A Terrell Hills renovation
highlights a family's fine collectibles

by Kay Mckay Myers

photography by Al Rendon

When a Terrell Hills couple decided to expand the home in which they had lived for 27 years, the home in which they raised two now grown daughters, little did they know how long the renovation would take. In fact, no one dreamed it would take on a life of its own for a year and a half, but everyone agrees it was worth every month it took.

Their interior designer, Derrick Dodge, of the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID), recalls encouraging the couple, who felt confined for months on end in two second-floor rooms with their two black Labradors. He recalls, “I kept saying, ‘How nice it will be when you can have Thanksgiving in your new space.’” It did not happen. Dodge then spoke of Christmas, but that holiday and others came and went.

“God bless their hearts, the sheer fact they are still married following that kind of long-term pressure is a miracle,” he adds. The lady of the house and Dodge share a laugh, as he quips, “Others, and they in retrospect, would have rented a house and moved out” for the duration of the renovation.

Kenneth M. Graves, of the American Institute of Architects, was the architect for the renovation and brought Dodge into the undertaking. “I think we (he, the homeowners and Dodge) clicked right off the bat, and I began questioning what was desired,” he says.

In addition to more space, it became evident light was a focus. “The house was so terribly dark when I first walked in — a terrible dark little Hobbit hole,” he confesses. “That is an awful thing to say,” but the homeowner chimes in and heartily agrees.

“Then they started talking about their collections,” adds the designer — collections that include political, historical and royal documents signed by the individuals whose pictures are framed with the documents. There is also a vast whimsical collection from Star Wars action figure banks, to Pez and M&M dispensers, four decades’ worth of baseball cards and rare Disney animation cels — some used in actual film production.

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