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LUXE INTERIORS + DESIGN 187 THE SUM OF A MODERNIST HOUSE IS GREATER THAN ITS PARTS, THANKS TO THE ARCHITECTURAL LOGICIAN WHO CREATED IT. WRITTEN BY LEILANI MARIE LABONG PHOTOGRAPHY BY NICK JOHNSON NARROW MINDED ARCHITECTURE Lionel Morrison, Morrison Dilworth + Walls INTERIOR DESIGN Gonzalo Bueno, TEN+3 HOME BUILDER Steven Hild, Steven Hild Custom Builder LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE Lionel Morrison, Morrison Dilworth + Walls BEDROOMS 3 BATHROOMS 5 SQUARE FEET 4,300 PHOTOGRAPH BY CHARLES DAVIS SMITH.

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The sum of a modernist house is greater than its parts thanks to the architectural logician who created it.

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Page 1: Narrow Minded

l u x e i n t e r i o r s + d e s i g n 1 8 7

the sum of a modern is t house i s greater than i t s parts ,

thanks to the arch i t ectural log ic ian who created i t .

w r i t t e n b y leilani marie labong p h o t o g r a p h y b y nick johnson

narrow minded

architecture Lionel Morrison, Morrison Dilworth + Walls

interior design Gonzalo Bueno, TEN+3

home builder Steven Hild, Steven Hild Custom Builder

landscape architecture Lionel Morrison, Morrison Dilworth + Walls

bedrooms 3 bathrooms 5 square feet 4,300

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Designer Gonzalo Bueno placed an Andrew Bick mixed-media piece on an entry wall facing the dining area. A custom floating-glass shelf that serves as a landing pad for keys and cell phones lies beneath. The radiant Chul Hyun Ahn light sculpture adds to the natural illumination in the space.

Never once in a recent soliloquy on modern design

did architect Lionel Morrison ever utter any of the

familiar maxims, like clean lines, boxy minimalism

or sleek and chic. Instead, he soulfully expressed

his admiration for a seamless interweaving of form and function;

curiously, it’s the defining feature of a style that he claims has “almost

no hard-and-fast rules, yet arises from pure problem solving and logic.”

So when a local businessman approached Morrison about building a

contemporary bachelor pad in the prestigious Northern Hills district

of Dallas, the challenge for the architect was not in creating those

sun-filled austere spaces by which modern design is so often identified,

but to gracefully achieve the required loftiness within the confines of a

slender 20-foot width—a parameter dictated by a zoning ordinance on

prized corner lots. The community’s lean parcels also mean that privacy

is at a premium (hello, neighbor!), adding another wrinkle to the plight.

Like a true logician, Morrison cleverly worked the size constraints in his

favor, turning any notions of how houses with slim dimensions should

look plumb on their heads. Most of the rooms extend the full breadth

of the build (“If you think about it, a 20-foot-wide room is a very wide

room,” says Morrison), and many walls are of the floating variety. On

the main floor, for example, a freestanding wall partially separates the

media room from the formal living room, and another only fractionally

encloses the dining room from the entry. While these momentary

barriers don’t impede the overall volume of the space, they do achieve

a modicum of privacy within the home. It must be noted, though, that

in the case of a bachelor pad where the only other lodgers are two

King Charles spaniels named Ashley and Alex, these dividers function

less for intimacy and solitude and more for exhibiting art. “You get a lot

of work out of these kinds of walls,” says Morrison.

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Keeping prying eyes at bay was a much more straightforward endeavor.

Any alfresco festivities taking place poolside, for instance, are protected

from nosy neighbors by one practically fortress-certified enclosure wall.

The interior also qualifies as a true hideaway, shielded from the overly

inquisitive with planes of strategically placed translucent glass—such

as in the stairwell and master bath—that still allow sunlight to enter

the home and perform its solacing magic. A teak screen distinguishing the

home’s glass-front façade is similarly savvy, thwarting what Morrison

calls a “fishbowl effect.” The partition’s textural quality warms the

geometry of the home, but builder Steven Hild relishes a more playful

upshot. “I like seeing the crisscross shadows in the dining room when

the sun comes through the screen,” he says.

