The work of architects, done right, says so much about their clients. Want to know what they value? Understand how they navigate their day? Learn their quirks? Look at their homes, designed to the smallest detail by perceptive interpreters who translate amorphous dreams and ideas into exact, actionable, artful blueprints.
Yes, the good architects will tell you that their work shouldn’t be a reflection of them—that is, unless they’re the clients, too. We asked principals from the winning firms on our Best Architects in Dallas 2024 list to show us the places in their homes that they feel say the most about them as both architects and homeowners.
The spaces you’ll see are as varied and enlightening as they are inspiring.
Dan Shipley, FAIA
Shipley Architects
Dan Shipley has designed many houses for himself, but his Cochran Heights home is special for one reason: “It’s the first one that’s been built,” he laughs. “I design them all the time in my head.”
He broke new personal ground in a familiar spot: the lot that he’d lived on for 12 years prior to marrying his wife, Lea Bauman. Though their area boasts a number of architecturally significant houses by the likes of Charles Dilbeck, theirs was not one of them. In tearing down and building new, Shipley’s goal was not for the house to stand out but to “take its place politely” among its neighbors.
Shipley has many points of pride in the finished project, but his favorite room is what he simply calls “the front room,” which functions primarily as a parlor. In addition to the light it provides, an impressive custom-window wall enriches occupants’ sensory experience via two slender vents protected by steel-and-copper screens that are concealed or revealed by a pair of fir doors. Upon opening them, “Suddenly you have air and a breeze, and just as important, you hear the neighborhood,” Shipley says. “That really changes the quality of the interior, when you can actually hear the street, the dogs barking, people talking on the sidewalk.”
That activity is part of what the Shipleys love about their Henderson Avenue–adjacent neighborhood, though frequent foot traffic necessitated careful thought when specifying dimensions of the street-facing room; the solid masonry portion below the window was precisely scaled to provide privacy without impeding the view. That attention to detail carries through into the decor—like the coffee table, designed by Shipley and built by friend Kyle Hobratschk, which contains four open shelves wide enough for art books.
The elements come together to create a space that’s warm and welcoming, informal yet inspiring, and enjoyed by its owners and visitors alike. “I like to think that it’s sort of honoring the guest to come into this space that’s not totally saturated with our day-to-day living,” Shipley says. “It says, ‘We made this space for you and us to sit down together, and we’ll bring you a glass of ice water.’ ” —Jessica Otte
Christy Blumenfeld, AIA, NCARB
Blume Architecture
If you’re lucky enough to be friends with architect Christy Blumenfeld, you may have scored an invitation for a night out at The Blume Bar—Blumenfeld’s porch-turned-lounge.
Realizing the former screened-in space was ill equipped for the Texas heat—“It had almost no cross breeze,” she says—Blumenfeld decided to glass it in and transform it into a chic hangout spot inspired by some of her favorite boutique hotels and bars. “My husband and I both went to school in New Orleans, so we love the look of the bar at Hotel Saint Vincent,” she says. “And then we wanted a Barcelona or London Soho House look, with multiple seating areas grouped together.”
To tie this space in with the rest of her home’s design, Blumenfeld married her love of traditional architecture and her husband’s preferred modern style with open shelving, meticulously selected art pieces, unique flooring, and statement seating options. “I think a banquette is really cozy and functional,” she says. “And then we wanted the floor to feel like it had been there forever, so we did a custom marble pattern.”
Blumenfeld spent a great deal of time figuring out exactly how they would use this section of the house before drawing her plans. “We host a lot,” she says. “And I think the thing that’s most successful about this space is that it opens up to the backyard for more room.” Whether it’s Sunday night dinner with her in-laws or a one-off Thursday-night gathering with friends for a signature champagne cocktail, guests are guaranteed an introduction to someone new. “It’s kind of a running joke at this point,” she laughs. “Sometimes I just say, ‘Hey, come to the bar,’ and it might be a random group of 20 people, but that’s what’s fun about it.” —Lydia Brooks
Gregory S. Ibañes, FAIA
Ibañez Shaw Architecture
On cool weekday mornings, you might notice Gregory Ibañez enjoying coffee and his daily copy of the New York Times in the courtyard nestled in the crook of his Fort Worth home. Pass by on a weekend evening, and you might catch him smoking a cigar here or hosting friends for an alfresco dinner with his wife, Kathleen Culebro. Chances are, Alejandro and Lucy, the couple’s two rescue dogs, will be curled up at their feet.
The outdoor space is more than just a respite for the couple (and their pups); it’s also the visible intersection of past and present.
In 2015, needing to downsize, the empty nesters bought a small house with big potential in Arlington Heights, located within walking distance of museums like the Kimbell and the Modern. The dilapidated 1931 bungalow needed rehabilitation and imagination, both of which Ibañez was happy to supply. He revitalized the original 1,000-square-foot structure, going so far as to remove and reinstall the original milsap stone, which had begun to fall off the facade. And to double the livable space, he devised a modern, cube-shaped addition clad in Corten steel that satisfied his modernist sensibilities while being deferential to the original structure. “It is weathered now to a beautiful dark umber color that really looks great with the stone,” he says.
