When a Dallas couple found themselves with an empty nest, they decided it was time for a complete renovation to their Highland Park home. “We’d done some cosmetic remodeling, but it was time to make a complete change for it to be worth the effort,” the wife told Luxe Interiors + Design. Residential designer Daniel Heath helped reconfigure the layout to optimize wasted space. Working with builder Brad Ellerman, they doubled the size of the master suite by joining it to space above the garage, and they reimagined space in the downstairs living areas.
Interior designer Josh Pickering, founder of Pickering House Interiors, worked with the clients’ best furnishings while upgrading everything else along the way. “We brought in many antiques, new items and custom pieces,” Josh told Luxe. “Instead of throwing away, I like to refurbish when things have merit. It gives me something personal to the client to build from.” Let’s take a tour with photography by Nathan Schroder. An abbreviated tour originally ran in Luxe, and additional images have been provided for The Glam Pad.
Lacelliese here! When it comes to style and design, one thing of which I do grow slightly weary (and of which I am guilty, absolument!) is redundancy. Have I mentioned being tired of seeing the same thing over and over again? 😉 But in a social media sea of same-ness, there is one face that always stands out in the scroll: Bradley Agather Means of lifestyle website Luella & June.
Bradley is an inspiration because she simply does her own thing. Her style is classic, yet contemporary; refined, yet practical. No shrinking violet shades here: bold colors do her bidding. And when it comes to paint, she’ll take your opinion, but go another direction with her Farrow & Ball (which of course, turns out to be fabulous). She is sparing when it comes to exclamation points, but her zest for life and entertaining is punctuated by punchy colors, creative ideas, and a bright sense of self. Bradley exudes an enviable, elegant self-confidence, which she applies to everything within her domain, from hostessing her celebrated “Spades Night” game night to co-founding her latest project, Bisette & Co., a bespoke gift-giving concierge service that promises to provide perfect presents to even the pickiest of recipients.
While I can barely recall the last time I played hostess, I admittedly am doing a lot of scheming and daydreaming for the future. So I caught up with Bradley (virtually, like most all of my tête-à-têtes these days) to get a few of her entertaining tips to keep in my back pocket for the future. Today we will share Bradley’s six tips for entertaining, and the one rule she follows every time!
Bradley Agather Means and her Six Tips for Entertaining
Put on a happy face! Guests take their cues from the hostess. If she’s stressed out, the guests will be, too. Even when things aren’t perfect, just go with it.
2. Un-fancy food, but make it fancy. When it comes to food, I go with comfort food: roast chicken, French fries, chocolate chip cookies. They’re sure-things. The key is in the presentation. Fancy up even the most basic dishes by serving them on beautiful silver platters and in decorative bowls.
3. Stock your bar, like really stock it. The bar should be well-stocked. I like to have. It. All. Most guests end up wanting simple cocktails, but there’s always one who wants that specialty something and I am never one to say no. (I aim to please!) Even if the food is all wrong, at least I know they won’t go away thirsty.
4. The more candles, the better. It sets the mood – plus, everyone looks better in candlelight.
5. For six or more, use place cards. This is the only rule I always follow. Guests like to be told where to sit. Without place cards, there’s this uncomfortable moment with middle-school cafeteria lunch table anxiety. By all means, avoid that.
6. Good music goes a long way. Make a playlist ahead of time. It should be diverse enough to go from Jay-Z to Sam Cooke to Vampire Weekend.
Thank you, Bradley, for sharing your entertaining tips with us! Such refreshing style! For ongoing inspiration, please follow @bagather on Instagram and visit her website, Luella & June.
CASA GUSTO is a newly launched company of antiques, objects, and artworks located in West Palm Beach Florida. They specialize in goods – old and new gathered and invented – from around the globe. Furniture from the 17th and 18th century is mixed with a dose of mid-century and hand-made Talavera from Mexico evoking Andalusia.
“There are often words in a language that is not our own that capture a meaning that is precise, a feeling or description so perfect that we must bridge over and take from the other land and claim it,” explain Cris Briger co-proprietor and her son Charles Peed. “GUSTO is one of the words capturing in Spanish and Italian a vibrant feeling of taste and pleasure. GET THE GUSTO is just that.”
