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AUGUST | PAGE 25 | 2014 Top, left: In the Moroccan room, the light fixture and wall-mounted sconce are both vintage pieces from Alcon Lighting. Custom-built sofa by Gracie's Custom Interiors. Coffee table from Surroundings on Sunset. Fish birdbath from a garden statuary shop in Odom, Texas. African red Cameroon feather headdress on wall. In the foreground is a bar with mirrored ceiling, and light fixture from Circa Lighting. Both rooms are painted Tyler Stone Gray Light and Medium Light by Williamsburg Marketplace. Middle, left: Cedar Baldridge and her pup Violet in the living room. Sofas upholstered in Schumacher gray velvet. Gold-tufted ottoman from Kuhl-Linscomb. Taxidermy peacock from Upstate New York. Coffee table, circa '30s, from an estate sale in Dallas. Portrait of "Aunt Janie" from an antiques mall on Dunlavy. Baldridge's caftan was custom-made by Carla Christoph at carlachristoph.com. Middle, right: Baldridge's closet is painted Benjamin Moore Bird's Egg 2051-60. Lemon chandelier is vintage from Round Top Antiques Fair. Stark Antelope rug. their cigarettes and listening to them talk. At about 5 o'clock, they would pack up, and then Pinkie would clean the fish and serve them up for dinner. CHANGING GEARS IN HOUSTON. After I graduated the University of Texas in Austin, and a stint in New York at the MTV Network, I moved to Houston to be married, and that lasted until 1996, during which time I was helping my mother with the cattle ranch in Mexico. Married with a home in Houston, I found that I truly enjoyed gardening and soon was taking all the classes in gardening and design locally that I could, and friends began asking me to help them with their landscapes. I attended a great program in landscape architecture at Harvard through their Graduate School of Design, and this convinced me to get a masters in landscape architecture. I had always been intrigued with the historical study of landscapes, having been so impressed by Levens Hall when I visited as a teen. I had never seen anything like these majestic English gardens, and at the time it never occurred to me one could make a career out of plants. BUSINESS DEALINGS. Every year the business grows, and I strive to maintain my aesthetic. I travel as much as my schedule allows; what I see and experience always turns up in my designs. Yellowstone blue geysers turn into swimming pools, purloined seeds and cuttings find their way into our gardens or I discover new sources for materials. The satisfaction of creating beauty that is ever changing is very specific to working with living things. STYLE POINTS. Design does not have to be so serious — but it should "wink" at fun, not scream it. I like clever things, and I like scale; one usually does not work without the other. Growing up in Mexico, I would see photos of the Mexican film star María Félix in all her huge crazy jewels. I loved her. I was also inspired by the ladies in my family. As a little girl, I loved to watch my mother "put her face on." She wore brightly colored sleeveless shift dresses; sandals made by Lety, a ladies' shoemaker in Acapulco; and big tortoiseshell sunglasses. I was sure she was the most glamorous woman in the world. I was also inspired by Mexican cowboys, as well as charros and bullfighters, and I'm intrigued by the aesthetic of the American West and Native American culture. I collect old Native American pawn jewelry and have some gorgeous Navajo pieces. These influences often find their way into my work. GREY GARDENS SOUTH. I bought my home in 1990. The first remodel was done with two shekels and The Home Depot as the architect. The previous owner had lived here for over 40 years and had herds of cats, Astroturf glued to the hardwoods and had painted a mural of Mount Fujiyama on the master bedroom wall. She was also a tap dancer and gardener, and she still haunts the house … I can sometimes hear her tap dancing down the hall. EXTREME MAKEOVER. The second remodel was done in 2009, and I hired Houston-based architect Dillon Kyle. I was lucky to work with Dillon, as he has such a great sense of scale and sensitivity for the original architecture of the house. It's a two-story brick Federal that had a low-slung flat-roofed room that ran along the width of the house, added on in the '60s. The add-on did not speak to the architecture of the house; the flat roof leaked, and it was time for it to go. Spatially, we needed an addition to the original house to get the space I wanted, but how to do this and connect two roof lines was the design challenge. Dillon had the great idea of the addition connecting to the original house by a "hyphen." It was a brilliant solution to adding space to the original brick box. I had visited Tudor Place house in Georgetown that was built in 1815 and belonged to Martha Washington's granddaughter, Martha Parke Baldridge designed the head- board in her pink bedroom using Schumacher velvet. Tapestry on the bed is a vintage Oushak rug. Pink scallop sheets from Garnet Hill. Vintage needlepoint pillows. Shell lamps from Rockport, Texas. Baldridge designed the head- board in her pink bedroom using Schumacher velvet. Tapestry on the bed is a vintage Oushak rug. Pink scallop sheets from Garnet Hill. Vintage needlepoint pillows. Shell lamps from Rockport, Texas. The 1940s Federal-style house sports a jaunty striped awning of Sunbrella fabric; the rails are a John Staub design. Landscape design by Baldridge Landscape. The stonework is a mix of Lued- ers limestone and lilac flagstone. The 1940s Federal-style house sports a jaunty striped awning of Sunbrella fabric; the rails are a John Staub design. Landscape design Baldridge Landscape. The stonework is a mix of Lueders limestone and lilac flagstone. The foyer and dining room are a counterpoint to the vivid hues of adjacent rooms. Chest is a hollow Belgian radiator cover. Vintage portrait. Moroccan light fixture from the '20s from Alcon Lighting. Vintage brass and marble dining table. HAIR AND MAKEUP TAREK EL-BJEIRMI FOR CERON SALON.