Dallas Builder Sharif Munir Hosts Open House

Dallas home builder Sharif Munir's new model home was the place to see and be seen as they hosted their past and current clients on Thursday to show off their latest and greatest furnished model home at 5107 Kelsey Rd. (click for dD's past post giving all of the specs). The home melds Mediterranean and modern elements to create a home that is truly a Mecca of entertaining with numerous areas to congregate with family or friends with a huge expanse of living spaces, both indoors and out-including a detached living quarters for guests. Sharif Munir's team of designers, architects and tradesmen ensures that no detail is too small to be overlooked or explored - the true essence of luxury that they are well versed in.

A few snapshots from the party...

Mickey Munir-Sharif Munir & Pamela Lane-Client

John & Sheryl Weber-Past Clients

Wolf Subzero Catering Team

Michelle Munir-Sharif Munir,Vicky & Kelly Saxton-Past Clients

Duane Pfanansteil-Sharif Munir, "Dallas" Alice-Past Client , Jason Vaile - Sharif Munir

Steve & Jennifer Elliston - Elliston Audio & Visual Systems, James Miri - White Glove Storage & Delivery


Bob Fulton-Past Client, Don Caperton-Architect

Don & Diane Enty, Michael Munir - Sharif Munir

Tamra Canoe, Me (Alana), Lisa Barron - All Dallas Design Group, Interiors

A few of the interior architectural detailing shots Dallas Design Group implemented...Excuse my photography, professional shots to come, or better yet, explore the home in person...

Cooktop View

Dining Room

Entry Doors

Entry Stairs

Formal Powder Bath

Breakfast Room

Gallery Medallions
Her Master Bath

Ok - this is all you get. To see the space in person, the home is open M-F 9-5 @ 5107 Kelsey Rd. off of Walnut Hill & Inwood in Preston Hollow or for more info contact...

Builder:
SHARIF MUNIR
6009 Beltline Rd., Suite 200, Dallas, TX 75254
Sales: 972-788-1234 • http://www.sharif-munir.com/

Interior Architecture & Design:
Dallas Design Group, Interiors
100 Glass St. Suite 201
Dallas, TX 75207
214-752-9005
http://www.dallasdesign-group.com/

Audio/Visual & Technology

Elliston Systems & Design

2360 Irving Blvd.

Dallas, TX 75207

214-634-9525
http://www.ellistonsystems.com/

Photo Credits: John Manzer - Sharif Munir & Alana Villanueva - Dallas Design Group, Interiors

Designer Spotlight: Thom Filicia

Thom Filicia is now the next big thing to lend a hand and eye for designing lines for fabrics, furnishings, and wallpaper. From his start at "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" on Bravo, he has set the bar a little higher each year, publishing a book under his own name, and more recently designing the House Beautiful Showhome that was ranted and raved about. His lines are elegant, tailored but always mixed with an unexpected touch thrown in for good measure, while also pushing the organic meets glam card.

Most of his designs feature light or painted woods, soft fabrics while always making a statement by using scale, proportion or color to implement it. His new line of furnishings through Vanguard Furniture (sold through David Gilbert on Hi Line) was used in the House Beautiful Showhome - just click through to the link for a tour. They also posted a video of Thom talking about the line. Vanguard had been known to be a somewhat more traditional furnishings company until the Micheal Weiss line was introduced (another one of my favorite lines) a few years back. The furnishings are priced very reasonably especially when you consider the high style elements that you can't find in other brands. Here are a few shots and some of my favorite pieces from his collection.

He also has a line of fabrics under the Kravet/Lee Jofa brand combining traditional elements with modern styling...a few below. Enjoy...

Daily Dose

"Look at a day when you are supremely satisfied and the end. It's not a day when you lounge around and do nothing; it's when you've had everything to do, and you've done it." -

Margaret Thatcher

Rain, Rain, (Snow), Go Away...

To help fight away the winter blues, I have provided you with some much needed eye candy with the notation that winter is almost over...

