Joshua Rice's Zen Retreat for Leatherology Founder Rae Liu

Interiors by Joshua Rice. Styling by Russell Brightwell. Photography by Robert Tsai.

In 2014,  Rae Liu and her husband, Kurt Johnson, were living in a high-rise, planning a wedding and a family. The search was on for a house to kick off their new

life together. “I felt strongly about finding a modern home that was a space we could grow into,” says Liu, co-owner of Dallas–based Leatherology, an online direct-to-consumer collection of personalized leather goods. Johnson is a banker, with a penchant for woodworking; he crafted their sleek dining-room table as a wedding gift for Liu.

The couple discovered their ideal house tucked among the trees near Royal Lane, in a neighborhood of 1960s modern classics. “We walked in and immediately said, ‘Yes!’” Liu says. Light flooded through floor-to-ceiling windows in every room, yet the house felt private — an oasis lush with pecan trees and cherry laurels. An avid gardener, Liu hired noted landscape architect Michael Kinler to create an enclosed garden and entertaining area.

Interiors by Joshua Rice. Styling by Russell Brightwell. Photography by Robert Tsai.

Not a mere white box, this modern house has pitched ceilings and wood beams that provide rooms with ample architectural interest. Polished-concrete and wood floors, added by the previous owners, were beautiful enough to keep. But the living and dining areas were fused into one long space that proved awkward to furnish and use. And while the couple both like a modern aesthetic, Johnson leans a little more toward traditional. The answer was to enlist the help of an interior designer to create more usable spaces and blend the couple’s design styles. Liu’s brother and co-owner of Leatherology, David Liu Jr., introduced them to Joshua Rice, a designer known for a sophisticated, meticulously curated look that is still comfortable and approachable. “We both liked his work right off,” Liu says. “It was a nice bridge between both our styles.” 

Interiors by Joshua Rice. Styling by Russell Brightwell. Photography by Robert Tsai.

Interiors by Joshua Rice. Styling by Russell Brightwell. Photography by Robert Tsai.

When Rice looked at the images of the house Liu e-mailed him, he recognized it. The previous homeowners were clients of his, and they had hired him to help with the interiors. The job had stalled when the clients moved out of town, but the happy coincidence turned out to be an advantage. “I had two years to think about that house and what worked and what didn’t,” Rice says. The beautiful natural light was a plus, so he designed each room to take full advantage. But as Liu and Johnson already knew, the living and dining areas merged awkwardly, with no clear definition of spaces. As a remedy, Rice commissioned a steel tension-rod shelving system to act as a room divider and configured it to hold books and decorative items. A young Brazilian furniture maker, Jader Almeida for Sollos, was tapped for the project and went on to produce other furnishings for the house. A fireplace, which was oddly placed along one wall in the TV room, was replaced with a floating black-ribbed steel rectangle of Rice’s design. “We simplified anything that was distracting and made the house appear more minimal,” Rice says. “That allowed us to focus on the interior design.” 

Interiors by Joshua Rice. Styling by Russell Brightwell. Photography by Robert Tsai.

Interiors by Joshua Rice. Styling by Russell Brightwell. Photography by Robert Tsai.

Interiors by Joshua Rice. Styling by Russell Brightwell. Photography by Robert Tsai.

Two children have come along since Johnson and Liu purchased their modern house four years ago. Rice, who has young kids of his own, was sensitive to creating a home that was safe and would stand up to wear and tear. “Almost everything Josh did has a rounded corner,” says Liu. “And he was able to play with silhouettes and textures to make it interesting.” Rice designed a striking round coffee table for the sitting room, which became a centerpiece for the main seating area where the family gathers to watch television. Water-cut from a slab of stone and “popped out and put together like a Happy Meal toy,” he says, the idea was born from necessity. “We needed something dramatic at a reasonable price. So I bought the prettiest piece of Brazilian quartzite I could find with a textural finish and got this very dramatic table.” Vioski’s U-shaped sectional, enticingly piled with pillows, is the perfect shape to engage with the table. Rice often uses a sumptuous Knoll Womb chair in his projects, and this one is no exception. “I try not to use things that are too ubiquitous, but it’s a hard chair to beat because it’s comfortable and looks so outstanding,” he says.

