Issue link: http://papercitymagazine.uberflip.com/i/372577
the Dwell-featured interiors of the Row development in the Heights and, most famously, her own house in Marfa, which appeared in The New York Times. It also captured the eye of Nate Berkus and is recorded in his book The Things That Matter. Hill's design point of view has definitively been inherited by Cusack, who also gravitates to the pared-down, reductive aesthetic that pervades this bungalow. How did she and the house meet? Looking for a life change after her husband, Tim McGlashen (musician/ frontsman for The Buddhacrush), passed away, she sought out a new scene and began searching for a classic Montrose bungalow. This one was love at first sight not because of its handsome interiors (pristinely restored and updated by the previous owner) but because of a ramshackle little structure out back. Cusack recalls, "When I looked through and saw a crumbling shed, I instantly knew: There was my future studio. No one else wanted the house because of that building — but for me, it was perfect." Cusack, who sometimes shares clients with her mom, also works as a personal organizer for a select handful, relentlessly clearing interiors of detritus that is detrimental to inspiration, and forfeiting all clutter. Nowhere but here in her own domicile is Cusack's gift for stripping bare the nonessentials most evident. This home is a perfect calling card for the beauty of less and loving what you have more. Yet, this artist's casa is not just a monument to austere minimalism. For within its pristine spaces, objects lovingly culled from places near, far and family, vibrate with power. "My sources for treasures," the artist laughingly reveals, "are fleas, estate sales, travels, antique shops and City of Houston heavy trash days." Catch Cusack next in Marfa in her one-person solo at the Lumberyard, September 4 – 9, and October 10 – 13 (Chinati weekend). Watch for her appearance in a book on Texas sculpture by Craig Bunch, forthcoming from Texas A&M Press. 6. 11. THIS HOME IS A PERFECT CALLING CARD FOR THE BEAUTY OF LESS AND L O V I N G W H A T Y O U H A V E M O R E . In the master bedroom, a cotton canvas pillow from mom Barbara Hill's Pulpoetry series. Cusack's mère, who keeps a spare house in Marfa, reigned as Miss Texas 1956. Above, clockwise from above center: The master bath is all about sculpture, beginning with the imposing Victoria & Albert-era mirror from Kuhl-Linscomb. Tub from Westheimer Plumbing, sink and cabinet IKEA. Ligne Roset table provides the final chic motif. Cusack's muy sassy Back at the Ranch boots, hand-made, circa 1990, were specially donned for this photo shoot. In one nook in the living room, a wood-and-marble table grounds a beautiful vignette. Vintage print by Trudi Blom, gifted to Cusack by her mom, Barbara Hill; the image records people of the vanishing Lacandon Rain Forest, Chiapas. Underneath, one of Cusack's sculptures features charred wood from her "Campfire Stories," exhibited Koelsch Gallery, 2009. In the dining area, another beguiling mise en scène spans centuries, mixing a grand baroque canvas with a pair of humble stools. Hall table with classical columns gleaned from a Heights antiquarian. The allegorical painting, a 19th-century reproduction of an earlier master, was literally rescued from a trash bin. Rustic stools from Kuhl-Linscomb, while the upright chairs came from the press room at the Rice Hotel, via an estate sale. Bronze angel from a Brazilian flea market. To its right, a macumba shrine, also from Brazil, where Cusack traveled to visit her mom in the 1980s. In one corner of the sitting room, an homage to Cusack's late husband, musician Tim McGlashen — the singer's hat and guitar. To the left, the artist's assemblage Paint by Numbers, 2013. A tiny stool contrasts with the carved console that typifies the Victorian epoch in Mexico. Of the stool, Cusack says, "I loved it too much — but it almost became an art supply." In a shelf in the guest bath, a lineup of fave images holds court, including, far right, Cusack's paternal grandmother in fancy costume dress.