The two structures are linked by the Zen-like courtyard, which is enclosed by a zigzag steel fence lush with trumpet vines. At night, a glass wall along the house’s perimeter provides a lantern-like glow to anyone enjoying the outdoor space. As both a homeowner and an architect, Ibañez considers having a place to immerse yourself in nature a necessity. “It ties us as a species to our environment,” he says.
Thanks to the shade cast by the two-story addition and to a measure of pride in what he’s created, Ibañez sits quite comfortably here in the junction of old and new. But the heterogeneous quality of the exterior will surely come as no surprise to anyone who’s been inside the blended family’s home, where Culebro’s antique Mexican furnishings and Ibañez’s modern Alvar Aalto pieces coexist harmoniously. The mix keeps life, and architecture, interesting.
“I call it the museum approach—you can have old masters and then a Picasso,” Ibañez says. “This house is very accommodating of that.” —J.O.
Jessica Stewart Lendvay, AIA NOMA
Jessica Stewart Lendvay Architects
Jessica Stewart Lendvay has always found the cure for her insatiable curiosity within the pages of a book. “I believe that books have magical properties with the likelihood of mysteries being revealed,” she says. So when she and husband John bought their 1958 ranch-style home in Old Lake Highlands, building out a library in one of its undesignated spaces was a no-brainer. Lendvay has phased in several renovation projects over the years, focused on opening up areas like this one to views of Norbuck Park. “I love renovation projects and respect the effort and embodied carbon invested in the existing building and site,” she says. “I have enjoyed keeping the existing footprint of this home but changing the interior layout in order to transform the experience of the space.”
Lendvay refers to her collection of tomes on architecture and interiors—which includes favorites like Design with Climate: Bioclimatic Approach to Architectural Regionalism by Victor Olgyay and Home, Heat, Money, God: Texas and Modern Architecture by Ben Koush and Kathryn E. O’Rourke—often as part of her extensive process when imagining the perfect home for her clients. Lendvay works through every feasible option for a space and did the same when designing her own home. “Because I am in the habit of using my client’s perspective as a lens to focus on specific solutions to a design problem,” she says, “I can get stuck on my own projects when I am the client.” And even though she tends to circle back to her initial plans, she believes in the importance of staying open to new ideas and credits her love of reading for fostering that ideal. —L.B.
Russell Buchanan, FAIA
Buchanan Architecture
Russell Buchanan’s retreat is hidden in plain sight.
In 2013, the architect saw the potential in a nondescript, 50-year-old warehouse near downtown Dallas. Its past life as a Baylor University Medical Center laboratory was apropos, as Buchanan intended to use the building as a laboratory of his own—a place where he could experiment both personally with a new style of living and professionally to challenge norms of residential design.
He cut a hole in the roof, subdividing the space into two shotgun-style living quarters separated by a central courtyard. Milky walls of polycarbonate and curved glass panels lining the courtyard allowed each unit to be drenched with sunlight yet maintain privacy. Buchanan was creative and deliberate in the delineation of space, eliminating the need for interior walls and all but two interior doors, leading to the bathrooms. The open-concept floor plan was a total departure from the 1936 C-Streets Tudor Buchanan and his wife, Karen, had previously inhabited. But the new setup suited them quite well—and still does, more than a decade later. “I love it so much, I can’t even tell you,” he says. “Both of us, even after 11 years.”
The couple spends most of their time in the common space, which houses the open kitchen as well as the living and dining areas. Many of the furnishings are Buchanan’s own (much lauded) designs; along the loft’s perimeter, pieces by friends like artist Otis Jones and photographer Allison V. Smith are on display. But it’s the organic elements of the loft that are Buchanan’s favorite works of art: beams of sunlight, casted shadows, and the rather serendipitous view afforded by their slice of sky. “The house is perfectly parallel to the flight path of jets coming into and leaving Love Field,” Buchanan explains. “A jet will fly by, and it just perfectly lines up with this slot. It’s captivating.”
The Buchanans enjoy their proximity to entertainment and dining hubs as well as to cultural amenities like the Arts District. And yet—thanks to the building’s formidable walls of solid brick and cinder block that remain intact from its warehouse days—you’d never even suspect anyone lived here. “It’s a very restful, peaceful, wonderful little space,” he says. —J.O.
Sarah Harper, AIA, LEED AP
Harper Design Projects
When architect and avid wine collector Sarah Harper began making plans for her home’s wine cellar, she knew she didn’t want a typical high-tech steel-and-glass design. Similar to the style of homes she builds, an industrial yet polished look was the way to go. “I was inspired by the European wine cellars with concrete walls and raw wood shelves, exposed beams and untreated floors,” she says. “Dimly lit and romantic.”