Get the Gusto is an interior design and antique firm that creates, rescues, and revives the spaces where we live. Our mission is to create an atmosphere where the real comfort and joy is a reflection of the personality of its inhabitants. Let’s take a look at at their portfolio!
I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas! This holiday season flew by so quickly, we have decided to keep our decoration up through January… The festive cheer has been an excellent cure for the covid blues! The Day After Christmas happens to be one of the best shopping days of the year, and what better occasion to stock up on the classics? Here are some of our favorite picks for a fresh start to 2021, so pour yourself a glass of eggnog and treat yourself to some fabulous sales!
1. After a busy holiday season, it’s more apparent than ever that you can’t have too many towels! We love these Matouk Classic Chain Towels at 25% off.
3. If a wreath could have a cult following, this would be the one! And, it makes a perfect “transition wreath,” dare we add… 50% off and going fast!
4. We love this beautiful, etched quintessential grandmillennial glassware.
5. Need a new year change of “a dress?” This fresh, flattering silhouette hints of spring and can easily work with dark navy tights before then…lots of sizes available: $225.
6. Fun, punchy crystal Rebecca de Ravenel earrings are on sale for 60% off.
7. Summer IS coming… stock up on these classic wicker lanterns while they’re on sale.
8. And, why not start the year with a fresh set of some of our favorite scalloped sheets!
Are you ready for Christmas? Recently we were thinking back on the little paper advent calendars that we had as children — it seemed that with the arrival of December 1, time would just slow down to a crawl — it felt like an eternity between each day that passed before it was time to open the next window! In the hustle and bustle these days, it hardly “feels” like Christmas before it’s already here, and this unique year is no exception. Our friend and entertainer extraordinaire Stephanie Booth Shafran knows that all too well (back in March, we joked with Stephanie that her new book, You’re Invited, would temporarily be known as “You’re NOT Invited — at least not for a while, anyway!” But as an expert hostess, Stephanie has effortlessly translated her hospitality insight into advice we can all apply this holiday season to bring maximum Christmas cheer at home with our most precious of company: our families. Here are Stephanie’s nine tips for a festive Christmas celebration at home:
1. Lots of holiday music, so the house feels alive with the sound of Christmas cheer!
2. When decorating your house, decorate all of the shared spaces and add small bowls of Christmas candy to every room.
3. Use the old traditional décor: for example, there is one large ornament ball filled with candy in our kitchen that has been around for years and it is kind of unattractive and the kids think that is what makes it fun. Their motto: ugly is okay when it comes to tradition, because sentiment matters more!
4. Traditional family bites. Have food during Christmas that is unique to the holidays. Two examples are the Hotel Bel Air homemade ding dongs that we love and sausage rolls that we have on Christmas morning.
5. It’s never too late to start new family traditions. One of the longstanding traditions in our house is that everyone gets matching fun pajamas every year. We’ve all donned PJs in prints from leopard to candy canes. This year, we did custom monogrammed ones in red flannel with white trim, a classic touch.
6. Here’s a fun gift idea: personalize a gingerbread house with your friends’ or family members’ names written on the rooftop in frosting.
7. Everyone should have a stocking with his or her name on it, even pets!
8. Make time to celebrate with your spouse, too, in private. Steve and I wake up a a little early Christmas morning to sip coffee and exchange gifts.
9. I often put something on the stove to fill the house with the spirit and the scent of the season, such as mulled cider. It smells just like Christmas.
Thank you, Stephanie, for these wonderful holiday tips, and for sharing a glimpse inside your exquisite home! If you don’t already own a copy of Stephanie’s book, You’re Invited, you can read The Glam Pad’s review here, and it can be purchased via Amazon. To learn more about Stephanie Booth Shafran, please visit her website and follow @stephanieboothshafran on Instagram.
And if you are still looking for Christmas gifts, we recommend Amazon’s Same-Day Store for last minute gift ideas broken down into category and delivered as fast as 5 hours. Merry, merry!
