering. They also brought the mirror with them, and Rosene knew its large size would work well with the chandelier and high ceilings. She hired artist Carol Pankratz to alter its original greenish frame by adding gold and black to it.
Find a home builder on Houzz
When Rosene spotted the homeowners’ demilune chest in a room upstairs, she knew this spot would be a great place to showcase it. Another abstract painting and a tall plant are compatible with the high ceilings. The hallway leads to a butler’s pantry and the wife’s home office.
Here’s a closer look at the drapery fabric. The wife loves flowers, so Rosene used botanical patterns throughout the home. She found patterns in colors that also suited the husband’s style, which is less flowery.
The family room is located along the back of the house and is open to a breakfast area and the kitchen. Again, scale and the dogs played a big role. So did comfort. “It was really important to the husband to have a deep sofa,” Rosene says.
This sectional is cushy and its durable and stain-resistant fabric stands up to the pets, who have free rein over the furniture. “The fabric is woven and chenille-like and it hides soil,” Rosene says. A large coffee table anchors the space. It has a faux shagreen finish and a drawer for stashing the remotes. Another tall tree provides an indoor-outdoor connection.
Browse sectional sofas in the Houzz Shop
This sectional is cushy and its durable and stain-resistant fabric stands up to the pets, who have free rein over the furniture. “The fabric is woven and chenille-like and it hides soil,” Rosene says. A large coffee table anchors the space. It has a faux shagreen finish and a drawer for stashing the remotes. Another tall tree provides an indoor-outdoor connection.
Browse sectional sofas in the Houzz Shop
Rosene backed the existing built-in shelves with a grasscloth wallpaper that has metallic glints in it. Its texture helps break up the expanse of white on the walls of the large room.
She helped the homeowners arrange their existing prints, books and favorite objects on the shelves, and she helped them find new pieces to fill the empty spaces. The wife enjoyed hitting the showrooms with her designer. Together they looked for items with interesting shapes and organic textures that fit the scale of the room.
She helped the homeowners arrange their existing prints, books and favorite objects on the shelves, and she helped them find new pieces to fill the empty spaces. The wife enjoyed hitting the showrooms with her designer. Together they looked for items with interesting shapes and organic textures that fit the scale of the room.
Rosene chose a Kravet fabric for the stools and pillows, which are custom. She played off the colors in the other pillow choices with details such as the piping.
The rug is wool with a dense pile. “The wool is easy to clean and the dense pile will stand up to the dogs,” she says.
The rug is wool with a dense pile. “The wool is easy to clean and the dense pile will stand up to the dogs,” she says.
This large travertine-topped sofa table also suits the scale of the space. It combines a traditional stone material with a modern black-metal-and-glass base. Gold finishes on the lamps help tie the room together.
The light fixtures seen here were existing. Rosene played off the round chandelier with a round table. “The table is a nice combination of a traditional dark wood top and a modern silver base,” she says. The chairs are from Woodbridge. “I have these chairs myself and they are very comfortable. I let my clients try mine out all the time,” Rosene says. She had the seats upholstered in a durable performance fabric by Thibaut.
Kitchen pendants: Visual Comfort
Kitchen pendants: Visual Comfort
The couple’s bedroom is on the first floor and looks out on the backyard. Perched on a bench at the foot of the bed are the couple’s dogs: Duc, Ollie and Jethro. “It’s the funniest thing, as soon as you take your camera out they stop and pose,” Rosene says. They even got involved in the design process. “I was trying to show my clients a rug sample once. As soon as I laid it out on the floor, all three dogs ran up and flopped down on it,” she says with a laugh.
The homeowners wanted a canopy bed that would fit their California king mattress — a tall and extra-wide order. “Not many canopy beds come in that size,” Rosene says. She found this silver leaf bed at Made Goods. The bed works with the scale of the vaulted ceiling. The designer also addressed the room’s scale by covering the headboard wall in a cork wallpaper that has glints of silver.
The furniture floats lightly above the floor. The bed has a slim profile, the nightstands sit atop metal bases and the bench’s acrylic legs disappear. Clear glass reading lamps have a light look, and their shades add metallic shine to the room.
Find the right bench for your bedroom
The furniture floats lightly above the floor. The bed has a slim profile, the nightstands sit atop metal bases and the bench’s acrylic legs disappear. Clear glass reading lamps have a light look, and their shades add metallic shine to the room.
Find the right bench for your bedroom
The windows have motorized solar shades. Rosene sourced drapery fabric with a magnolia print in calming colors. The drapes soften the room and also suit its scale. “She really loves flowers but didn’t want to go too flowery in here,” the designer says. “We found a good compromise by adding a lot of gray for him — charcoal on the headboard and lighter gray on the bedding.”
The sitting area is one of the couple’s favorite spots in the house. “My client told me that it’s hard to leave the bedroom in the morning because they love waking up and hanging out in this spot,” Rosene says.
They brought the chairs with them from California and the designer had them reupholstered to suit the room’s style. Then she added a cloverleaf ottoman upholstered in a snakeskin-patterned vinyl that’s durable enough to handle the dogs. It’s a good thing she did since the ottoman is one of the dogs’ favorite spots.
They brought the chairs with them from California and the designer had them reupholstered to suit the room’s style. Then she added a cloverleaf ottoman upholstered in a snakeskin-patterned vinyl that’s durable enough to handle the dogs. It’s a good thing she did since the ottoman is one of the dogs’ favorite spots.
While the wife toned down the floral theme in the bedroom, she went all out in her office. “I brought her a lot of flowered wallpapers to choose from and she fell in love with this one,” Rosene says. “This was a place that was all hers, where she could have as much pink and as many flowers as she wanted.”
Because the window looks out on the driveway and lets in a lot of bright western sunlight, Rosene sourced gray sheer fabric for the Roman shade and had it lined. She used a braided pom-pom trim and a hanging pom-pom trim to add some pink to the window.
The chair has a sleek, contemporary look. “It kind of disappears, which was important, because this is a small space,” Rosene says.
Takeaways
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Because the window looks out on the driveway and lets in a lot of bright western sunlight, Rosene sourced gray sheer fabric for the Roman shade and had it lined. She used a braided pom-pom trim and a hanging pom-pom trim to add some pink to the window.
The chair has a sleek, contemporary look. “It kind of disappears, which was important, because this is a small space,” Rosene says.
Takeaways
- Create a cohesive feel throughout a home by repeating motifs. Here the designer used metallics, botanical patterns and abstract art.
- Hand-knotted rugs and delicate upholstery fabrics won’t be good investments if you have pets that will wreak havoc on them.
- Large mirrors, artwork, potted trees and light fixtures will bring soaring ceilings down to human scale.
- Create a sitting area in a bedroom so that it can function as a relaxing retreat any time of day.
More on Houzz
Tour more homes
Hire a local design pro
Shop for your home
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