Douglas Newby Insights - Page 2
Artist Connection
It is always fun to see a museum exhibition of an artist in which one has acquired a piece of theirs early in their career. My Trenton Doyle Hancock piece was done when he was in his twenties. Now the mature work of the Texas artist is seen in NYC at the exhibition “Draw Them In, Paint Them Out: Trenton Doyle Hancock Confronts Philip Guston” at The Jewish Museum. My Trenton Doyle Hancock has greater meaning to me as I see how much Trenton Doyle Hancock was influenced by Philip Guston, an artist two generations older than him. Despite 60 years difference in age, Trenton Doyle Hancock’s work seen in this exhibition is responding directly to Philip Guston’s work. Art connects us in so many ways, intersecting different religions, races and political points of view. Ideas presented with a dynamic aesthetic permeate our consciousness.
*Artist Connection
@trenton_doyle_hancock #trentondoylehancock @thejewishmuseum #thejewishmuseum #artistexhibition #contemporaryart #NYC #PhilipGuston #artist
Style and Energy
Ralph Lauren has had such a great impact on design and on people. I was first introduced to him by Doug Bihlmaier at the Ralph Lauren store in Highland Park Village. Ralph Lauren has both an incredible eye for design but also for people. Since then, I have met so many incredibly talented people in the design business who once worked for him, like interior designer Sue Bednar Long. The presentation of everything Ralph Lauren is associated with is perfection – from Ralph’s Coffee, what many people call the best coffee in New York, to his Parisian store, to the way food is presented at the Polo Bar. Maitre d’ Nelly Moudime presents the restaurant with a smile, energy and style that permeates the Polo Bar. But the minute detail and seemingly effortless aesthetic of the restaurant and bar can be attributed in large part to an original Texan, Mary Margaret Trousdale, who is the Senior Vice President and Global Creative and Strategic Director of Hospitality at Ralph Lauren. It is fun to see prominent people and world celebrities at the Polo Bar. It is heartwarming when Ralph Lauren stops to say hello. But maybe the biggest thrill is to see the people like Nelly Moudime and Mary Margaret Trousdale who Ralph Lauren selected to infuse the Polo Bar with energy and style that is captivating and inspiring.
*Style and Energy
@nellcan @thepolobar @ralphlauren @poloralphlauren @dougbihlmaier93 @ralphscoffee @susanbednarlong #thepolobar #nellymoudime #NewYork #RalphLauren
Catapulting TED
Chris Anderson’s plan might make TED 100 times as impactful. From the front row of many TED conferences I have witnessed Chris Anderson, the owner of TED, for 25 years collaboratively guide the evolution and success of TED. At the global announcement of a “Bold New Chapter for TED,” I was headed to take a seat when a TEDster urged me to take a front row seat. It brought back many profound and treasured TED memories of talks, friends and interactions. My support of TED was based on my enjoyment of TED and my belief that Chris Anderson has an uncanny insight and generous spirit committed to generating ideas. Great ideas triumph over massive opposition, prevailing thought and apathy. TED was my perfect playpen. Even bad ideas can generate great ideas. Great ideas get built on. Ideas from hundreds of different experiences and expertise ping off each other creating books, businesses, organizations and initiatives unexpected by the creators. Chris Anderson made the right moves including TED patrons, paying several thousand dollars a day to hear TED talks, would be excited about sharing videos of these talks for free. He created TEDx events generating 100,000 TEDx videos, including my TEDx talk, Homes That Make Us Happy. Now Chris Anderson is going to transfer TED, not to retire but to leverage TED. TED is now a $100mm annual operation with a $25mm reserve. By turning TED over to an institution, organization, individual or group, a potential $2 billion could be invested in TED. This investment could come from one benefactor or five benefactors making $500,000 individual contributions. I have personally met several attendees at TED who could personally make a $2 billion investment or a portion of that amount. With that investment, TED could have 100 times the impact globally as TED leads the way in leveraging and communicating ideas. Chris Anderson, I think is right, that by ceding control he will leverage TED beyond anyone’s imagination. The best news is the entire TED community, staff and Chris Anderson are ready to help the new owners of TED generate and spread ideas. Chris, well done.
*Catapulting TED
@chrisandersonted @ted @TEDx_official #NYC #TED #ChrisAnderson
Season Starts @SandoneChristmasTrees
My Christmas season starts with a trip to the Sandone tree lot to reconfirm my standing order for a 10 foot Blue Spruce tree with strong layered branches allowing it to hold handblown glass ornaments. Blue Spruce trees are what I grew up with and remain my favorite. In a 120-year-old house, a Blue Spruce tree provides a sentimental and nostalgic Christmas look. Tony Sandone and his family for 50 years have been growing Blue Spruce trees in Michigan and each year begin bringing them to Dallas just before Thanksgiving along with the other varieties of Christmas trees, including the 40 foot trees installed at SMU, the township of University Park, and a dozen other public places. Scrolling through, you will see in this post that the trees have just begun to arrive, where they are stood up and prepared for stands, and Tony Sandone inside the standing-seam metal roof command headquarters found on Northwest Highway behind Keller’s as the excitement builds for the Christmas tree pandemonium in a few days. Not pictured is Arturo, who is my Christmas tree whisperer. Over the years, he has come to know exactly the specific characteristics I want in a tree, which he selects for my approval and delivers in a stand measured to a half inch from my ceiling. In addition, he returns after Christmas to remove this gorgeous tree and any residual needles.