Interiors by Joshua Rice. Styling by Russell Brightwell. Photography by Robert Tsai.

Interiors by Joshua Rice. Styling by Russell Brightwell. Photography by Robert Tsai.

Rice conceived the handsome living room as a place to enjoy a glass of wine before moving into the adjacent dining area. Like the rest of the house, it’s a collection of tonal colors and

subtle textures. A pair of rattan Poul Kjaerholm PK22 chairs is draped with sheepskin throws, and a paper Noguchi floor lamp provides plenty of design bang at a reasonable cost. Plaster-topped tables have a stained, textural finish and were handmade in Italy. Amsterdam–based interdisciplinary cooperative BCXSY designed the one-of-a-kind patchwork wool rug, which was woven by Bedouin women.

Because the walls in the house are mostly windows, the couple couldn’t hang much art. In this case, that turned out to be a good thing. “Empty walls help keep the serene feeling,” Rice says. “I tell clients there’s nothing wrong with empty walls, especially if the room has some architectural interest.” Ultimately, the refined and comfortable house works beautifully for the couple and their children. “My personal style is classic and unfussy,” Liu says. “I take a similar approach to running our business. At Leatherology we create beautifully crafted leather essentials that are meant to be timeless. Our home is a reflection of that — with the added requirement that everything in it be child-friendly. I love that Josh has helped us create a home we can live in for years."

Rae Liu and her brother David Liu, Jr. co-founded Leatherology

John Derian Wallpapers

Chimney Swallows wallpaper, John Derian for Designers Guild

The Untended Garden    Since 1989, John Derian has turned vintage and antique images of flora, fauna, and other natural and classical motifs into decoupaged glass objets, such as trays, lamps, paperweights, and plates. But his mysterious and beautiful world can’t be contained, and like an unruly garden, has spilled over with a fluttering of petals, wings, and fronds. Designers Guild has gathered them up for Derian’s first line of wallpapers, fabrics, and accessories. Masses of roses, variegated azaleas, amaryllis, chimney swallows, clouds, shells, and a collage of flora and fauna images populate his wallpapers and fabrics. John Derian by Designers Guild may have a vintage vibe, but there’s nothing musty about it. Images are overscale and come in a multitude of unusual and unexpected colorways and combinations. Also look for his decorative throw pillows and a smattering of decoupage accessories, naturally. To the trade at ID Collection.

John Derian for Designers Guild wallpapers

Varigated Azelea wallpaper, John Derian for Designers Guild

Captain Thomas Brown Shells wallpaper, John Derian for Designers Guild

Flora and Fauna wallpaper, John Derian for Designers Guild

The Rose fabric, John Derian for Designers Guild

Flora and Fauna fabric, John Derian for Designers Guild

Mixed Tones fabric, John Derian for Designers Guild

Captain Brown Shells fabric, John Derian for Designers Guild

The Rose fabric, John Derian for Designers Guild

De Gournay and Aquazzura Collaboration

Aquazzura's new spring loafer in Amazonia design from de Gournay

Legendary British heritage wallpaper brand de Gournay is everywhere these days — and not just on the walls of the world’s most fashionable manors and manses. The masterfully hand-painted Chinoiserie wallpaper designs are now gracing charming Italian footwear. Edgardo Osorio, co-founder and designer of the footwear label Aquazzura, collaborated with de Gournay last year on a collection of embroidered flats, slides, pumps, mules, and loafers. Now, just out for spring 2018, Osorio and de Gournay have introduced a new blue color way along with a smart tennis shoe and adorable mini-shoes for children (see below!) The Italian shoe designer was inspired to create the custom tropical Chinoiserie collection, Amazonia, after de Gournay installed wallpaper in his Florence apartment, he says.  

De Gournay's Amazonia Wallpaper Panels

The Amazonia motif, a hand-painted depiction of a rainforest within the heart of the city, was influenced by 19th-century botanical illustrations and the florid work of artist Juan Gatti. Set against a pink background, toucans, parrots, lovebirds, and macaws alight on palm trees, surrounded by flowers, butterflies, monkeys, and serpents. The shoes, sold through Aquazzura and other stores, start at $550. The stunning Amazonia designs for de Gournay are also available as panels, starting at $1,936 through Culp Associates. (Osorio loved them so much, he installed the panels in the Florentine palazzo, which serves as his offices.) 

