Issue link: http://papercitymagazine.uberflip.com/i/907639
64 up to a space that's "floaty and light," Nimmo says. The rest of the house was gutted and redone with white walls suitable for hanging art, serene white-oak floors, and white marble slabs in the baths. The original monumental carved-wood front door designed by Harwood K. Smith was kept, and a massive pivoting door in white oak was designed to separate the master bedroom wing from the living areas. To enhance views to the outside, old bulky wooden posts supporting the windows and sliding doors were replaced with technologically advanced minimal joints. "We were looking for a panoramic view to the back, and I think it worked," Nimmo says. M ax's ties to the Dallas art world and her years as an editor introduced her to interior designer Brant McFarlain of R Brant Design, whom the Trowbridges hired to help with the interiors. Like Nimmo, he had been a protégé of Lionel Morrison and had worked on the homes of contemporary art collectors Patrick and Lindsey Collins and Derek and Christen Wilson. The Trowbridges gravitated to McFarlain's clean and refined aesthetic — a look that defers to the art, rather than competing against it. "Early in my career, I started doing major art collectors' houses, and I learned to design interiors that are quiet and to let the clients place the art," McFarlain says. "That worked really well with Max's house, because she likes color in art, and she has a good eye for placement. For the furnishings, I kept things neutral with a sprinkling of color." While Max doesn't describe herself as a serious collector — everything the couple owns is on the walls, and they don't rotate art from storage — they have amassed a major contemporary collection over the years. The museum-worthy list includes works by Damien Hirst, Maya Hayuk, Joseph Havel, Richard Phillips, Adam Ball, Marc Quinn, Dan Rees, and Kai & Sunny. "I love to be around bright colors," says Max, whose living room is dominated by a powerful, multi-hued geometric piece by Hayuk. Her first big purchase was one of Hirst's neon-green butterflies, which now hangs in the dining room. Max is crazy about butterflies, and when she wanted to use Christian Lacroix's Butterfly Parade wallpaper in the powder Clockwise from top left: The monumental carved front door is original to the house. Wall sculpture, Matt Devine's The Wake, 2012. Christian Liaigre bench in Jerry Pair cowhide. Vintage chest. In the dining room, Arc table by Moltini & C from Smink. Knoll Saarinen chairs in red Knoll mohair, from Scott + Cooner. Schonbek chandelier. Butterfly photogravure etching, Damien Hirst's The Souls on Jacob's Ladder Take Their Flight, 2007. Wall sculpture is Matt Devine's The Wake, 2012. Architect Joshua Nimmo and designer Brant McFarlain.