Tour a Texas Home Brimming With Whimsy

Katie Brindell was ready for a change when she bought this newly renovated Craftsman in Dallas. She had just filed for divorce and moved halfway across the country from Raleigh, North Carolina, with her two dogs, Tory and Birch — and she was excited to make the place her own. Her vision for the space: “I wanted a fun and transitional vibe with lots of pastels,” she says. During the decorating process, designer Javier Burkle and his team kept finding pieces with butterfly motifs that fit with Katie’s color scheme. He thought it was a coincidence, but when he showed Katie, she knew someone else’s hand was at play. “After my mother passed away, butterflies became my symbol for her,” Katie says. “Seeing them was like a sign that she was there, guiding us and making her mark.”

Katie's home is part of a historic district, so she wasn't able to make any major changes to the Craftsman exterior. "The town is super walkable with lots of bars and restaurants," she says. "I love walking my dogs here — it's very picturesque!"

Katie inherited tableware from her mom, and she often breaks it out for parties here. To make the space feel separate in the open floor plan, she accentuated one wall with butterfly art and another with Schumacher wallpaper. The Wayfair chairs were originally all pink, but Javier had the backs covered in rainbow fabric from Pindler. “I never would have thought to reupholster just one strip,” says Katie. The custom chandelier is from Blueprint Lighting.

This space didn’t need much: The navy island, arabesque tile and Bertazzoni range were already here, and Katie just added the mint Blueprint Lighting pendants. Her challenge was learning to live with only one upper cabinet: “I had to put plates in the drawers — and I actually prefer it that way now!”

Many of the pieces in this room come from Katie’s old home, but Javier made them feel different with simple tweaks, like reupholstering the armchair in pink polyester. "These colors are happy and fun, but they also have a calming effect on me," says Katie.

Javier also led Katie to some new finds, including the curvy custom sofa and mint Jonathan Adler daybed. The wet bar is a crowd-pleaser: “I fill it with Topo Chico!” she says.

Katie stuck to her palette by painting this room pale mauve (Monet by Benjamin Moore), but she layered in a rich gold hue with the fringed Serena & Lily bed. The landscape diptych is by local artist Ashley Braithwaite. Katie is now engaged, and Ashley is working on her wedding invitations!

Katie requested a vibrant office to keep her energy up while she’s working from home. (She has a job in communications and public affairs.) "No one likes to work in a boring space," she says. "I wanted my creativity to be flowing when I was in this room." The geometric Lee Jofa wallpaper was her first pick. “The print is bold, but the color is fairly neutral,” she says. The glossy desk is from Anthropologie: “I love the drawer pulls and the Lucite legs.”