Aquazzura's new embroidered tennis shoe in Amazonia by de Gournay

Osorio isn’t the only fashion guru captivated by de Gournay. When luxury online retailer Moda Operandi, which opened its first by appointment showroom in New York earlier this year, decorated its new space with de Gournay’s Earlham and Plum Blossom panels, it decided to make something wearable to match: Silk dressing gowns in those same de Gournay motifs. First intended to be worn by Moda’s elite clientele between changes while trying on clothing at the showroom, the robes are now for sale in a limited edition of custom colors for $1,995, through Moda Operandi’s New York and London showrooms, and online at modaoperandi.com.

De Gournay artisan at work on an Amazonia panel

De Gournay Love Tassel Flat $735

De Gournay Amazonia Wallpaper

De Gournay Amazonia Wall Panels

De Gournay's new Salon Vert Wall Paper is based on Pauline de Rothschild's antique papers

Despite all the new, nothing speaks to de Gournay’s iconic look more than the antique-green Chinoiserie wallpaper found in Baroness Pauline de Rothschild’s Paris apartment, as photographed in 1969 by Horst P. Horst for Vogue. De Rothschild died in 1988 and the original panels have been lost since 1990, when they were last seen for sale at an antiques store in Paris. As part of de Gournay’s extensive research into its historic wallpaper installations, those rare-air panels have been recreated. Enter: The newest addition to the de Gournay library, Salon Vert, which references the dreamy, faded gardens depicted on the 18th-century wallpaper panels found in de Rothschild’s grand, private abode on Rue Méchain. Pheasants, sparrows, parakeets, magpies, and butterflies flutter amid foliage and flowers, set against a muted-green background. It’s Eden in the grandest sense.

De Gournay Ballet Baby $275

Remodeled Historic Fire Station in Houston

Anne Whitlock, Michael Skelly. Portrait by Lisa Petrole 

One Saturday morning in the fall of 2013, Michael Skelly and his good friend and architect Joseph Meppelink were riding their bikes through Houston’s historic east end. “On a lark, I said, ‘let me show you this cool old building,’” remembers Meppelink, who knew that Skelly and his wife Anne Whitlock were in the market to renovate an industrial building to live in. For years, Meppelink had ridden past a boarded-up, 100-year-old fire station, and had once even asked around about buying it. “I was told the owners would never sell,” he says. Still, it was worth taking another look. They pedaled to the dilapidated two-story structure and stopped. The brick was crumbling and there were holes in the ceiling, but its stalwart dignity remained intact. “As soon as Michael saw it, he said, ‘It’s perfect. Let’s see what we can find out.’” By that evening, Skelly had tracked down the owner’s name via HCAD, and early the next morning, the two were knocking on her door. “She cracks it open, and says ‘who are you?’ remembers Meppelink. “Michael is pretty easy to talk to and charismatic, so the next thing you know, they’re involved in a long conversation.” The owner had inherited the fire staton from her father who’d recently passed, and she was willing to sell — with one caveat. She’d also inherited three big lots around it, and he’d have to buy those, too. Each of the lots had houses on them, and all were in terrible shape, Meppelink remembers. Eventually, a deal was struck to buy everything. “Suddenly, our little renovation project had mushroomed into a half a block,” says Whitlock. “We had no idea we were creating a community.”

Houston's Firestation No. 2, renovated. Photo by Lisa Petrole.

For anyone who knows Anne Whitlock and Michael Skelly, it makes sense they’d save an historic old fire station in an older immigrant neighborhood. The two had served in the Peace Corps, and after graduating Harvard — Skelly with a degree in business, and Whitlock with a master’s in public policy — they devoted their lives to making a difference. Skelly was an early pioneer in the wind energy business in the 1990s, and now owns Clean Line Energy Partners, which builds high-capacity lines connecting renewable energy to cities. Whitlock is the founding director of Connect Community, which serves inner city diverse neighborhoods. With three children headed to college, the couple had become empty nesters. “Our house in West University was a great place to raise kids,” says Whitlock, “But it was time to change things up.”  

