Issue link: http://papercitymagazine.uberflip.com/i/389440
B Y R E B E C C A S H E R M A N . A R T D I R E C T I O N M I C H E L L E A V I Ñ A . P H O T O G R A P H Y C A S E Y D U N N . M A K E U P C A R M E N W I L L I A M S O N . BUCKING THE WHITEBOX Patrick Collins in the couple's living room; Lindsey Collins in the doorway. Artwork over sofa is Dan Finsel's E-thay Inward-yay Ourney-jay Andala-may Ossibilities-pay (E-may), 2013. Wall sculpture in entry by Haroon Mirza, Electric Vacuum, 2011, from Lisson Gallery, London. Small artwork by Cyprien Gaillard, Untitled, 2011. Gray poufs by Gregorius Pineo, from Culp Associates. LAYERED AND GLAMOROUS, PATRICK AND LINDSEY COLLINS' RICHLY HUED HOME — DESIGNED BY BRANT McFARLAIN — BREAKS THE ART-HOUSE MOLD. F or collectors Lindsey and Patrick Collins, the attraction to the charming circa-1940s house off Inwood and Lovers Lane was not its potential as a blank slate for displaying contemporary art, but in its possibilities as a comfortable family home. It's a good thing, too, because midway through the two-year renovation, Lindsey learned she was pregnant with their first child, Ford. The news, while joyous, threw the schedule into a tizzy. "We had to rush as much as you can on a custom project," recalls the Collinses' interior designer, Brant McFarlain. "We had completely gutted the second floor, where the kid's room needed to be. So, we changed the focus and put the pressure on." They also had to rethink some furnishings and artwork, rounding off sharp-edged glass tables and forgoing large sculptures that could be toppled or damaged. In the summer of 2012, Lindsey went into labor as workers were scrambling to complete Ford's bedroom. "We had four guys working in his room, trying to finish it, and I was still putting his clothes away, when it was time to go to the hospital," says Lindsey, who is now expecting twin girls in February. The biggest hurdle for McFarlain was not making the house kid-friendly, but incorporating Lindsey's love of layered, traditional elements into his strictly modernist mindset. "It was a big challenge for me as a designer. A lot of times, clients just want minimal, but Lindsey didn't want a minimal box," says McFarlain, who has become the court designer of sorts for young art collectors in Dallas, including John and Jenny Kirtland and Christen and Derek Wilson, who are also friends of the Collinses. (While the Collinses collect art together, it was Lindsey who guided the design process with McFarlain, allowing Patrick to focus on running his oil-and-gas business, Cortez Resources.) "We needed to show the artwork without being too decorative," Lindsey says, "but the home is older, so we couldn't go too contemporary." Both in their early 30s, Patrick and Lindsey started collecting art together in 2005 "after we got our MBAs in Austin and started working and making money," says Lindsey, who went to UT as an undergrad and plays the mandolin and fiddle. "I didn't know anything about art; I was more into music." Patrick's interest in art ignited after he studied art history at Columbia. After they married, the couple began traveling, attending art fairs such as Art Basel in Miami, where they met other young collectors and gallerists who helped guide them. Their trajectory to the top of Dallas' art scene has been meteoric. They were art chairs of TWO x TWO for AIDS and Art in 2012, and Patrick is currently a trustee of the Dallas