3 Texas Design Shops Brimming With Personality
Texas’ latest design shops boast curated collections of found and created objects that personify their owners. Take a look inside three.
PHOTO: CAITLIN WILSON, KATIE NIXON PHOTOGRAPHY
In the winter, designer Caitlin Wilson chose Dallas as the place for the second outpost of her namesake San Francisco shop and studio, taking up 4,200 square feet in Knox-Henderson. “We fell in love with Park Cities and knew it would be a win-win for our business and family,” she says. It’s really a win for Dallas: Her playful rugs, pillows, wallpaper, fabrics, furniture, lighting and decor lean heavily on pretty shades of blue, white and pink; she seamlessly blends gingham with chinoiserie, navy buffalo check with pink velvet. “I love that our Dallas shoppers aren’t afraid to make a statement,” Wilson says. “They love color and pattern, but it’s done tastefully in a chic, polished way: sophisticated and classic but not too serious.”
PHOTO: GALERIE NOVELLA, ALLYSON HUNTSMAN
Partial to midcentury European designers like Pierre Chapo, Charlotte Perriand and Axel Einar Hjorth, former Houston food writer Robert Willey opened Galerie Novella in the fall to showcase his collection of hard-to-come-by furniture and lighting pieces. “The shop is a collection of items I love–pieces that were beautifully designed and executed that can bring so much depth and soul to a home today,” he says. Come here to find, for instance, a 1940s Ole Wanscher sofa (shown) mingling with a 1950s wall-mounted shelf by Mathieu Mategot and a circa-1990 patinated-copper screen by Mats Theselius.
PHOTO: AVANT GARDEN, JOHN CAIN PHOTOGRAPHY
In Dallas, longtime floral shop favorite Avant Garden relocated headquarters this winter from Highland Park Village–its 15-plus-year home–to The Shops of Highland Park. The reason: more space. “The move into a new 3,000-square-foot store will allow us to grow our services with beautiful items for the home,” says owner Todd Fiscus. “But my goal remains the same: to create the finest floral shop in the city that uses the absolute best products available from around the world.” The space is outfitted Rosenthal vases, L’Objet candles, design tomes, Fiscus’ prominent orchid collection and more–even the dazzling Ro Sham Beaux chandeliers overhead can be purchased.