Though Harper didn’t want a space that was too glossy or refined, she did bring in a luxe gold-chain light fixture to offset the more rustic details. “I like to define practicality and functionality while still adding a pop of ornamentation,” she says.
The shelving proved to be one of the most time-intensive aspects of the project, as there are multiple ways, it turns out, to organize wine. “Just depending on how you place the bottles, you can increase your capacity by quite a bit,” she says. “When designing the shelves, you have to consider the dimensions of the bottles, if you want them standing up or laying down, whether you care about showing off the labels, etc.” For Harper, a stacked, horizontal approach made the most sense.
And of course, Harper made sure that the storage space had room to grow. With yearly trips to her choice vineyards in California or Italy, she enjoys learning about the winemaking process and trying new varietals. And a couple times a week, she will head down to the cellar to pick out the perfect bottle—perhaps a Freemark Abbey blend to pair with dinner or a favorite Frank Family bottle to pop open with friends. —L.B.
Ron Wommack, FAIA
Ron Wommack Architect
Of all the rooms in the home Ron Wommack shared with his wife, Joylyn Niebes Wommack, this breakfast nook was his favorite—mostly for what lies beyond it. During the pandemic, the couple established a garden of perennials in their Farmers Branch backyard, which looks out onto one of Brookhaven Country Club’s golf courses. They so enjoyed the results that they expanded it the following year. “It became a bit of an obsession,” Wommack said. “Joy really loves it, and I just love the fact that she loves it.”
In 2023, when a water leak necessitated a renovation, they took the opportunity to reimagine the kitchen and breakfast space, located along the back of the house. Wommack knocked out an existing bay window and extended the room’s footprint, enclosing the 12-by-6-foot space with floor-to-ceiling fixed glass walls that allow for unobstructed views of the landscape. The effect of sitting in the space is one of being immersed in nature, without any of the downsides.
The room is the embodiment of Wommack’s architectural principles—most notably, that architecture should relate to its surroundings. “The way I think about architecture is that it really wants to engage with the landscape and the place, and not just be a style that you’re plopping down,” he said. This was not just where he dined, sketched, and visited with company, but where he watched butterflies and hummingbirds flutter in the flowers, got a giggle as the couple’s two dogs chased rabbits, and admired the breeze as it blew through the tall grasses. “As you get older, you learn unseen things like the wind are really, really beautiful—almost kind of spiritual,” he said.
The room was special for another reason, too. When Ron and Joy wed in 2019, he moved into the house, which she already owned, despite the traditional style not being particularly indicative of his modern, minimalist aesthetic. This project gave him a chance to put his stamp on the structure—making the serene space not only symbolic of the marriage of indoors to out and architecture to place, but also of two styles, and two lives, becoming one.
In June, Ron passed away at the age of 73. As the architecture world mourns his loss, his heralded body of work lives on as a permanent reminder of his passion for the craft. But this personal piece of work may best capture the life and love of one of Dallas’ most gifted architects.
And for Joy, this room has taken on even greater significance in his absence. “He said he [designed] it for me, which makes the space extra special. We loved looking at the gardens and trees that we planted,” she says. “When I sit in the room now, I feel Ron’s presence.” —J.O.
Michael Gooden, AIA
M Gooden Design
Designing this home was a bit of a blur,” says Michael Gooden of his split-level Lake Highlands abode. The midcentury-modern-leaning look came together quickly, he remembers, and decisions were made without hesitation. That’s not to say the project was rushed—only that Gooden and his wife, Darrah, had been mentally mapping out their dream home for years, having lived in a house on the same lot for a decade prior.
As it turns out, what they wanted in a house had more to do with what was outside it than in. After all, the couple cites topography and proximity to parks as one of the major draws of living in their White Rock Lake–adjacent neighborhood. Though their pie-shaped hilltop lot had always provided plenty in the way of views and natural light, there was still loads of potential waiting to be tapped.
“The siting and orientation of the original house was very inefficient,” says Gooden, who turned the new floor plan askew, allowing for more usable yard space. He specified expansive walls of windows in the kitchen, the dining room, and the bedrooms belonging to his two teenage children to best capture sunlight. Most impactfully, he oriented the house’s footprint around an outdoor oasis—complete with a sitting area, courtyard, and pool—which has become a frequent gathering space for the Goodens since completing the house just over a year ago.
Blurring the lines between indoors and out was a primary goal for the architect, which he most expertly executed in the disappearing divide between the family room and outdoor sitting area. A trio of nesting 8-by-9.5-foot glass doors open to create a seamless transition between the spaces, allowing people, air, and conversation to flow in a relaxed environment. For Gooden, having a place where his family and friends can hang poolside, watch a game, and enjoy a meal is the culmination of years of planning—and the realization of a dream come true.
“We have always wanted our home to be a place where people can feel at ease, where good friends feel like they can use our pool without asking, and the kids’ friends can help themselves to drinks and snacks when they come over,” Gooden says. “We feel happy seeing our friends and family making themselves at home here.” —J.O.
Authors
Lydia Brooks
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