PaperCity Magazine

September 2019- Fort Worth

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73 K elley Roberts and Rebecca Atkinson are the duo behind Beckley Design Group, the eight-year-old design firm with a youthful, artistic edge. Recent projects include a mid-century modern gem near River Crest Country Club, the former home of entrepreneur and lifestyle blogger Bradley Agather Means; contemporary homes in Monticello Park and Mira Vista; and a modern farmhouse in Meadows West. Roberts and Atkinson often incorporate works by Fort Worth artists such as Amy Young, Nancy Lamb, and next-door neighbors Ginger Ray Walker and Pat Green into their projects. A colorful Oculus painting by John Holt Smith recently inspired a client's entire living room. Roberts grew up in Fort Worth and went to Texas Christian University, while Atkinson moved to town from Dallas in 2012. Both use words such as "eclectic" and "classic" to describe Fort Worth's native style, and they often incorporate both into their projects. "We have lots of clients with family pieces who want to mix them with newer furniture, and jolts of color," Atkinson says. Fort Worth is full of contrasts. Roberts adds, "It's not surprising to see a cowboy checking out an exhibit at The Modern or a hipster listening to a band at the White Elephant Saloon in the Stockyards. Speaking of the White Elephant, I was recently there and noticed beautiful cast brass elephants on the bar railing. This kind of interesting detail in an old saloon is the kind of thing that makes Fort Worth so inspiring." Roberts recently renovated her 1970s house in River Crest, where you'll find stacks of books and a mix of vintage, antique, contemporary, and mid-century modern pieces. Atkinson's 1940s Tanglewood house is across from TCU. "We're slowly redoing the interiors,' she says. A favorite place for both designers to shop for their own homes is Park + Eighth (parkandeighth. com), where Atkinson just snagged a pair of Milo Baughman swivel chairs, while Roberts scored a 10-foot-high white- canvas banana tree for her living room. Go-To Sources. Fernando Canchola is a local furniture maker and upholsterer and a true artisan. We love working with him on custom projects or to rework a client's existing pieces. Bottega Design Gallery has the most beautiful selection of tile, from the classics to unique. For Bradley Agather Means' powder room, we wanted gold-metallic floor tile, and after searching high and low, owner Rebecca Farris found it for us. Fernando Canchola, fernandocanchola.com. Bottega Design Gallery, 2824 Marquita Dr., bottegadesigngallery.com. T he first moment Eric Prokesh saw his 1920s tile-roof house in historic Ryan Place, it was love. "I had dreamed about living in this kind of Spanish-influenced old house since I was a kid in San Antonio," he says. "It was the first style of house I saw, and it made a big impression." Ryan Place, a neighborhood once home to oil tycoons and bank presidents, is on the National Register of Historic Places and is enjoying a resurgence as younger people discover it, Prokesh says. The designer relocated from Dallas in 2013, but his Fort Worth roots go back decades. His geologist grandfather built one of the first houses in Tanglewood in the early 1960s and was one of 12 charter members of the Petroleum Club of Fort Worth. In his own design work, Prokesh often draws from his past as inspiration, transforming traditional interiors with fresh color combinations: Turquoise plaster walls are paired with luscious raspberry silk draperies and upholstery. The century-old rooms of Prokesh's Ryan Place residence called for exactly that kind of Old World treatment. Still, he says, "A lot of what I'm doing for clients here is not traditional at all — it's quite modern. In Fort Worth, nothing is ever torn down, so there's a wonderful mix of architectural styles and interiors to go with them." Favorite Haunts. There are several fabric houses who manufacture Venetian-style, Fortuny- like textiles, but no one does Faux-tuny to the high standards of Fort Worth-based Groves Bros. Not only is the product less than half the price of the real deal, their turnaround is much quicker — and it can be customized and printed on cotton or silk. K. Flories Antiques' impeccably turned-out owner, Kathy Flories, buys from estate sales in Fort Worth and Dallas to stock her expansive Camp Bowie shop. Her focus is investment-quality 17th- through 19th-century furnishings. Groves Bros, available at ecdicken.com. K. Flories Antiques, 3915 Camp Bowie Blvd., kflories.com. Art Sparks. I was so inspired by the Casanova show at the Kimbell Art Museum [in 2017] that I bought two gilt Louis XV chairs with Aubusson covers at Freeman's in Philadelphia. I plan to cover another pair in velvet by Luigi Bevilacqua, an Italian textile maker founded in the 18th century in Italy — about the same time as Casanova himself. ERIC PROKESH KELLEY ROBERTS AND REBECCA ATKINSON Eric Prokesh with his Barzoi, Yuri Kelley Roberts Rebecca Atkinson

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