Aesthetics, luxury and service is something I think about every day. Luxury to me is more about quality and nuance than overt opulence. It is inspiring to see a Christmas tree lot provide luxury. At Christmas, whether you cut down your own tree, assemble a tree or visit public Christmas trees or trees of friends, I wish you a merry Christmas as we all enjoy the thousands of individual Christmas tree expressions and interpretations.
*Season Starts
@SandoneChristmasTrees #Sandone #ChristmasTree #BlueSpruce #Luxury #Dallas #Design #NorthwestHighway
Iconic
The 1950 Keller’s sign is iconic, but for me the Sandone Christmas Tree sign below it is meaningful as well. How could one not go by the Sandone Christmas Tree lot to kick off the season and not be tempted to stop by Keller’s for a No. 5. Scroll through and you will see a carhop greeting a customer, architecture that conveys an era and mood, and the menu that never changes. There are powerful traditions like Christmas, and then there are small reoccurring moments that are also seared in one’s mind like Keller’s. Who has lived in Dallas for a while that doesn’t know exactly what and where one is talking about if a Number Five is mentioned. In a chaotic world, it is fun to have some constants.
*Iconic
#Keller’s #No.5 #Carhop #NorthwestHighway #1950 #Architecture #Sandone @sandonechristmastrees #Iconic #MidCentury
Highland Park Inspiration
Once every several years there might be a home built in Highland Park inspired by its original architecture and history and that also conveys the prominence of Highland Park. On a one-acre site framed by Armstrong Parkway and Belfort Place, the timeless grace of this perfectly executed Spanish Colonial Revival style home reflects and perpetuates the best of Highland Park. Blair Pogue, the developer of this home with roots in Highland Park, understands the aesthetics, quality and refinement a homeowner desires in a substantial Highland Park home that still relates to the neighborhood.
Architect Larry Boerder, who has designed 400 homes in the Park Cities, is intimately acquainted with the architectural nuance and notes of the community. He has also designed some of the most significant homes in Highland Park propelling him to design this architecturally significant home. Highland Park Interior designer Margaret Chambers has frequently collaborated on the design of the finest estate homes allowing her to further enhance the architecture of this home with her good eye and deft approach. Harold Leidner is Dallas’ preeminent estate home landscape architect and contributes another integral layer of excellence and appeal. The finest craftsmen and artisans bring to life the hundreds of pages of architectural details and the subliminal magic of the home.
I am excited to be involved with this home destined to become a Highland Park landmark. It is thrilling to see it emerge and evolve. In the last several years there has been no other new home that has come on the market with this level of elegance. This spring I will be offering this home for sale that provides an alternative to a homebuyer trying to find a one-acre lot in Highland Park and then waiting three years for the design and construction of a home while forced to live somewhere temporarily. Association with a project that contributes in an inspired way to the architectural landscape of Highland Park is the greatest reward.
*HighlandParkInspiration
#architecturallysignificant #HighlandPark #Architecture #HighlandParkHome @larryboerder_architects
@chambersinteriors @haroldleidner #blantyrehomes
Preservation Victory
Dallas has had sad moments but many preservation victories. Preservation writer Karen Eubank called 3925 Potomac that Hal Thomson designed for his family, “the most important home in Highland Park.” It will be preserved! The owners of 44 years, Dan and Cookie Owen, have been longtime lovers of architecture, Highland Park, Hal Thomson and preservation. Cookie grew up in a Highland Park Hal Thomson home and loved sharing her and Dan’s Potomac home with friends. Their 3,000 sf home, placed on one of the most beautiful .3-acre sites in Highland Park with a view of Turtle Creek and its backdrop of Dallas Country Club golf course, made it a target of lot buyers. Recognizing this, Dan Owen, as a tribute to his late wife Cookie and reflecting his own appreciation of architecture and history, adopted a strategy to preserve the home. Dan retained me to sell the home with a preservation front facade deed restriction to ensure it would not be torn down. Dan knew lot buyers only need lot dimensions to quickly buy a lot and home buyers need more information. Dan facilitated buyers understanding the home. A current survey was completed to clarify setbacks for additions. Floor plans were drawn to illustrate the glamorous current floor plan and proportions. Architect Wilson Fuqua, known for design work on Hal Thomson and other Highland Park homes, created several iterations of proposed plans. With Wilson’s inspired plans, buyers could easily begin visualizing configurations for themselves.
Most encouraging was a pool of potential buyers that emerged, from young couples to empty nesters, from historic homeowners to those just realizing historic homes were more elegant than new homes, from those in the market to those who were not even in the market. There is a much bigger demand for historic homes in Dallas than anyone realizes—they just need a chance to buy one. Dan Owen selling his home with a facade restriction was a gift to Highland Park and Dallas. Architecture is our public art and our history. Thank you, Dan!