INTERIOR DESIGN BY KIM COLEMAN & MICHELE GREEN
PHOTOGRAPHS BY JAMES MERRELL

I love this fun, literal take on an ocean inspired powder bath, which looks as if it hopped straight out of the "Little Mermaid" with its capiz shell wallcovering tiles from Maya Romanoff (through Donghia), antique mirrored chest from Aidan Gray Home, shell sconces and mirror from Currey & Co. (all through interior designers) and a huge natural clam shell made into a sink.

Vieques, Puerto Rico

Off of the already small island of Puerto Rico there is another small island that has been basically deserted forever-Vieques-and only used when the US military practiced training there, accessible by ferry or plane only. The military has since moved out and now the island has experienced a surge in tourism, being voted #1 Caribbean island by Travel & Leisure magazine and will opening up the only resort style W Hotel available March 25. This is already on my list for 2010! Here's a sneak peek below...

Doesn't this kind of look like the Bacardi commercial when everyone builds an island out of limes...? You could probably do that with the amount of drinks that will be in taken here.

The Bioluminescent Bay

Here lives tiny micro-organisms in the water that glow in the evening. Take a kayak out and throw yourself in the water and then get out - your body is glowing like Neytiri from "Avatar".

Sleep Easy...No Ambien Required

On a recent shopping trip through one of my go to showrooms, Leslie Taylor on Slocum (sandwiched between Le Louvre and Legacy Antiques) I happened upon this gorgeous bed. This would have been a great V-Day post but sometimes life gets in the way, so you get to see it a few days late. The Italian antique bed has been retrofitted from a full size to accommodate our standard queen size mattresses, and features the most gorgeous finishing techniques with rubbed a gris and highlighted with gold accents. The bed looks as if it came straight from an Italian villa - all that is needed is an antique cassone (an Italian marriage chest typically placed at the end of the bed - it was usually heavily carved and the finest piece furniture in an Italian Renaissance-era family) and I would even hang some embroidered sheers from the canopy, just to add another romantic touch. I also love how they staged the space and mixed in some more clean lined porcelain lamps on one side to edge it up a little - a trait that LT is know for.

A closeup of the intricately carved headboard - even with bountiful pillows this headboard is still the piece de resistance

Happy Fat Tuesday!

Don an elaborate mask today and partake in a little overindulgence before the Lent season begins...just remember tomorrows not a Friday and you'll have to drag yourself into work on Wednesday.

Interior Design Twentyten Trends - The Future is Now

You know when you were growing up and you thought about what the future was going to hold - especially any year above the millennium. That we would be hoovering to and from work, wearing our Jetson's inspired get up with everyone having a robotic maid, ah sigh on that one. Well, unless you have an affliction to The Black Eyed Peas wardrobe and a huge amount of disposable income you probably don't. It is funny to realize that with technology ever growing into every aspect of our lives it seems as if the consumer is wanting to chill out on the home front and get back to a natural, more organic pad - perhaps to take respite from this all-encompassing technology. Back from recent trade shows in Las Vegas and Paris Maison&Objet, the interior design reps have brought back with them the trends for the coming year.

Grey
Grey was everywhere and in every single booth. This was the grounding color, with all other accents layering over it. It appeared warmer, almost taupe or brownish grey, more so than in years past.
*This may in direct collaration with the recession and or companies wishing to increase productivity amongst the fewer amount of employees that they do have. Notice most offices and businesses are dressed in colors of grey...my personal house is pretty much all grey too, albeit the warmer tone and everything looks good on it

Linen
This was the other top trend of the show, linen everywhere! There is definitely a shift happening toward soft, natural textures, including hand woven natural looks and linen on everything from tables to furniture to bedding.

Pink
All manner and style of pink was represented. Lavenders and muted pinks layered well with all of the grey. Hot pink and fuchsia played off of green-cast yellows and reds. Deep burgundies and blueish reds combined with greys and browns. However, the most interesting shade was a new mauve/ lavender. Kim predicts we will definitely see this color again and again, as it’s strong yet understated and a great complement to greys.

