It’s National Decorating Month and I can’t stop thinking about a few of the late great designers who have left indelible imprints on the world of design. There are those who have become household names – Billy Baldwin, Sister Parish, Mark Hampton, David Hicks and the very recently passed Albert Hadley. And then there is the ingenious woman I fell in love with after seeing her brilliant wallpapers in New York a few years back.

Florence Broadhurst was an Australian-born designer and socialite whose clients included cosmetics magnates, landed gentry, and Qantas Airlines. Her brightly colored, boldly scaled patterns are having a major resurgence. We just added Kate Spade’s porcelain “Japanese Floral” dinnerware, with Broadhurst’s graphic blossoms in her mainstay neutrals of black and white. It looks just as chic on plates, cups, and saucers as it does on wallpaper.

Her eccentric life story is arguably as interesting as her designs. Constantly reinventing herself, Broadhurst sang and danced in a troupe that toured India, south Asia and China, founded a performing arts academy in Shanghai, opened a fashion salon on London’s Bond Street, and finally settled into decorating and textile design in her native country at the age of 60. Not surprisingly, two biographies have been written and a movie made about her life. So this month, give a nod to a rediscovered design visionary: pour some tea into a “Japanese Floral” cup, and reinvent yourself as a Florence Broadhurst fan!
– Phillip Montanez

With just a couple of weeks to go before the unveiling of Dwell With Dignity’s biannual pop-up shop, Thrift Studio, the Horchow Design Team is hard at work creating an inspiring space for this philanthropic event.

Thrift Studio showcases rooms and vignettes by Dallas’ top designers and retailers. Everything from furniture to finials is sold at more-than-discounted prices, with the proceeds going to Dwell With Dignity, a non-profit organization that helps families escape poverty and homelessness through design, one household at a time.

Using Horchow merchandise* plus items donated by to-the-trade showrooms, they took a cue from a room featured in Elle Décor. They don’t want to give away too many details, but I can tell you that it’s beautifully designed with pale grey walls and a white-on-white mural.

"Glamorous Rooms" by Jan Showers, 2012, Abrams New York   We've been following this Dallas designer for years, since the day we entered her showroom and fell head-over-heels for the Jean Michel Frank originals and her own flawless creations (including a French-wired lamp we still wish we'd bought). The fact that fashion luminary Michael Kors wrote the introduction to her new book indicates just how international her impact has become. You've seen her work in the pages of Elle Decor, House Beautiful, Southern Accents, Town & Country, and Traditional Home. Now you can see even more, and soak up her ideas, in over 200 pages of gorgeous photography and savvy commentary.

Our favorite things:
How it's organized: by type of room or space, from Entry Halls to Outdoor Living, making it easy to reference when you're planning a redo.