PaperCity Magazine

September 2017 - Houston

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136 "I LEAN TOWARDS A HOLLYWOOD-GLAM DOROTHY DRAPER LOOK." — Renea Abbott the edge of Houston's historic River Oaks — she pulled slipcovered and upholstered sofas, antiques, and vintage lighting almost entirely from her Shabby Slips inventory. There was no time to waste — she had a whole house to fill. In the dining room, she installed a jaw- dropping gilt Venetian glass chandelier that had hung forever in her shop. She'd discovered it years ago at the Paris flea and recalls, "My knees buckled when I saw it." The yellow French chairs were retrieved from her warehouse, and the black, Maison Jansen-style table with polished- nickel details is by a Paris manufacturer that she carries at the shop. Its oval shape expands via multiple leaves and is ideal for dinner parties. "Whenever anyone comes to my house, they always want the table, so I started having them made," she says. "You won't find anything else like it on the American market." In the formal living room, there's a Regency-style daybed, a large black-and- gold Rococo-style mirror that she recently snagged for a song at Round Top, and a small gilt footstool, which she and Houston designer J. Randall Powers discovered in January at a store in Paris. Contemporary additions, such as the sleek brass side tables from Jonathan Adler and a Lucite coffee table from Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams, were quick fixes that she decided to hang onto. "I like the way they contrast with everything else," she says. She also likes to mix highs and lows. In most rooms, she opted for cowhide, zebra, or sisal rugs in lieu of fussy carpets. Modern artwork, including Hunt Slonem's irreverent bunnies, juxtaposes with serious Louis- style furnishings. It wouldn't be a Renea Abbott interior without a little tiger, zebra, or leopard somewhere. Here, however, she's used it with restraint, and you might have to search a bit to find it. In the living room, Scalamandré tiger velvet covers a pair of carved French armchairs, a claw-footed stool in the family room is sheathed in Brunschwig & Fils leopard, and a zebra- hide rug sets a high-contrast tone in the entry. On the other hand, graphic black- and-white prints dominate, from the Kelly Wearstler wallpaper in the dining room to the living room's Greek key ceiling trim, striped shades and draperies, and custom pillows in geometric raised velvets. Plaid English wool carpeting in hues of black, white, and gray winds up the stairs and down the hallways. "I like to mix geometric prints to look more unexpected than planned," Abbott says. "And for this house, I'm pushing it even more to make it dramatic and more interesting. But it was intuitive, really. Nothing was premeditated. I just stepped back and said, 'Let's do this!'" Custom Shabby Slips sofa. Antique French armchair upholstered in Scalamandré tiger velvet. Ralph Lauren black-lacquer table. Mirror from Round Top. Paul Ferrante 24K water-gilt starburst chandelier and lacquered-brass antler lamp, both from Shabby Slips. Right: Bench from Paris, upholstered in Brunschwig & Fils cut velvet. Opposite page: Top left: In a charcoal-gray guest bedroom are an antique French bed and Tribute Goods gray ticking linens. Bungalow Home chest. Antique French chair covered in Scalamandré chevron velvet. Trellis-design Wilton carpet from Creative Flooring Resources. Conrad shades from Wells Abbott. Top right: In the dining room, custom black-lacquer cabinet made in France, through Shabby Slips. Bottom right: In the upstairs guest bedroom, Osborne & Little striped wallpaper. Bed from Candace Barnes, San Francisco. Side tables from Shabby Slips. Gold flowers under Lucite by Tommy Mitchell, from Shabby Slips. Antique French armchair in Mary McDonald Lotus fabric, from Schumacher. Tribute Goods linens. Bottom left: In the back entry, artwork by Liz Marsh above a gilded French console. Visual Comfort brass lamp.

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