Issue link: http://papercitymagazine.uberflip.com/i/407800
"NOBODY KNOWS WHERE GRANDMA'S SHOES ARE, BUT EVERYONE KNOWS WHERE HER ENGAGEMENT RING IS."— TONY BRADFIELD on the sofas … they're so deep, watching TV while we're cooking in the kitchen." Stacks of antique Louis Vuitton cases — Bradfield estimates they own more than a dozen — are used as side and coffee tables in the living room. He says they "move around, stack or slide under tables, like Legos," depending on the room's needs and how big the crowd is. The trunks could also be a gentle reminder of the couple's frequent wanderlust, with just the right amount of provenance to satisfy a longing for the past. Amongst the casual swank, there's some serious glamour via a collection of antique gilt candlesticks, crowns and a large, 200-year-old French mirror with almost perfect gesso. And that high-gloss Thin Man-era Steinway? It could be straight from an old Hollywood movie set. Despite the aristocratic air, you'll more likely see Black and Bradfield sporting jeans and T-shirts at home. Still, there's plenty of opportunity to dress formally. Their social calendar attests to that: This fall, they're sponsoring no fewer than nine high-profile events in Houston and are being honored by the Citizens for Animal Protection at another upcoming fête. All this leads one to believe that the furniture and collections have won out after all: Bradfield and Black, firmly entrenched in the city, appear to be here to stay. Clockwise from top left: In the dining room, Restoration Hardware chandelier. Antique Laotian/Thai bronze bust of Buddha. Antique white marble bust of young Julius Cesar. Eighteenth-century French mirror. In the kitchen, a massive rolltop desk serves as the bar. Above, an early salt print photograph of the Coliseum in Rome. David Webb: Quintessential American Jeweler is the first book written about the legendary jeweler, whose pieces are carried by Tenenbaum & Co. A Bavarian 18th-century santo rests on an early American cast-iron capital from the Robert Tobin Estate. Early Louis Vuitton suitcases with an antique Tiffany & Co. jumbo desk ball clock, Russian Fabergé silver-and-enamel armorial helmet footed bowl, antique walrus tusk and American silver mounted cigar cutter. The six early bronzes in the background include The Sluggard by Frederick Lord Leighton and Au But by Alfred Boucher. In the living room, a 19th-century French bronze bust of Napoleon rests atop an antique American mahogany cabinet pedestal from the Robert Tobin estate. Franco Mondini Ruiz's Woman in Love with a Big Shot. Restored 1931 Steinway grand piano.