another wonderful sponsor....Dallas designer Laura Lee Clark is one of the blog's newest sponsors and I'm thrilled to have her. She's been creating interiors for some of the city's most influential and stylish people for 23 years, and is best-known for a look that mixes traditional and antique pieces with modern classics and contemporary art. She studied in Italy at the Parsons School of Design, and you can see many of her French and Italian inspired rooms in Betty Lou Phillips' popular books, Inspirations from France & Italy, and The French Room. I've posted about Laura Lee's incredible black book of under-the-radar, highly skilled artisans before here.
Photo by Timothy Kolk
Room by Laura Lee Clark Interior Design
In Mike and Natalie McGuire's living room, Laura Lee Clark has mixed a flirty pair of antique French bergeres (covered unexpectedly in Old World Weaver's flame stitch), with a custom designed fringed ottoman, a mirrored table by Nancy Corzine, a gorgeous old Venetian glass chandelier, antique Oushak rug, and a graphic painting by James Surls. The Moorish inspired carving on the fireplace really pulls all the various patterns together.
Photo by Timothy Kolk
Room by Laura Lee Clark Interior Design
The McGuire's family room is big, like we like 'em in Texas. This 11,000 square ft. house, completely redone by Laura Lee Clark, originally belonged to Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez, a McGuire family friend, who coincidentally hit his 600th home run on Wednesday. Seven years ago the McGuires and Rodriguez swapped houses, with A-Rod moving into their Arcady Ave. house. The room's a mix of antique-style Chinese porcelains, custom upholstered furniture, and that's a Picasso linocut lithograph above the mantle.
Photo by Timothy Kolk
Room by Laura Lee Clark Interior Design
In the McGuire's lovely loggia, the Formations center table is piled with art books, interesting objects (such as the stone grapes) and spectacular potted white phalaenopsis orchids. The green chinese garden stools are from George Cameron Nash and Ceylon et Cie. I love the fact that the stools are different sizes -- it throws things off just enough.
Photo by Timothy Kolk
Room by Laura Lee Clark Interior Design
This is a wonderful shot by my old friend, photographer Tim Kolk, who lives in New York but comes to Dallas to visit family and to shoot occasionally. The antique mirror and chest are from The Pittet Co., and the large painting at left is by Texas-born artist Sam Reveles, who's now living and working in New York.
Interior by David Hicks
Houses Gardens People: Who are some designers whose work you admire?
Laura Lee Clark: David Hicks -- he's edgy, innovative and timeless...
Room by Rose Tarlow
Laura Lee Clark: and Rose Tarlow's interiors are warm, collected and natural. They appear to be easy to live in...
Room by John Saladino
Laura Lee Clark: John Saladino's rooms are sensual, inviting, but edited and always with an element of surprise...
Laura Lee Clark: I'm reading his book, Style by Saladino now...
Room by Kelly Wearstler
Laura Lee Clark: Kelly Wearstler's interiors are bold and risky. They have a powerful effect on me...
Laura Lee Clark: Pillow Talk with Doris Day and Rock Hudson has great interiors with attention to detail and a fun "wow" factor. I always enjoy Alfred HIctchock movies and James Bond movies for interesting interiors, too.
Laura Lee Clark: my new office space! It's very clean, contemporary and dramatic. (And a work in progress. Laura Lee's Dragon Street offices are not yet finished inside, but stay tuned.)
HGP: What's next?
Laura Lee Clark: "The Shop" which will be our storefront, with offices in the back. The Shop will consist of select antiques and accessories for retail and to the trade. We plan to open in the fall...
