Outside Voices

Art and nature converge in Ann and David Sutherland's Dallas home, where one-of a-kind furnishings and objects speak freely with the garden..

- ALICE WELSH DOYLE

CONTEMPORARY DESIGN and farmhouse style may not seem like natural bedfellows, but when realized by creative powerhouses, the result can be a surprising and compelling union. Ann and David Sutherland, founders of Sutherland Furniture and Perennials Fabrics, decided to pull out all the stops in building their Dallas home with modernist architect Lionel Morrison (he designed their previous residence and the Sutherland headquarters, both in Dallas). After finding an ideal lot in their preferred neighborhood, sited on two and a half acres with abundant live oak trees, the couple dreamed up a contemporary home-with a few twists.

"During our long relationship, the Sutherlands expressed an interest in the vernacular of farmhouse architecture, which they wanted to reference in this house," Morrison says. "When you look at a farm or ranch," David adds, "you see a series of varied building shapes, almost like Monopoly pieces, which is a concept that really intrigued me." Here, while the separate structures connect internally, each retains something of a floating, stand-alone feeling. Morrison worked within the existing property grades, so there are places where you step up or down to enter, providing some separation. "We had also all agreed that a circular stairway was the best option for reaching the top-floor guest suite," Morrison says. "It acts as a kind of joint separating the one- and two-story masses, but Ann and David came up with the idea for the limestone on the exterior." The farmhouse references read both bold and understated.