A question of age? Instead of months: After arriving in Texas in September 2020, the family was expected to move in within five months. In total, there are only four weeks left to create the project and four months to complete it. “Even under optimal circumstances, completing such a project within such a deadline is a challenge. And it is clear that we were not in optimal circumstances. Fortunately, Chad Dorsey understood the roles from the start.
“Sometimes deadlines are good,” explains the interior designer. “It was quite an exercise to only deal with parts that were available within three months at the most. While other decorators would be pulling their hair out, he described the experience as “quite fun in the end.” Once the countdown began, he turned to vintage shopping to discover his pieces without delay, preferring 1stDibs. “I wanted to find some very special furniture,” Dorsey added.
There were already several impressive pieces in the family collection, which were of great help to him: tables by Zaha Hadid and Marc Newson, as well as works by Andy Warhol, Julie Mehreta or Ugo Rondinone. As evidenced by these objects, the client’s taste was more modern. He wasn’t really into “pottery and that stuff,” sums up Dorsey, who therefore opted for furniture in keeping with that aesthetic: De Sede sofas, lighting found at Gabriel Scott, Allied Maker and The Urban Electric Company, as well as stools and chairs from Maison Gerard.
The most difficult task was the renovation of the long kitchen [galley kitchen, ou cuisine dite “à l’américaine”], a relic left by the previous owner, often absent. “We wanted to make it a family space, for dining, but also just for sitting,” said the owner. As a result, several rooms on the ground floor (pantry, breakfast nook and kitchen area) were combined into one large, light-filled kitchen in the second half of the renovation.