Issue link: http://papercitymagazine.uberflip.com/i/1137964
W hen the artisanal kitchen and home store Set & Co. closed in January, Dallas design devotees mourned the loss. The store's exquisitely reductive interiors and simple, handcrafted products were akin to stepping into a Vermeer painting. For Jennifer Littke, who opened the Bishop Arts gem in 2015 with husband Adam Littke, the past five months allowed her to focus on family and nurture a desire to return to her interior design roots. "When we had our son, Raf, we knew something had to give," she says. "Sadly, it was our beautiful store." Fans of Set & Co., take heart. Littke's thoughtful, authentic design style continues to make its way into homes in Dallas and beyond. Activision Blizzard CEO Robert Kotick has enlisted her to design homes in Los Angeles and New York; she recently completed the Highland Park home of Bob's Steak and Chop House widow Marilyn Lenox and finished the Greenway Parks residence of Canary store director Molly Bruder and her husband, Mark Schachter. As a hospitality consultant, Littke has helped execute the design vision for such hotels as the Laylow in Waikiki, The Alida in Savannah, and The Brak in Charleston. She was creative director on the Adolphus CHAPTER TWO BY REBECCA SHERMAN. PORTRAIT MISAEL RODRIGUEZ. Hotel redesign and on the revamp of the Noelle in Nashville. Currently, she is busy at work on a luxury hotel in Atlanta. Many of her projects are updating historic properties. "I love the imperfections, the layers, and the context an old building or home has on our lives," she says. Littke traces her design acumen to years working in L.A. under legendary designer Rose Tarlow. "I owe everything to Rose," she says. "She was like a second mother to me for a very long time. Rose's skill as an antiquarian and purveyor of fine objects is unsurpassed." After Tarlow, Littke ventured on her own with high-profile clients like music and movie executive David Geffen, designing his homes, airplane, and yacht. Littke has hired a full-time designer/architect to help manage her growing roster of clients, and she has moved her design offices into a duplex in historic Junius Heights. She and her husband — who is now a full-time director for commercials — have renovated a Craftsman-era bungalow in Oak Cliff, which they rent for photo shoots and on Airbnb. com. Their 1950s house in Lakewood is a repository of the elegantly rustic look their store became known for. A recent purchase: a 1920s neoclassical rattan pedestal. "I'm absolutely in love with it," she says. "What makes it perfect is the juxtaposition of classical form with the rusticity and humble nature of rattan." Needless to say, the future looks bright. "We are ready and excited for this new chapter," Jennifer says. "We're diving in head first." "I LOVE THE IMPERFECTIONS, THE LAYERS, AND THE CONTEXT AN OLD BUILDING OR HOME HAS ON OUR LIVES." — Jennifer Littke AFTER SHE CLOSED HER BELOVED STORE, SET & CO., WE CAUGHT UP WITH JENNIFER LITTKE, WHOSE NEXT CHAPTER IS TAKING HER CROSS-COUNTRY WITH AN EXCITING ROSTER OF DESIGN PROJECTS. Jennifer Littke Jennifer Littke was creative director over the Adolphus Hotel's 2017 redo. SHAYNA FONTANA