Claire and I decided somewhat spontaneously to head up to Dallas to check out their Modern Home Tour yesterday. Some highlights:
Best Exteriors:
This modern gem (advertised as a Smitharc home) was across the street from a home on the tour. Unfortunately, it wasn't part of the tour--would've loved to have seen the interior!
A mix of natural materials makes this entrance inviting.
I Envy These Living Rooms:
Awesome Kitchens:
I adore everything about this kitchen.
Best Bathroom Vanities:
One of my favorite rooms on the tour, I love how this bathroom uses neutrals but feels superfun.
This unique type of double vanity affords more personal space.
Love the band of zebrawood across the backsplash in this powder room.
Beautiful Bedrooms:
This is how you work layered rugs! I'm also dying for the Rex Ray over the bed.
I need more color in my world, but I'd love to vacation in this relaxing bedroom now and then.
Very Hollywood.
I still regret not buying this bed from the now defunct Storehouse when I first spied it eight years ago!
Great Hangouts:
Have always wanted an orange and pink space!
How fun is this media room?
For the Kiddos:
I can't think of a better perch for a little kid.
Precious.
Love this light fixture!
Fab Furniture:
Ecclectic corner.
I don't normally go for terra cotta, but this workspace WORKS.
I'm a sucker for this vintage shelving unit.
Spied one of these high chairs in one of the houses on the tour. At $299, it's a bit spendy, but I was impressed by how well it blended in with the homeowner's black leather parsons chairs.
Interesting Geometry:
Ribbed windows.
This modern fireplace facade is not only great-looking, it's also very budget-friendly and relatively easy to DIY.
Fans of HGTV's The Antonio Treatment have seen this look before, but it's still pretty. (Photo courtesy of Juli Branson.)
Details to Die For:
Between the dark black box and the tile treatment, this TV niche looks like a fireplace at first glance.
A walk-in wine fridge is quite the feature, no?
Floating this wood floor is such a unique way to transition between two slightly different levels..
Love the juxtaposition of the hard masculine lines of this wall treatment and the organic shape of the capiz shell fixture.
Nice use of otherwise dead space under the stairs.
As if the crescent-shaped desk wasn't cool enough, the distinctive vintage lamp is the perfect mix of elegance and whimsy.
Not just for eco-friendly countertops anymore, this compressed paper material (like EcoTop or PaperStone) looks great on walls!
Multiple barn doors on this home easily extend the interior spaces and allow for ventilation. However, as hot as it is for much of the year, it's doubtful you'd get much use out of that handy feature. (Photo courtesy of Juli Branson.)
Mod treehouse.
The award for best spectator shoes goes to this father/son duo.
Materials I’m Lusting For:
Let's hear it for modern plaid!
Here's another tile that proves you can be both fun and neutral!
Claire pointed out that this dotted tile has an upholstered look.
My new fave granite. If you can identify it, I'll be your best friend.
While the Austin Modern Home Tour is largely an edgier selection, there was a lot to love on this inaugural Dallas tour. I would move right into houses #3 (4311 Middleton), #5 (8627 Midway), and #7 (5706 Watson Circle) in a heartbeat. House #10 (2963 Magnolia Hill Court) had a location that was equal parts blessing and curse. Although it was within walking distance of the American Airlines Center, it was within walking distance of the American Airlines Center. Let’s face it, you’re either glad you can hoof it over there or you’re cursing traffic every day there’s an event. And while the townhouse itself seems great for entertaining, you’d have to hire a staff for every party you throw to guide guests into the neighborhood, because finding the building was super tricky. If I could take this exact home and relocate it, I would add it to the list of serious contenders, provided I could buy all of its supercool furnishings as well.
We skipped house #1 (6517 Timber Wolf Trail), because (a) it was isolated out in Plano, and (b) it didn’t look distinctive enough to warrant the drive. For the same reason, we blew off #9 (3315 Miro Place), and #12 (8637 Redondo). Wish we’d done the same with the very average-looking house #8 (4420-A Holland). These were perfectly fine houses, but they weren’t exactly tour-worthy.
By far, the house that won the Tour Gone Wrong prize was #4 (9839 Rockbrook Drive). First of all, the happy staging featured in the tour marketing materials was gone, leaving the home feeling depressing and deserted. In fact, there was such an incredibly creepy vibe to the house, I wandered through three rooms and then got the hell out of Dodge. Several other tour goers commented on having similar reactions to the house. I can’t describe it other than to say it had the taint of murder, or at the very least, foreclosure on it. In fact, the eerie powder room near the entry–all green glow and rusted metal–looked like something out of Session 9, a movie so scary I would pay a significant amount of money to do a mind erase, à la Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. In addition to the bad juju running rampant in the house, every room had a different set of stairs leading to it, giving the house an annoying lack of flow. If I’d been the tour curator, I would never have allowed this house to stay on the tour without the benefit of staging. It needed something to counteract the ick factor.
I enjoyed the min-adventure though, and look forward to Austin’s version of the tour this Saturday!
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