Dallas Design News to Know — Visual Comfort’s Biggest Store Yet, Meredith Ellis’ Hill Country Textiles, Denise McGaha’s Grounded Luxury, and More
We've Got You — and Your Furniture — Covered
BY Rebecca Sherman // 10.04.23
Meredith Ellis Textiles at the James showroom. (photo by Nathan Schroder)
Dig into all the latest Dallas-centric design news to know this fall 2023.
Meredith Ellis Launches a Namesake Fabric Collection
For years, interior designer Meredith Ellis’ showroom, James, which she owns with husband Hunter Ellis, has been a go-to source in Dallas and Houston for lively and sophisticated textiles by an array of designers such as Carolina Irving, Sister Parish, Lisa Fine, John Robshaw, Casa Branca, and Penny Morrison. Now, Ellis has launched a namesake collection of her own.
Four new fabric designs take inspiration from the Texas Hill Country landscape, along with historical, travel, and nature references including nostalgic French designs and stylized flower fields. While Ellis’ current focus is on fabric, look for wallpaper to come soon. Also, a new James NYC showroom is planned for an October opening in the Interior Arts Building on the Upper East Side, rubbing elbows with such noteworthy showrooms as Bunny Williams Home, Liz O’Brien Gallery, and Newel. The 4,000-square-foot multi-line showroom will feature collections by McLaurin & Piercy, Ferrick Mason, Carolina Irving & Daughters, Mia Reay, Mahala, and Paolo Moschino, among others.
Force of Nature
Dallas interior designer Denise McGaha looked to her Texas roots when designing her new collection for Wildwood. She was inspired by the state’s natural beauty (including her family’s property in Wise County) for the material, color, and shape for her furniture, lighting, and accessories. McGaha, a popular Instagrammer known for her vibrant interiors and vivacious personality, often collaborates with clients beyond interiors, advising them on landscaping, tabletop, holiday entertaining, custom monograms, and home scents. Product design was the natural next step; in addition to Wildwood, McGaha has launched a collection of stone mantels and sinks for Material. For Wildwood, her products include tables in rift-cut white oak, walnut, and shagreen; lamps in honed marble and brass; and bowls and vases in richly glazed ceramic.
Denise McGaha for Wildwood, at Blue Print Store (2707 Fairmount Street)
Easter Tabletop
Kelly Wearstler’s First Tabletop Collection
This month, Kelly Wearstler introduces her first full tabletop collection, a partnership with Belgian design brand Serax. The striking assortment includes porcelain and ceramic dishes, stemware and glassware, sterling-silver flatware, and marble servingware. Two designs, Zuma and Dune, feature graphic grid patterns and the amber tones found in ancient glass, along with sculptural forms and two-tone fishes of matte and high gloss. Wearstler is a master of combining uncommonly beautiful shapes and materials for her interiors and product designs, and she couldn’t have found a better collaborator than Serax, maker of tableware for Michelin chefs around the world. With origins that date to the 1980s, Serax has also teamed with noted designers including Ann Demeulemeester, Vincent Van Duysen, Yotam Ottolenghi, and Piet Boon.
The Largest Visual Comfort Showroom to Date
A vast new Visual Comfort & Co. showroom — the largest to date — has opened in the Dallas Market Center in the 31,000-square-foot space formerly occupied by Taylors Showroom. Over the summer, Visual Comfort acquired the to-the-trade Taylors, which had represented them for years. Owned by Jane Murray, who recently retired, Taylors helped build the beloved VC brand throughout the region by carrying a large selection of its lighting and building a loyal clientele of designers and trade professionals. It’s one of the world’s most prominent lighting companies, with collections designed by Ralph Lauren, Aerin Lauder, Alexa Hampton, Kelly Wearstler, Suzanne Kasler, Barbara Barry, Christopher Spitzmiller, John Roselli, J. Randall Powers, Michael S. Smith, Lauren Rottet, Thomas O’Brien, and more.
Van Den Akker’s Studio Visit
Studio Van den Akker’s new showroom in the Dallas Design Center celebrates the spirit of mid-century modern with a collection of handmade furnishings with a focus on craftsmanship, designed by Rob Copley and Sean Robins, the team behind Manhattan’s coveted Van den Akker Antiques and Galerie Van den Akker.
The custom collection includes more than 1,800 designs for tables, seating, case pieces, lighting, and accessories. Studio Van den Akker also represents home-furnishings collections from small-batch artisans with studios, foundries, and workshops in the U.S. and around the world — all completely customizable. A special collection with famed Murano glassmaker Seguso includes chandeliers and lamps inspired by their iconic 20th-century designs, as well as glass tables and mirrors. A top-drawer collection of vintage furnishings from the 1920s to the 1970s can be purchased off the floor. Recently we spotted a dazzling 1970s Christian Krekels modernist cocktail table inlaid with brass and lapis lazuli, a pair of colorful plastic Italian 1968 chairs by Rossi Molinari for Totem, and a 1936 red-enameled wall-mounted desk by Jean Prouvé and Jules Leleu.
The new Dallas studio shares its 7,000-square-foot showroom space with J.D. Staron custom rugs.
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