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Above: A south-facing glass wall overlooks the private courtyard and is a vast portal for sunlight or starlight to brighten the media room. A mirrored acrylic piece, Psychosis Red by Paul Hosking, adorns another one of architect Lionel Morrison’s signature partial divides. Right: Double Fold, a Plexiglas-mounted geometric photograph by Richard Caldicott, greets visitors at the entry.

The richness imparted by the media room’s deep brown Hamilton sectional by Minotti and charcoal Feizy rug is enlivened by an acrylic canvas by Rene Gonzalez. The bi-level G table, a custom design, is a spacious plateau not just for stylish tomes, but also libations and provisions.

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If the iconic Brno chairs upholstered in Holly Hunt mohair are the definition of luxe, then the Swarovski Glitterbox chandelier is textbook glamour—both contribute to the dining room’s sophistication quotient. A Mousi table from Promemoria anchors the space.

“We haven’t overdecorated, Which might have detracted from the simple beauty of the architecture.”

Far left: A bar sits behind the media room’s TV wall. Left: Molla Space ceramic animal shot glasses are ready to stampede upon a party, but for now, a leather tray from Forty Five Ten makes a stylish corral. Bottom: Morrison’s sleek rendition of a kitchen island takes form in stainless steel. Bueno harmonized the look with Jamaica counter stools by Knoll in the same finish.

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Promemoria’s Chelsea chairs and a Christian Liaigre Augustin sofa offset the living room’s more organic pieces, such as the Claro walnut slab table by Hudson. A 24-karat gold-dipped tiger skull by Eduardo Garza was specially commissioned for this project; it echoes a metallic Minotti side table.

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This radiance is echoed in Korean artist Chul Hyun Ahn’s light

sculpture displayed at the nearby front entrance. It’s one of many

modern masterpieces curated for the house by London-based art dealer

Filippo Tattoni-Marcozzi and designer Gonzalo Bueno. “Clearly the décor

would be classified as modern, but that seems so one-dimensional,”

says Bueno. “For this house, we wanted to tell a multilayered story of

comfort, forward-thinking design and fine art.”

In keeping with the singular nature of the collection, which includes

masterworks by geometric abstractionist Andrew Bick and the

late figurative painter Francis Bacon, the modern furnishings are

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One of the homeowner’s King Charles spaniels finds a comfortable resting place on the master bedroom’s Le Corbusier cowhide-covered chaise, found at Scott+Cooner. Above, Almost Heaven, an oil-on-canvas by Mary Hood, features an artist’s sketchbook at its center.

Above: Large pieces—including a Giano screen by Promemoria used as a headboard; a chunky TV cabinet at the foot of the bed; and an oversize mirror, custom designed by Bueno—mark the master suite. Left: A Thom Jackson photograph from his Boxer series adds punch to the master bath’s sleek finishes.

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To get the most out of the outdoor space given the slender property lines, Morrison extended the courtyard the full length of the home, enclosing it with a hefty privacy wall. A sun worshipper’s zone is appointed with Richard Schultz chaises and custom tables by Bueno’s design firm, TEN+3.

either one-of-kind or numbered as part of a very limited edition, such

as the silk-velvet Chelsea chairs in the living room and the wood

Giano screen in the master bedroom, both by Romeo Sozzi. “These

pieces ensure that we haven’t overdecorated, which might have

detracted from the simple beauty of the architecture,” explains the

homeowner. But Bueno’s take on the unique trappings speaks more

to the very essence of the project: “It will always have the stamp of

individuality at its core.” L

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The allure of the patio area begins with Richard Schultz’s midcentury metal table and chairs—found at Allan Knight and Associates—that offer a stylish and inviting gathering spot for friends and family.