The Finishing Touch
Bright and Open

Written by Kim Bannister
Photography by Ira Montgomery
Floral Design by Cara French

When creating their first home together, Emily and Matt Boles desired three elements: that it incorporated open space with light and practical living space, and that it reflected Emily’s passion for collecting Majolica and vintage tabletop pieces. “We wanted a house with an open floor plan and many windows to let the sunshine fill the rooms,” Emily says.

Their warm and welcoming Texas country stone and timber home beckons one to come inside the quiet neighborhood family retreat located in the Park Cities. The couple credits the Dallas-based interior decorating dynamic duo Mary Beth Wagner and Ashley Cathey, of Avrea Wagner Interiors, for helping them bring to life their vision for the interiors of their new home. Emily and Matt were newly married, and, says Ashley, “The Boles had lots of ideas of their own and wanted to be very involved. Emily has always had a love for design and brought her ideas to the table.”

The foyer dictated the perfect vignette for a draped octagonal table for which the designers chose a small geometric fabric to accentuate the larger pattern of the soft wool stair runner. The turquoise ceramic entry table lamp is part of the Beeline Collection from Bunny Williams, whose line of goods the designers love. Ashley and Mary Beth always add their personal touch with custom linen or silk shades, and they sometimes add decorative trim.

The pale blue 1940’s Murano lamp directed the soft blue and cream palette for the living room. “It was the first buy and Emily fell in love with the lamp,” said Mary Beth. She also wanted Lucite tables to add a contemporary touch. The pair selected gives a feeling of openness with the combination of glass, mirror and Lucite.

A soft chevron pattern rug in blues and creams created a foundation for the design team to work around. Their “go to” fabric was the Palmyra by Hines in the color aqua selected for the club chair for its large scale botanical print. And the rest of the patterns and colors fell in alongside this selection. The antique Indian side chairs with nail heads in wide silk stripes keep things interesting and fun.

Read more in this month’s magazine…