Renovations had already started on the fire station when they discovered six nearby Victorian houses slated for imminent demolition, as a developer made way for townhouses. They rescued those, too, and moved them onto the property. (The small houses that came with the property had neither architectural nor historic significance, and were razed.) “It was incredibly serendipitous the way it all happened,” says Meppelink, who’d been keeping an eye on the Victorians’ status for two years, hoping someone would buy them. Commissioned by Texas State Governor Francis Lubbock in 1861, the ornate shotgun-style Victorians were certainly worthy of preservation. “That set us off on this extraordinary odyssey,” Whitlock says. 

Inside Firestation No. 2. Photo by Lisa Petrole

Photo by Lisa Petrole

Photo by Lisa Petrole

Built in 1910, Fire Station No. 2 served Houston at the dawn of a modern era, when horse-drawn carriages were starting to give way to motor cars. There’s evidence that one side of the station still accommodated horse-drawn engines, says Meppelink. An old-time firefighter, who stopped by during renovations, pointed out score marks on the concrete floor, which were designed to give traction to scrambling hooves as alarm bells rang. There are remnants of old pegs on the columns, where harnesses and other tack were hung.

The station was decommissioned in the 1980s, and fell into disrepair during the decades that followed. It took two years to bring it back to life, and at the same time, all six Victorian houses were being renovated. It was a massive undertaking. Meppelink, who owns Metalab Architecture, collaborated on the project with his wife, Marisa Janusz, owner Janusz Design. The Fire Museum of Houston was a tremendous resource, he says, providing archives and historic photographs. Almost all of the building’s original materials were retained, including the exterior’s load-bearing, 17-inch brick walls; staircase with original metal braces; worn plaster walls; and patinated bead board ceilings. The brass fire poles — which allowed firemen to slide quickly from the second floor to the first — were missing. They were replaced with a pair purchased from an early 1900s fire station in Boston, undergoing renovations. A new concrete slab floor was poured, and large bay doors were rebuilt, patterned after doors from the Fire Museum. 

Photo by Lisa Petrole

While the downstairs is designed to be more of a public venue, living quarters were created on the second floor, including bedrooms, kitchen, library, and living and dining rooms. “We wanted the area where we live to be modern and clean,” says Whitlock. “So we hired an interior designer to help us figure out how to create a home out of such a cavernous space.” Enter Martha Finger of Martha Baxter Interior Design. With 20-foot ceilings on the first floor and 10-foot ceilings upstairs, antique lighting fixtures had to be customized. A too-narrow staircase meant furniture had to be craned into second floor windows. To signal a transition from the historic first floor environs to the private areas above, Finger mixed new materials with existing old. She hung a contemporary glass and brass chandelier in the stairwell, and Lucite panels divide space from the landing into the main living area. Black marble clads the fireplace, with brass detailing by local artisan James Dawson. In the kitchen, there are white marble counters, and old black stone from Chateau Domingue on the floor. “It feels like you are in a loft apartment in Soho,” says Finger. “It’s clean and white, but we tried to keep it homey.”

To cozy-up the library, she painted it a deep aubergine, and covered the windows and a custom sofa in aubergine Holly Hunt fabric. Bookshelves were designed from lumber salvaged from abandoned buildings in the neighborhood, and in the dining room, Finger commissioned a large wood table from Ben Baron and Jose Martinez of HTX Made, young artisans who have recently set up shop in a warehouse next door to the fire station. Much of the artwork and decorative pieces, such as African masks and antique zebra hide rug, came from the couple’s stints abroad with the Peace Corps. “We have a lot of eclectic things,” says Whitlock. “We wanted it to reflect our personalities — and to make sure it was a little quirky.”

Downstairs, they paid homage to the fire station’s history without going overboard. Still, they had a little fun with it — after all, the space is often used for fundraisers and other events. An antique water hose, such as the kind used on an old fire-fighting engine, is displayed under a custom glass-topped table. The color red is used sparingly, but effectively: A custom bench in the entry greets visitors, decked out in red Cortina cowhide. The powder bath’s light fixtures hang by crimson ropes, and the kitchen faucet gleams red.

