Narrow Minded

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

architecture Lionel Morrison, Morrison Dilworth + Walls interior design Gonzalo Bueno, TEN+3

p h o t o g r a p h y b y ni ck joh nson

photograph by charles davis smith.

w r i t t e n b y le ila n i m a r ie la bong

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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ever 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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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.

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.

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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 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.

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. luxe interiors

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“We haven’t overdecorated, which might have detracted from the simp le beau t y 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.

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.

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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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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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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,” 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.

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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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.

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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 198 l u x e i n t e r i o r s

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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.