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There are lots of things that Dallas homes get right: stylish yet functional interiors, bold use of color, the connection between indoor and outdoor spaces, to name a few. But just as a trip abroad can reveal different ways people live, exploring the ways people around the world design their homes can offer a fresh perspective.
We wanted to know if there are design decisions we've come to accept without question, and whether there are better ways to decorate. We asked a list of well-traveled interior designers with an eye for international style to tell us what Dallas houses get wrong, and what we can learn from decorating traditions around the world.
Too much house, not enough yard
Everything's bigger in Texas, and the size of our homes certainly proves that point. But perhaps sacrificing outdoor space for square footage isn't the best approach. "People here tend to overscale the house to the lot, in my opinion," says designer Michelle Nussbaumer. She's lived all over the world and currently has homes in Dallas, Mexico and Switzerland. Nussbaumer traces the issue of oversized houses to a lack of value for green space. In Europe or Mexico, she notes, al fresco living is a natural part of everyday life. "The minute the weather's nice, people want to be outside - and they don't care if there's a mosquito or a flying insect." Nussbaumer also hates to see artificial turf, which she says is too prevalent in Dallas. "They would never have fake, plastic grass in Europe or Mexico."
Everyone gets their own room
Gonzalo Bueno of the firm Ten Plus Three works between Dallas and Monterrey, Mexico, where he grew up. (In Monterrey, his firm goes by the name "Treceavo"). His clients here in Texas frequently request separate bedrooms, and even separate bathrooms, for all their children - but this is uncommon in Mexico. Even in the biggest and most luxurious homes, shared bedrooms are more common. He shared a bedroom with his brother during their youth. "By having the children share their spaces, they learn valuable lessons, like sharing and respecting other's needs and privacy," says Bueno. "It also fosters closeness and helps them adapt to living with others as an adult, too."
Open-concept kitchens and unused dining rooms
"In Mexico, open kitchen concepts are not a common layout of the house," says Bueno. Nussbaumer sees the same thing in Europe. "The kitchens tend to be much smaller. The refrigerators are much smaller; they do not have big, American refrigerators. … People go to the market daily and buy what they're going to cook that night," she says.
Across the world, kitchens get a more utilitarian treatment and aren't typically connected to the main living spaces. Bueno says that on the rare occasion that he sees a home in Mexico with an open-concept kitchen, there's typically a prep kitchen "where the real cooking happens," tucked away elsewhere.
Perhaps part of the reason the open-concept kitchen is so common in the U.S. is because it's a natural, and more casual, gathering space. Designers have told us time and time again that the kitchen is "the heart of the home," the central hub where everyone eats, bonds and relaxes. It's not that those interactions don't happen around the world, but the layout of homes is much more intentional, with rooms designated for those aspects of life. The kitchen is for food preparation; the dining room is for gathering for a sit-down, shared family meal. "Sometimes in America, everybody's got so many different things going on, different schedules for different people, children have a game or an event, and so people have to eat sometimes at different times," Nussbaumer points out. "In Europe, they really sit down to a meal together, always. And so, therefore, they do need an actual dining area for that."
New, new, new
One of designer Callie Windle's biggest complaints about interiors in America, especially in Dallas, is that they lack signs of age. "There's nothing old or tattered or messy or patinaed," she says. "Everything is brand new … or if they're antiques, they've been perfectly refinished." When she looks at homes in France and England, she sees pieces that have been passed on for generations, pieces that bear the signs of wear. Those imperfections make a space comfortable to live in, she says. She's observed that many American houses seem to have all-new furniture and decor every few years. "I think that's a very strange way to approach decorating," she shares. "I want to see the same pieces in rooms again and again, in my rooms and my homes, and in the homes for clients."
For design projects in England, Nussbaumer has "shopped" in the attics of family houses for furniture that's been passed down for generations. She'll reupholster those pieces and give them new life, instead of buying something. This approach is both meaningful and helps homeowners showcase their distinct style. "In Europe, I would say that people are really a little bit more individualistic in their design choices, and they don't look at what others are doing quite as much," Nussbaumer says. "I think that comes from their culture, because they don't necessarily go buy everything new. They use things they have. They use things from their family."
A jumbled identity
Dallas is a city of mixed identities - Texan but not as Texan as Fort Worth, southern but not as southern as Atlanta, metropolitan but not as big of a metro as New York City, etc. - and all of the designers we talked to see that reflected in the architectural styles of our homes. Windle says she's drawn to homes around the world that are "rooted in place," but it's hard to find a clear architectural identity that's unique to Dallas.
Think about it: We have English-inspired Tudor houses, Mediterranean manses, Spanish Colonial casitas, glass-walled contemporary designs, and Texas ranch-style homes that look like they were plucked straight from the countryside. For those of us accustomed to that mix, it's all part of the charm. But there are some potential downsides.
"You look at other cities: Charleston has this really strong narrative. It knows exactly what it wants to be; there's no ambiguity," says Philip Thomas Vanderford of Studio Thomas James. "[In Dallas] there's been a lot of lack of really strong identity, and sometimes when there's a lack of really strong direction, everything becomes really trend driven."
Nussbaumer notes that in other countries, like Switzerland or Italy, residential architecture is governed by rules that ensure the styles work with what is already there. "They really want the neighborhood to have that same consistency and beauty," she says. "In America, we're also lucky because people can think of all different kinds of ideas that they have and bring that to the table. Maybe that's great, but I don't know that it looks good in the whole neighborhood."
Of course, many Dallas historic and conservation districts do work to ensure a sense of cohesion. Even where those kinds of requirements don't exist, it's a philosophy worth borrowing: considering not just how a home stands out, but how it fits in.
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