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B odron + Fruit has worked on houses for an elite roster of contemporary art col- lectors whose preferences for Ruscha and Rauschenberg over Remington and Russell helped propel Dallas into a 21st-century bastion of the arts. Led by interior de- signer Mil Bodron and architect Svend Fruit, the firm has handled high-profile projects for top art patrons, including the Philip Johnson-designed estate of Naomi Aberly and Larry Lebowitz. Bodron+Fruit has also worked on houses by such acclaimed modernist ar- chitects as Frank Lloyd Wright, Antoine Predock, E.G. Hamilton, and Howard Meyer, and designed sleek abodes from the ground up. It's an impressive curriculum vitae, but the project closest to Bodron's heart isn't rooted in the powerful Dallas arts scene. Instead, it's a 3,500-square-foot high-rise res- idence in Houston for a recent widow, whom Bodron has known since his childhood in Monroe, Louisiana. During the '60s and '70s, Monroe's social life often revolved around the winding, cypress-lined Bayou DeSiard. "Everyone wanted to live on the bayou," Bodron says. "It's where the country club and the golf course were, and there were always boats on the water." The bayou is also where he first met his client and her husband, a businessman and architect, whose lofty modern house had a basement game room, a favored gathering spot for neighborhood kids after football games. In summers, there was water skiing off the back dock. For Bodron, who tagged along with his older brother, the aquatic recreation offered a chance to peek inside. "None of the other kids paid attention, but I always had one eye checking out the house," he says. 77 In the living room, Edward Wormley love seat. Antique French fauteuil with Rosemary Hallgarten fabric from David Sutherland. Vintage Billy Baldwin slipper chairs with J. Robert Scott fabric from Allan Knight. Vintage Billy Baldwin étagère from the Billy Baldwin Studio, New Jersey. Paul McCobb lounge chair. Vintage Ward Bennett coffee table. In foreground, Philip and Kelvin LaVerne coffee table. Custom Scott Group rug. Painting by Louisiana artist Sam Wiener, circa 1975. In the study, vintage Paul McCobb sofa with Zimmer + Rohde fabric from George Cameron Nash. Vintage Pace Collection Lucite-and-suede lounge chairs. Vintage T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings triangle table. 1950s brass lamp. Conrad window coverings from The Shade Shop. continued on page 78