Issue link: http://papercitymagazine.uberflip.com/i/1215372
BY REBECCA SHERMAN. INTERIOR DESIGN JUDY ALDRIDGE. PHOTOGRAPHY LISA PETROLE. ART DIRECTION MICHELLE AVIÑA. STYLING RUSSELL BRIGHTWELL. TWO HOUSES WITH A TROVE OF GLOBAL TREASURES MIX IT UP ON THE OUTSKIRTS OF FORT WORTH, THANKS TO JUDY ALDRIDGE'S EXPERT EYE FOR MID-CENTURY MASTERPIECES AND GLOBAL ANTIQUES. J udy Aldridge's knack for discovering vintage gems began in the 1990s, when she was in her 20s. "I found a pair of chrome Curtis Jere lamps for $120 at a secondhand shop," she says. "I brought them home, and my husband Bryan thought they were horrible. I had no idea who Curtis Jere was, but I was obsessed with chrome, so I kept them. They're worth about $6,000 now." The former model and fashion designer has a million such stories of treasures unearthed at estate sales, flea markets, garage sales, and thrift stores. She buys what she likes, and she's patient — a plus for when design trends inevitably circle back. For instance, 30 years ago she spotted a pair of 1966 chairs by Warren Platner for Knoll, salvaged in the '80s from the lobby of the Diamond Shamrock oil company in Dallas. The modernist icon's work was unfamiliar to her and had been out of the limelight for years. "I thought they looked like mushrooms," she says. Yet, there was something intriguing about their organic shape, and she couldn't stop thinking about them. "I went back and bought them for almost nothing." The chairs are still in her living room, and the upswing in mid-century furnishings has turned them into another valuable investment. Over the decades, Aldridge's thrifting has garnered an enviable t ro v e o f c l a s s i c m i d - c e n t u r y furnishings, African artifacts, vintage art, and sculpture. The hunt is a big part of the fun, and her interiors are constantly in flux as new acquisitions are brought home. "My brain is always spinning with the things I love and discover," she says. "I never focus on A LAYERED LIFE A pair of '70s chrome Curtis Jere lamps, one of Aldridge's first finds, and a large painting by David Bierk, purchased from a Marriott hotel. The pendant lights were found in Morocco; armchairs are vintage Florence Knoll. The panther is from the 1980s.