University Park is a coveted inner northern suburb of Dallas, one of the most affluent cities in the U.S. with around 23,000 residents.
This is a lovely home, built in 2015 with 6,753 square feet, five bedrooms, six full bathrooms, and two half bathrooms. The house had beautiful "bones" when we arrived, well appointed with Carrera Marble adorning the kitchen countertops and backsplash, as well as the master bathroom. The details throughout the space gave us timeless features to work with as we created a design plan.
There are two living areas downstairs, as well as a study. A laundry room is conveniently located on the second floor, where most of the clothing accumulates. The third story houses a large media room.
To start, we took photos and measurements where needed, and had our client create a Houzz ideabook so we could see visual representations of her inspirations. This, coupled with lots of conversations, gave us the information we needed so we could begin conceptualizing the look and feel of the interior.
The house is transitional in style, although our client prefers a more traditional look. We are working diligently to source furnishings that will be to her liking, while respecting the architecture of the home. Creating that balance takes careful consideration and deliberation. 
Our client loves color, so we are giving her a colorful palette of blues, greens, oranges, and grays, with each room showing a different personality within that palette. For example, the study is a lighter, almost pastel color palette, and then down the hall, the formal living has slightly darker shades of the blue with contrasting orange.
One room over, the dining room has seafoam greens and soft orange hues to flow from the previous space. The family room focuses on teal and chartreuse green for a bolder look, and flows into the breakfast area and kitchen. The entryway has delicate glass plates hanging on the wall that bring together all of the colors used in the house.
Using AutoCAD, we put together a space plan with furniture for a perfect fit. We are sourcing furniture for the rooms based on our conversations, her Houzz ideabook, the AutoCAD plan, and our color palette.
We like to find at least one fabric for each space that is inspirational—rugs are a wonderful place for that (we're using fine rugs coupled with several custom-designed), and even a throw pillow can work. Working from an inspiration piece, we build the room, looking for casegoods that complement the upholstered pieces, in statures that work well with arm heights on sofas and chairs. The eye should move effortlessly around the room, without getting "stuck" on in any one place.
In this home, natural light is one of the best accessories and the moldings around the windows are quite stunning themselves. To accentuate these, we're fabricating and installing flat Roman shades, using colorful printed fabrics.
Artwork is another important design aspect of this home's interior. All of the art is being custom made through a local gallery to enhance the hues we've selected for each room.
Everything in this home is being custom made, so the timeframe is about 12 weeks from start to finish. We're right in the middle of of our work now, and this is a first glimpse of our work. More furniture is arriving this week and we look forward to sharing our progress as we go. Be sure to check out the Barbara Gilbert Interiors Facebook page for updates over the coming weeks. 
' target='_blank'>Pin it From Clean Slate to Classically Chic
Starting an interior design job with a clean slate offers a lot of possibilities—and some exciting challenges. We are thrilled to be working in a stately home in University Park, Texas, an opportunity to take a blank slate to a classically chic space with flow, functionality, and elegance.
University Park is a coveted inner northern suburb of Dallas, one of the most affluent cities in the U.S. with around 23,000 residents.
This is a lovely home, built in 2015 with 6,753 square feet, five bedrooms, six full bathrooms, and two half bathrooms. The house had beautiful “bones” when we arrived, well appointed with Carrera Marble adorning the kitchen countertops and backsplash, as well as the master bathroom. The details throughout the space gave us timeless features to work with as we created a design plan.
There are two living areas downstairs, as well as a study. A laundry room is conveniently located on the second floor, where most of the clothing accumulates. The third story houses a large media room.To start, we took photos and measurements where needed, and had our client create a Houzz ideabook so we could see visual representations of her inspirations. This, coupled with lots of conversations, gave us the information we needed so we could begin conceptualizing the look and feel of the interior.
The house is transitional in style, although our client prefers a more traditional look. We are working diligently to source furnishings that will be to her liking, while respecting the architecture of the home. Creating that balance takes careful consideration and deliberation.
Our client loves color, so we are giving her a colorful palette of blues, greens, oranges, and grays, with each room showing a different personality within that palette. For example, the study is a lighter, almost pastel color palette, and then down the hall, the formal living has slightly darker shades of the blue with contrasting orange.
One room over, the dining room has seafoam greens and soft orange hues to flow from the previous space. The family room focuses on teal and chartreuse green for a bolder look, and flows into the breakfast area and kitchen. The entryway has delicate glass plates hanging on the wall that bring together all of the colors used in the house.Using AutoCAD, we put together a space plan with furniture for a perfect fit. We are sourcing furniture for the rooms based on our conversations, her Houzz ideabook, the AutoCAD plan, and our color palette.
We like to find at least one fabric for each space that is inspirational—rugs are a wonderful place for that (we’re using fine rugs coupled with several custom-designed), and even a throw pillow can work. Working from an inspiration piece, we build the room, looking for casegoods that complement the upholstered pieces, in statures that work well with arm heights on sofas and chairs. The eye should move effortlessly around the room, without getting “stuck” on in any one place.In this home, natural light is one of the best accessories and the moldings around the windows are quite stunning themselves. To accentuate these, we’re fabricating and installing flat Roman shades, using colorful printed fabrics.
Artwork is another important design aspect of this home’s interior. All of the art is being custom made through a local gallery to enhance the hues we’ve selected for each room.
Everything in this home is being custom made, so the timeframe is about 12 weeks from start to finish. We’re right in the middle of of our work now, and this is a first glimpse of our work. More furniture is arriving this week and we look forward to sharing our progress as we go. Be sure to check out the Barbara Gilbert Interiors Facebook page for updates over the coming weeks.