*Preservation Victory
#Preservation #HalThomson #Architect #ArchitecturallySignificant #Architecture #HistoricHome #HighlandPark #PreservationParkCities #Dallas
Trail of Tears
An architectural trail of tears should start at 4101 Beverly Drive where the Cox Mansion recently stood. There have been several architecturally significant homes preserved in Highland Park and several destroyed. The Herbert M. Greene architect-designed home torn down is the most monumental. This is because 4101 Beverly was a residential monument. Architect Herbert Greene designed this home in the Beaux-Arts style, used at the end of the 19th century and early 20th century for monumental public buildings. The location chosen for this magnificent home was the middle of Highland Park on Beverly and Preston. Across from the Dallas Country Club, it anchored the largest homes in Highland Park. New York has its Gilded Age homes on Park Avenue. Dallas had its Gilded Age home at 4101 Beverly. This Beaux-Arts style home was the beacon of opulence and good taste in Highland Park. It announced the early aspirations of Highland Park which came to fruition. This Gilded Age mansion was conceived in 1910, when Main Street was paved with Bois d’Arc wood. In the 20th century Dallas went from a successful outpost to a thriving modern city. The glorious Victorian mansions from the late 1800s on Ross were replaced with modern homes. Munger Place in 1905 became the first planned development of architect-designed homes. Dallas continued to boom throughout the 20th century and still thrived in the 21st century — many historic homes preserved and architecturally significant homes added. Preston in Highland Park is our Gilded Age street of mansions. All original mansions on Preston will or have been replaced except Harlan Crow’s Anton Korn designed home. The 21st century homes will include one designed by British architect Quinlan Terry that replaced Governor Clements’ C.D. Hill designed home; an extraordinary Scottish architect-designed home will replace the Tudor of Trammel Crow; a NYC architect-designed French Home will replace the Herbert Greene designed home. The Gilded Age homes of the 20th century are gone. Can Preston Road turn into a street of 21st century Gilded Age homes? Hope so!
*Trail of Tears
#GildedAgeHome #CoxMansion #4101Beverly #HighlandPark #Preservation #BeauxArts
My Favorite Cover
Favorite cover! While many of my clients have had their home published, this is my favorite cover. This D Home cover features an architecturally significant home, a fabulous family, wonderful friends and extraordinary clients of mine, and an example of a 5,000 sq. ft. home on three highly desirable acres that has been preserved, not torn down. There is something else about this home owned by Bryan and Megan Fears at 4321 West Lawther Drive overlooking White Rock Lake that is so extraordinary and revealing about good architecture. This Georgian style home was designed by the famous modern architect Howard Meyer. We would not expect one of the finest Georgian style homes in Dallas to be designed by a modern architect, but we should. Howard Meyer, so adept at proportions, sightlines through the home to the outside, and finish details in his modern homes, applied his architectural deftness to this Georgian home. Just walking into this home, one knows it is special. Bryan and Megan Fears are the perfect owners for this 1939 home. They honored the exterior and did not reconfigure the interior to create more utilitarian spaces. Working with architect Eddie Maestri, they kept the refined finish details and the coolest bookshelves ever—they open up to become a walk-in bar. They have made the pool house into a lovely retreat and added a flourish of opulence with timeless Gracie wallpaper depicting their home, White Rock Lake and family pets.
Renovated, the home is still about the architecture and setting. Sited on top of the hill, Megan and Bryan and their sons love the rolling front lawn down to the lake in the front and the rolling rear lawn down to a park. This D Home cover and article showcases the best of Dallas, a fabulous family, great architecture and White Rock Lake.
*My Favorite Cover
#MeganFears #BryanFears @RMegan79 #HowardMeyer #ArchitecturallySignificant #Dallas @DHome #WhiteRockLake #DallasNeighborhood #Architect @EddieMaestri #Preservation #HistoricHome #GeorgianHouse #ModernArchitect @ryanmarieconner
Ice Cream Express
Summer always makes me think of ice cream, no matter how it is made, delivered or consumed. While now I sometimes think I exist on gelato at Botolino, I associate ice cream and summer in so many ways. These include memories of ice cream sandwiches at the country club snack bar, soft-served ice cream cones after swimming meets, Sunday ice cream socials, occasionally even making homemade ice cream, ice cream shops dotting beach towns visited in the summer, cartons of ice cream consumed at home growing up, lavish sundaes at ice cream counters, a pan of homemade brownies heavy on the a la mode consumed with a school friend at one sitting, parties where ice cream bars on a stick are plentiful, and I almost forgot root beer floats. Also, what better way to enjoy fresh picked or sourced blueberries, raspberries, blackberries or peaches scattered on mounds of vanilla ice cream. My choice of flavors have maybe evolved from mint chocolate chip to salted caramel, white coffee, pistachio and others, but how can one deny the appeal of the all-time favorite flavors, chocolate, vanilla and strawberry. These three flavors almost sound patriotic. I know I feel like a better American when I am eating ice cream. *Ice Cream Express
#icecream #DallasNeighborhoods #Summer #Gelato #Dallas