Heart of the Home

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California-based designer Huma Sulaiman turns a house into a home for clients in Dallas

In the family room a Ligne Roset sofa sits atop a Stark carpet next to a custom wet bar. Photos by Stephen Karlish.

“Our interiors are highly curated rather than decorated and we take pride in being fluent in both contemporary and traditional design,” says Southern California-based designer Huma Sulaiman. “Each and every interior we design is unique as we take into consideration, the architecture and lifestyle of our clients.” A former resident of Dallas, Sulaiman was enlisted by a friend who needed help renovating a property they bought in Dallas’s Preston Hollow neighborhood.

In the kitchen, the team designed custom cabinets and hardware that compliments the Dekton covered island and Miele appliances. Photos by Stephen Karlish.

The 4,000-square-foot home had a traditional exterior—common to the area—but the clients wanted a more modern approach inside. “They wanted a clean minimalistic European flair to the interiors,” she recalls. “Being the home’s architecture is in the Georgian style, we had to be mindful how we tied in both the minimalistic contemporary interior with the traditional architecture of the home.”

Sulaiman and her team reveled in the challenge through color and texture selections. “We kept the palette monochromatic, predominantly using white and charcoal, and darker hues,” she notes. “We used European oak herringbone flooring to tie in the traditional aspect of the architecture.”

In the formal living room Sulaiman added the desired European edge by installing a Mah Jong Sofa covered in Missoni fabric.
Photos by Stephen Karlish.

The heartbeat of the home resides in the open kitchen and family areas that was small and disjointed prior to the renovation. “We changed the island orientation to create a larger work surface and made the kitchen larger that brought in both the areas closer,” says Sulaiman. “The idea was for both spaces to come together so the family could use for entertaining guests or gathering everyday. The new kitchen layout pours into the dining and living spaces, allowing them to be in the center of all the buzz, whether cooking while entertaining or presiding over the kids homework.”

The powder room is saturated in a deep aubergine paint that highlights a custom vanity topped with Dekton and a sconce from Allied Maker. Photos by Stephen Karlish.
Photos by Stephen Karlish.

For the HSD team, the greatest achievement when designing a home for clients occurs when they can feel the positive effect on their lives. “They said now they entertain so much more and have been cooking and throwing casual dinner parties,” says Sulaiman. “Guests gather around the island while the hosts cook and kids play in the nearby living area or in the backyard. Total bliss!”