Whitlock and Skelly moved into Fire Station No. 2 in 2015, and immediately began integrating it into the neighborhood. “One of our main goals was to keep the fire station accessible to the public, since it had once been a mainstay of the community and was an historic building,” says Whitlock. They’ve hosted neighborhood groups, a wedding, corporate retreats, and political fundraisers. The antique fire poles, which still bear marks from decades of fire fighters sliding down in their gear, are a crowd favorite. “We’ve had the Houston fire chief go down, and a candidate for senate go down. Everyone takes a turn,” says Whitlock. 

Photos by Lisa Petrole

Fire Station No. 2, along with their six Victorian houses in the back, are now woven into the fabric of the community in ways they never envisionedOne Victorian was sold to a young artist, and others have been rented out. A woman down the street was so inspired by all the neighborly goodwill that she, too, saved a couple of old houses and moved them onto her property. When Hurricane Harvey devastated Houston, Whitlock and Skelly opened the fire station to an immigrant family, and moved a disabled woman and her elderly mother into one of the Victorians. Skelly encouraged his Facebook friends to do the same, and many did, opening their homes to strangers in need. Whitlock reflects on the chain reaction their restoration project has had. “It took ten times as long and twice as much money, but it’s been 100 times greater than we ever imagined.” 

Fire Station No. 2 circa 1910

My story on Fire Station No. 2 originally ran in the October issue of PaperCity magazine. Special thanks to photographer Lisa Petrole, Michael Skelly, Anne Whitlock, and Joe Meppelink.

Antoine Roset Blasts into Dallas with a Storm

Ploum sofa

 Antoine Roset flew into Dallas amid tornado threats, hail, and high winds. As vice president of the North and South American division of his family’s 157-year-old company, Antoine braved the storm to inaugurate the new Ligne Roset store on McKinney Avenue. “There was lightening everywhere,” he remembers. “But the next morning, it was so beautiful, we asked to have breakfast outside at the hotel.” Welcome to the vagaries of Texas weather, which it turns out, is not unlike the ups and downs of the world of high-end furniture design. Ligne Roset, the French furniture company founded by Antoine’s great-great grandfather Antoine Roset in 1860, started out making bentwood walking sticks and umbrellas, and has evolved into one of the world’s premiere makers of contemporary furnishings with more than 200 Ligne Roset stores and 750 retail distributors worldwide.

Antoine Roset

Oxydation tables by Kateryna Sokolova

The company’s long trajectory has spanned two world wars, weathered numerous economic downturns, and countless decades of design trends, to produce an impressive lineup of icons. Togo, a footless sofa designed in 1973 that helped launched Ligne Roset as a design forerunner,  is still in production. The Ploum sofa, produced in 2011 during the turbulent Great Recession, has become one of Ligne Roset’s best-sellers. The Roset family doesn’t play it safe when it comes to generating new ideas.

“It’s a bold design with a lot of technology behind it,” says Antoine, 39, who oversees the family’s business in North and South America. “If you don’t push forward, you don’t get icons.”

The Togo took Paris by storm in the 1970s, but not everyone got it.


Antoine Roset: It was our first collection and the distributors in Paris said, ‘Wow, that’s a great piece, but where’s the base? You are missing the feet. Come back when it’s done.’ At the time, everything was mid-century Scandinavian with wood frames and brass legs —  angular and neat — and we came with that.

In the 1970s everything was changing — women’s rights, human rights, etc. 

AR: Togo was a good example of how everything was changing in design as well. So, we started selling the Togo ourselves to dealers. Since then, we’ve sold millions of Togos, thanks to the dealers at the time who were brave and believed in contemporary design. From there, we started to be very successful.

Ploum Sofa

Ruche sofa

Part of Ligne Roset’s success is due to its collaborations, such as Pierre Paulin.

AR: In the ’80s, we were working with one of the Pritzker Prize winners, Jean Nouvelle. And we did some pieces with fashion designer Jean de Castelbajac when he was starting out. We are still working with Didier Gomez. Not every designer will become a star who works with us, but it’s important to have great human relationships with each of them.

When it comes to edgy design, Americans are still neophytes.


AR: We are a niche market, especially here in the U.S., where it’s still green in terms of contemporary furniture, and there a reluctance to jump into the future. It’s funny, because I can’t see a more contemporary market than the U.S. in general — here, the fridge talks to you, your cars are cutting-edge.

