Issue link: http://papercitymagazine.uberflip.com/i/1322155
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 trove of classic mid-century 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 any one genre." Her travels have added a profusion of vintage textiles picked up in Guatemala and antique doors and rugs found in Morocco. She rarely lets go of anything and has plenty to furnish the three homes she shares with her husband, attorney Bryan Aldridge: a casita in San Miguel and two 1970s-era houses just northeast of Fort Worth. Hundreds more objects, chandeliers, rugs, and furnishings are kept in garages and storage units, and rooms are refreshed several times a year from her inventory. In 2004, the Aldridges bought a second house on the same street a few doors down. Bryan uses it as his offices, and it doubles for entertaining and as a guesthouse. "I highly recommend doing this if you can," she says. "It's nice to have a place to retreat." In both houses, white walls, high ceilings, and vast windows create an airy backdrop for rooms amply layered with woven baskets, Moroccan and zebra-print rugs, floral and Indian textiles, and vintage modern furniture. "There are a lot of different styles, but I never think about that," she says. "I'm not concerned about whether colors and patterns go together — it's innate. I remember my mother saying, 'Don't wear paisleys and plaids together,' but that's what my taste has always been. I buy things I like, and rooms evolve as I go. Everything seems happy together." The pink living room in the main family house pays homage to Lee Radziwill, who loved the hue and often decorated with Indian textiles and global flourishes. Here, slipper chairs, ottomans, the sofa, and even the draperies are cleverly upholstered in pink tablecloths from Wisteria. Aldridge originally created the room's high-meets-low furnishings for a vignette at last year's Thrift Studio fundraiser in Dallas for Dwell with Dignity. "I told Bryan how much I loved that vignette, so he bought the whole thing and we brought it home," After a fire destroyed her husband's offices, Aldridge refurnished it with an antique sofa upholstered in vintage embroidered fabric from Guatemala. Brass 1970s Widdicomb table. 88