*I predict mauve - it will be given a new name, please!, it feels ugly coming out of my mouth - will be the 2011 color...

Natural Wood Finishes
Not one bit of stained mahogany or traditional wood finishes here! Mostly raw and reclaimed natural wood finishes, bleached woods and painted wood case pieces. Even the painted wood pieces had a very grey appearance.

Metallics
This is a trend that has been gaining momentum for years, and is really making an impact on all different types on fabrics, especially skins and textures. Embossed velvets and leathers remained strongly represented.

Over-scaled Motifs
Traditional patterns like plaid appeared here in huge scale, making them more of a feature. Scale was less about size and more about impact, with bold patterns, florals and framed damasks. Kim said she is already seeing a trend toward drama through accessories, like pillows, and designers are achieving that through boldness of scale.

Stripes
Usually the most reserved and hardly a trend, this year stripes appeared in every scale and construction, with the most interesting being the funky and unbalanced patterns and monochromatic iterations.

Ethnic
This trend is still going strong with bold yet soft to the touch kilims, ikats and textures and stripes. Ethnic prints have been modernized and softened, and are being translated into multiple settings.

Transitional
In years past there was always strong representation from more traditional vendors. This was the first year where the transitional category really took over and began to encompass every niche of design. The renewed interest in art deco and art nouveau blended well with modern and transitional styles, and came across less strict and regimented as in years past.

*Trends above from Kravet

A few other trends that have already taken over the Pantone planned world of decor...

• Turquoise - this trend is already in full force this year - AND I LOVE IT!
• Honeycombs - yes like the bee's home, mostly since as a new pattern in textured fabrics much like the herringbone or other solid or tone on tone fabric
• Pleating - in fabrics & trim themselves
• Antique/Rubbed Brass - Silver is OUT, Brass is back
• Organic Fabrics
• Origami Inspired Furniture

Check out the online photos of this years Paris Maison&Objet show here...

While these are what will be hot this year, never do I recommend to a client to run out and redesign their entire house based on what is hot this year and not the next. Updating with art, pillows and fabrics and accessories can give your client a new look for 2010 - no shiny silver jumpsuits required.

Happy Snow Day!

With a record breaking 11.2" of beautiful snow in D-Town today, schools are closed as are most businesses (including mine! - YEAH!). Go build a snowman or take a nose dive into the snow and make that pristine snow angel you've never got to do before in 1-2" depths we mostly see. HAPPY SNOW DAY!

Also for some much needing reading material check out my latest and final installment of a "Day in a Life of an Interior Designer" on PLINTH & Chintz, an online design industry e-zine.

Movin' On Up

Much has been said about the revitalization of the Trinity Corridor and the Design District, how we now sensationalize Industrial Blvd. and renamed it "Riverfront", my first qualm being that I give client's the wrong directions about 9 times out of 10, how I see people the gas station on Continental driving aimlessly with their windows rolled down asking how to get to Industrial before I yell out "Your on it!" to their bewildered expressions, or how does Industrial now look resemble anything that you have ever seen named Riverfront...unless we are in New Jersey, with a Kings Cabaret - a pretty shady gentleman's club, a high crime rate (our building has had at least 6 counts of violence or robbery in the last year, with one person being robbed at gunpoint), and a high population of homeless folks that constantly hit you up while your trying to order a Snack Wrap or pump gas, renaming a street should have been the last thing on the ever expanding to do list. However if you want my input, and obviously you do because your reading this, I think we should have stuck with our roots and left the street name alone, have a sense of history instead of trying to commercialize every nook and cranny of Dallas. Yes, we want improvement but I think it needs to represent where we came from first and foremost instead of denying what the area was and really still is. Isn't that how America became a leader in the 19th and 20th century - industrialization? How we are probably in a worse position now because we rely on the rest of world more than ourselves...?

