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I nterior designer Emily Summers' conversion to modernism started in her teens. It was the 1960s in Kansas City, Missouri, where she lived in a modest Tudor tastefully decorated by her mother, a museum volunteer with a discerning eye. "I grew up in a toile-and- porcelain environment," Summers says. But when a Knoll catalog with its bright-orange cover made its way into the household, a vibrant new world opened up. "It featured the gorgeous Mies van der Rohe Barcelona pieces, set in a terraced apartment in Paris with high windows and molding. I loved the clean look, and I realized you could make something fresh by adding contemporary furniture to a traditional environment. It transformed my whole way of thinking." Summers moved to Dallas in the mid- 1960s to study art history at Southern Methodist University. Later, while doing post-graduate work, she became a full-time assistant in the fashion offices at Neiman Marcus, where she was mentored by Stanley Marcus. She married college sweetheart Steve Summers and spent a decade rearing a family. (Her son, Stephen Summers, and his wife, Elisa Summers, co-own Highland Park Village.) In her spare time, Summers A MOST MODERN CHAPTER EMILY SUMMERS, ONE OF THE MOST SOUGHT-AFTER DESIGNERS IN THE COUNTRY, PENS A BOOK 35 YEARS IN THE MAKING. REBECCA SHERMAN TAKES A READ. A seating area in Emily Summers' home near Palm Springs with Qing dynasty screen and horseshoe-back chair attributed to James Mont.