Domain A Home Resource guide.(home decor resources in Texas)

Publication: Texas Monthly

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COPYRIGHT 2001 Texas Monthly, Inc.

With A Texan in the White House, the Lone Star State is once again front and center on the American scene. The Black Tie and Boots Inaugural Ball, celebrating the new president and first lady, set the tone for what promises to be a long stylistic romance between Texas and the rest of the country, bringing with it a look that is chic and elegant, but still down-home and energetic. The Texas look is bound to influence everything, especially the interior spaces in which we live. The modern home is a refuge from the rigors of the workday world, and people are investing in their personal comfort, luxury, and utility. Texans are right in there, setting the stage for an exciting new era of design and ideas.

Moving increasingly into the international scene, Texas is embracing a fascinating amalgam of old and new, homegrown and exotic. No one bats an eye when rawhide couches and avant-garde Venetian torcheres are tossed together on an antique Uzbeki carpet in a Mediterranean loggia. In creating your home, the palette of choices ranges across a broad spectrum, allowing each interior to reflect and emphasize the individual. The keywords today are romance, elegance, and utility.

Interior decorating is a journey into the soul of the inhabitants of the house. The looks we create in stone, wood, metal, and fabric should reflect the personalities and needs of the people who live among them. Negotiations to rival a Mideast peace conference are required if he wants one thing and she wants another. Compromise and collaboration can benefit enormously from the involvement of a professional third party. Interior-design professionals and associated craftspeople and artisans are experts in taking your vague and insubstantial concepts and realizing them before your eyes.

how to find the look

A glance at current design publications and the myriad sources and options may leave you feeling completely overwhelmed. It would seem that you have only two choices: either to abandon yourself to the mercy of an expensive and perhaps dictatorial interior decorator or to wander through a labyrinth of space planning, choosing furniture approaches and conceptualizing finishes, matching swatches and colors, accessories, draperies, and flooring.

Take heart. The resources of professional decorators have never been more accessible, personal, or cost-effective, and their services are available to choose a single chair or orchestrate an entire home. The tools and options available signal freedom to choose--not bondage to style. Almost any reputable furniture store, art gallery, or antiques dealer will have designer consultation services. The same will be true with most wallpaper and carpeting outlets, even paint stores and giant warehouse chains. All can connect you in the twinkling of an eye with designers who will guide you on your way to creating a look that is individual, comfortable, and affordable. Don't overlook the Internet. Today the power of information lies at your fingertips; the click of a mouse can summon forth the finest international design talent to do your bidding.

Texans have always made bold statements, and current trends seem to fall into three basic categories popular in the Lone Star State: modern, traditional, and eclectic. The modern style features clean lines and contemporary designs. The traditional usually entails antiques or high-quality reproductions from historic periods that vary depending on your tastes. The eclectic look borrows from both and can feature a dash of Spanish colonial, bright ethnic folk art, or the sinuous lines of Oriental exoticism.

It seems that no one wants anything less than a really powerful decor; soft and timid looks and the minimalist approach are so much history. Animal prints, stone and wrought iron, chrome, glass, and brushed steel, or crystal chandeliers, crown molding, Fortuny draperies accenting fine old French furniture, proclaim the owner's personality in no uncertain terms. Ideas for accessories and projects abound thanks to the flood of news and advice delivered daily by style gurus, electronic and print information services, and the programming...

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