Ok, sorry, I got off on a tangent there. I really wanted to talk about the new showrooms down in the Design District. The firm where I personally work at is in a renovated sewing machine factory and several other design catered companies are moving in right on our street - along with the new locale of the Dallas Contemporary Museum. I will showcase each showroom sometime this month, many are showrooms that were either in the high-rent (I am sure) International on Turtle Creek or on Slocum or Dragon and have traded digs for a somewhat better priced venue, however it is a little hidden from most traffic through the Design District so I just wanted to let you all know what we have on the south side of "Riverfront"...

Daily Dose - Jump!

"You've got to JUMP off cliffs all the time and build your wings on the way DOWN."

- Ray Bradbury

PHOTO CREDITS: www.wager.ca/archives/alabama

Who Dat Nation - The Rebuilding of New Orleans

There is a much overdue air of celebration and victory in New Orleans this morning with the victory of the Saints over the Colts in last night's Superbowl. New Orleans is home of perhaps the nations most hard core party scenes on its own merit with its culture of bead throwing, "Handgrenades" drinking-dubbed the South's most potent cocktail, and a get down and dirty Bourbon St. until the until the break of dawn, if not longer. Now they have a task ahead of them to really do it up right with the title of Superbowl champs with partying that will just run into the middle of next week for the biggest party in the nation, Mardi Gras.

So, yes, I know I am not a sports blog - but "Who Dat!" anyways! The victory and even the months before Superbowl, have brought New Orleans more tax dollars that they need to continue to rebuild their quaint, one of a kind community - with it's history, architecture, music, culture, some of the nation's best French antiques, and a little voodoo spirit thrown in. This win will elevate the Big Easy to even more publicity and essentially, more money.

A new book "Architecture in Times of Need: Make It Right - Rebuilding the New Orleans' Lower Ninth Ward" features a forward by self-proclaimed advocate for the Ninth Ward, Brad Pitt - who has chosen to use his blessings to help those afflicted by the natural disaster of Katrina. Where more than 4,000 residences once stood, there had been nothing but an abomination of debris and wreckage, with the residents who lived in them either dead, disabled, or homeless. With little assistance, control, and organization from the government people will start to take things into their own hands - that is when Pitt formed the Make It Right Foundation where he utilized his contacts and own resources to ignite the rebuilding efforts. To bring more attention and interest to the area, architects came with a new approach, incorporating Green architecture, hurricane resistant doors and windows, all while incorporating a modern aesthetic to the homes. Residents played an important factor in contributing to the building of their homes, assisting with hand sketch drawings of floorplans and facades, and inputting that their sacred areas of socializing still be present, like front porches where family and friends can take respite in the humid Gulf climate. You can see an excerpt from the book here, as well as images showcasing the past and present.

New Orleans will be waking up to one hell of a hangover today, and perhaps tomorrow too, but also to a new ignited spirit of victory, perseverance, and faith that no matter how far you plummet there is only way to get out...up. GO SAINTS!

Just Spec'd' This...

Our design team at the interior design firm where I worked just specified these absolutely INSANELY gorgeous sconces and chandelier from the James Lockridge collection rep'd at Allan Knight in the International on Turtle Creek in the Dallas Design District. The photos do not do them justice as they never do, but the beaut's feature inset pave rock crystal stones while the fixture is finished in a silver gilt. These will be gracing our clients entryway and stairs for a showstopping entrance to greet guests. These will be installed in mid-April to early May...so stay tuned for installation photos.

LC05

Moritz Rock Crystal Chandelier
Twelve Candles 9"
45" H; diameter 46"
Hand hewn Rock Crystal with Nickel Plated Metal Work

LS17

Moritz Rock Crystal Sconce
Two Candles 9"
30-1/2"H x 22-1/2" W x 5-1/4" D
Finished in Silver Gilt over White
Inset of Pave Rock Crystal Stones and Nickel Plated Metal Work