Casual Friday

I found this gorgeous glass bottle ($15.95) that mimics a plastic Evian bottle at Crate & Barrel yesterday. What fun! I like keeping bottled water next to me while I work. With a plastic bottle, I'd just take a big swig. I tried it with this one, and it's a lot like drinking out of a vase. Plus, it clanked against my teeth. So, that necessitates a proper drinking glass to go with it. 

BUT....

You can drink out of the smaller version, pictured here next to the big one. I tried it, and it doesn't feel all that weird. It's kind of refreshing, drinking from a glass bottle instead of a plastic one. I'm not sure which size is my favorite. It's $7.95, so definitely I can buy more of them. Would you set the table with them? I might....hmmmm.

Beautiful glass bottles made to look like disposable plastic ones are sort of like why I love those cashmere T-shirts from Banana Republic. Luxury, like you're not really trying.

They come with glass and silicone stoppers. If you break  a stopper, replace it with a plain cork, like these Murano glass bottles made by Bottega Veneta. I have coveted those pricey bottles for years, but frankly I think I like the Crate & Barrel versions better now. They seem to fit the times better.

Park Lane: It's Humongous!

Despite the ailing economy, Park Lane, a whopping 2.9 million square foot mixed use development that includes offices, retail and a luxury condo across from NorthPark Center has opened on schedule. 

Does Dallas really need another luxury condo? Can we support another luxury condo, when some of the existing ones are struggling for tenants? 

Here are some just-released photos of the interiors and exterior (click on images to view).

An Afternoon with Urban Pioneer David Spence

Recently I spent an afternoon at Good Space, the 14-year-old development company founded by David Spence. Good Space takes historic old buildings in the Bishop Arts area of Oak Cliff, restores them, then leases them out. Spence's company has three full-time employees who office in the beautifully restored Good Space building. When there's a restoration project, the team swells to 40 or more contract workers including local artisans and craftspeople. There's a workshop in back, where some of the work is done. Check out the Google Maps photo of the building

The Good Space offices are a good example of what the company does. This gorgeous old Depression-era auto garage has a story behind it, like many of the properties Spence restores. 

These beautiful, rustic decorative wood doors were the once working garage doors for the back of the garage.

Here's a photo of the garage during the 1930s, with the wood doors, painted, in the background. The man who owned the garage lived nearby, and these might be his children. Spence, who moved to Oak Cliff in the early 90s with his wife, after getting his law degree from Chapel Hill, N.C., has raised his family in Oak Cliff.

The entry hall in Good Space is lined with a dozen or more black and white photos of Bishop Arts like this one, back in the day.

Spence gave me a tour of the area in his Jeep, laden with ladders and buckets and construction stuff. This apartment building, which isn't owned by Good Space, is on Bishop Ave. It's said to be the first apartment building in Dallas, and it is in remarkably good shape, don't you think?

There are more and more Good Space signs like this going up. This is the exterior of the newly renovated Kemp Garage, which is for lease. Davis Street boasts many automobile garages that date back to the Model A.

Most of the original materials and details are intact, only spruced up, such as the old tin ceiling and concrete floors.
Like all of Good Space's properties, the old buildings have been made energy efficient. These windows open for cross ventilation.
A rainspout funnels rainwater onto the landscaping below. 

Read more about the Kemp garage here.

Settles garage, another Model A-era auto garage on Davis redone by Spence, now houses popular Bolsa restaurant downstairs. 
Good Space kept many of the elements from the original garage owned by old man Settles, such as these rusted iron widgets, which have become decorative details.

Upstairs are offices, including hat maker Cassie MacGregor.

The hallway upstairs in Settles garage has all these framed mechanical drawings of old cars like this one. Pretty great.

Downstairs in Bolsa!
David Spence and I eating lunch. Everything at Bolsa is fresh -- there's no room for a freezer. My simple green tomato sandwich and salad combo ($10) was absolutely delicious. 

A parting table detail. Stay tuned for more from my tour of Bishop Arts, later in the week. (Spence told me that yesterday's Mardi Gras parade drew 3,000 people!)

Architect Cliff Welch Opens Art Gallery

Architect Cliff Welch  moved into new offices on Exposition last year and carved out a space for a future art gallery to showcase his own photography and works by friends. Covert Gallery makes its debut next Thursday, March 5 with a reception from 7-10 p.m. 824 Exposition, No. 5 (across from the Amsterdam bar in Fair Park). RSVP 214.327.3707.

Says Welch: "The photography for this show is all of kids playing. It's shot in black and white, and what's interesting is you can't tell what era it was from -- it could be children from the 1940s or it could be present day." Hence the name, Timeless Youth.

The show is also featuring works by artist Jim Kraus who did the painting below.

The Best Kept Secret in Dallas

Remember Room Service by Ann Fox? The Lovers Lane store front shuttered a year ago so that Fox could pursue her booming catalog business. I've finally located the warehouse outlet and stopped by today and snapped some pictures. The outlet is open each week Wednesday - Saturday, but the current 30 % off sale goes till Saturday. Take a look at the great stuff for sale:

Want to read the price tags? Just click on the photos.

Lots of cute baby stuff.
This is an adorable robe for a child, made to look like a bunny --- or is it a lamb? I think it's a lamb. It's the softest thing I've ever felt. It is lined with pink satin and ties with a pink satin bow.

My friend Betsy Jackson bought this faux ostrich magazine holder for her family room.

I'm not kidding when I say there are hundreds of lamps in here. 

Preppy Lilly Pulitzer-esque sleeveless blouses.

Bedding.

Monogramed coasters. 

If your name starts or ends in "M" you are in luck.

This is the texture of the faux shagreen parsons table/desk shown below. It's only a couple hundred bucks, and got way more style than similar tables from West Elm or Ikea.



$79 for this table!
Kelly Wearstler was here.

And here.

Besty bought these cute scissors for $2.50 each. She's giving them for Easter presents. But you're too late, she bought ALL of them.

She also bought several of these chic faux shagreen magazine holders. 

These tunics are fantastic. They look like Tory Burch, only they're a lot less expensive. 

This is a tunic. I'm pulling it off the rack at an angle to photograph it.

This Gustavian style bench greeted me at the front door.