Issue link: http://papercitymagazine.uberflip.com/i/865761
B rian Bolke has had quite the eventful two years. He's the co-founder of fashion, home, and design empire Forty Five Ten and, with partner H e a d i n g t o n Companies, debuted the stunning new four-story boutique in downtown Dallas to international applause. On its heels, the original building on McKinney Avenue was revamped as an interiors boutique called For Home Forty Five Ten. Next came a Forty Five Ten outpost in Houston's tony River Oaks District, and most recently, a store in Napa, California. In the midst of all the marvelous madness, Bolke and his husband, Faisal Halum, purchased and renovated a spectacular Lionel Morrison- designed home. Adding another major design project to the mix hadn't been on their agenda. The house, a pristine white box designed by Morrison in 1987, was too perfect to pass up, and the couple snagged it before it ever hit the market. Halum, a top broker with Briggs Freeman Sotheby's International Realty, was initially looking at the house for a client. Located between two sought- after neighborhoods, Highland Park and Knox Henderson, the secluded house in Northern Heights backs up to the Katy Trail with its own private gate. "It was a hidden gem, and we had to move fast on it," Halum says. "It wasn't something we thought through — but that's how real estate is. When you find the right one, you just move." The house had remained in the hands of a single homeowner for almost 30 years, and it was kept in pristine condition. "We thought, 'We will just refinish a few things, and maybe paint a few things,'" says Bolke. "But it snowballed into this much more massive project." That's where Gonzalo Bueno of interiors and architecture firm Ten Plus Three came in. "Gonzalo and I have been best friends for 10 years, so there was never any question who we would use," Bolke says. "I've never met anybody who has a better temperament. He's never in a bad mood, and that's somebody you want to be around." The two have a lot in common, says Bueno. "Brian has a degree in environmental design, and he's very easy to talk design and architecture with. Also, we both like well-designed things, and that connects us." The friends travel constantly together with their spouses — Bueno is married to Michael McCray, a manager at a TV rep firm. "Brian and I are always trying to find inspiration for our work," says Bueno, who just got back from a trip to Africa, where the two couples stayed at Dallas designer Tricia Wilson's lodge — a trip they purchased at auction during the Dallas Museum of Art's Art Ball last year. "It's when you really get to know your friends, when you travel together," Bueno says. "There are some friends you wouldn't want to do that with, but Brian and Faisal are not high maintenance." If their travels were the litmus test for how well a major home renovation might go, everyone passed with flying colors. Not only were they copacetic, but they challenged each other along the way. "I think Gonzalo would agree: He totally pushed us out of our comfort zone, and I like to think we pushed him 123 BY REBECCA SHERMAN. PHOTOGRAPHY LISA PETROLE. ART DIRECTION MICHELLE AVIÑA. ORIGINAL ARCHITECTURE LIONEL MORRISON, 1987. INTERIOR DESIGN AND ARCHITECTURAL RENOVATION GONZALO BUENO, TEN PLUS THREE. LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE HOCKER DESIGN GROUP. FLOWERS AVANT GARDEN. In the living area, a pair of Vladimir Kagan sofas in Perennials fabric with Hermès pillows. OCD brass table by Esrawe Studio from Mexico City. Vintage Paul Evans' Free Form coffee table. Vintage Italian ceramic bears sculpture. Carol Piper mohair rug. Vintage chairs re-covered in Holly Hunt fabric. Vladimir Kagan Classic Floating Curved sofa in Christian Liaigre fabric. Sahara Noir marble custom fireplace, designed by Ten Plus Three. Carol Piper mohair rug. Vintage table from Bolke's own collection. Elaine Cameron-Weir's Threshold 1, 2016, wall sculptures.