But the furniture is boring. It’s square, and flat, maybe with a piece of color on it. It wasn’t always the case — during the Eames period in the U.S., it was a great place for design. And then? Boom! Just like that, a hole opened up, and design disappeared from the U.S. You just stopped. Since then, the U.S. has never really caught up.

America is a disposable society.


AR: When I go to my grandparents’, I’m used to seeing Louis 15 and 16, very old stuff. Here [in America], we are less attached to products, because we replace things in five years. In Europe, there are Togos coming back to the factories [to be refurbished] that are so old — they say, ‘Oh, my grandmother gave me this piece,’ so it’s from 1975 to 1978.

But it’s a cultural thing from our roots. To put it in perspective, when my grandfather started to do furniture in 1860, Lincoln was president in the U.S. You are still very young here.

How do you tweak designs for the American market?


AR: Sometimes we do two options. When we do a sofa, we have a low sofa in Europe. In the U.S., you like higher sofas, so we can integrate higher feet. We do bigger beds for the U.S. and the Middle East, because in Europe the beds are on a smaller scale.

You live in New York now?


AR: I moved to New York at age 26, after living in Paris for seven years on my own. One day, my father asked me, ‘What would you say if I offered you a sales manager job in New York?’ I had to think about it for a few months, because I had my life in Paris. But you have only one chance in life to move to New York with a Visa and a job. I said, okay, don’t be stupid, try it.

I showed up in early November at night — just seeing the skyline was like a big deal. But for a long time I was lost. I had to make new friends, learn the geography. It’s a demanding city. I’ve been in New York for 10 years, now, so I’m officially a New Yorker. It’s finally gotten to where I’m getting back more from the city than I’m giving.

What was the furniture market like ten years ago when you arrived?


AR: The big green movement had arrived in the U.S. ten years ago. It’s funny because we had been doing sustainable things for years already. If my grandfather used a tree as a resource, we had to plant another tree. If you want to pass it to the next generation, don’t screw with your resources.

For me, the most important part of sustainability is your employees — how you make sure your facilities are great. Equipping earphones molded for them, so there’s no noise. We use only water-based glue and solvents. You can visit our factory without any mask or anything. You can’t close your eyes to things made super cheap in China or elsewhere, because it’s kids doing it — you are part of the chain of who is responsible.

For example, we have heavy eighty-pound covers that need to be stitched, but our seamstresses can only do one or two a day without hurting themselves. It’s what our family always did and what we still do.

Tell us about your new apartment in Battery Square.


AR: My wife Adelaide and I are putting art on the wall — we are trying to purchase one piece of art each year. It could be big or small. She is in the art leasing business in New York. We just added a big tree in the apartment. We try to keep it contemporary but comfy. Being French, we try to mix things together. We have a wall with pictures of the Virgin Mary that we found from Mexico to France to New York, so we have all these old icons on the wall.

All the furniture is modern, and we have all these old pictures, which we thought was cool. We also have a wall with some taxidermy and some skulls. I’m passionate about contemporary lamps; we have a nice collection of Ingo Maurer. We mix and match everything. We have an antique patchwork rug from Italy. We have a lot of books — we are always reading coffee-table books on design and art, so it’s very important to have a big, big bookshelf.

Ligne Roset produces a lot of new products each year.


AR: We make about 80 to 100 new products a year, which we introduce in Paris and Cologne. It’s everything from a sofa to a vase, coat rack, clock, accessory. We are one of these rare companies [where] you can find something for every room, except kitchen and bath.

New collaborations?


AR: Marie Christian Dorner did a very nice new collection with a sofa and a chair for us. It’s very feminine, very smart. One sofa has a very Gothic design; the other is more chesterfield, but both have very complex covers that involve lots of technology. We have a very big machine that does complex stitching for these pieces.

What are you most excited about?


AR: It’s a tough question, but for me now, I’m very proud of the fact that we have an equitable number of women and men designers, a balance. I’m against saying there is no gender in design, because you can definitely see it. A woman won’t think things the same way as a man, and can see it’s different, so it’s important to have both men and women creating. We are very excited that more and more women are part of our collections.

Also, we just launched our e-commerce site. Now, you can buy Ligne Roset online in the U.S., the U.K., France, and Germany.

Ennéa table by Vincent Tordjman

Togo sofas