Dallas Architect & Interior Designer Restores Historic Home

Bodron Fruit Restores a Phillip Johnson-Designed Home in Dallas

Bodron Fruit is a renowned architecture and interior design firm in Dallas, known for its expertise in modern residential design. The firm often combines modern architecture with functional, livable interiors that feel natural and organic. In this seven-acre property, originally designed by Phillip Johnson, Bodron Fruit’s focus remained on integrating interior and exterior spaces while maintaining respect for Johnson’s vision from years ago. This meant placing a conscious emphasis on the home’s details, structural integrity, and proportion. In doing so, the home’s interior complements its architectural elements rather than overpowering them. 

Svend Christian Fruit was the project’s architect, focusing on exterior architecture and structure, and Mil Bodron was the project’s interior designer, responsible for interiors, finishes, furnishings, and more. The Dallas interior designer and architect’s collaborative approach allowed decisions about interior layouts, materials, and furniture placement to directly support the team’s architectural vision. 

Outside the home, the Dallas architect restored some of the property’s original modernist features. This included repairing and meticulously replicating key structural and design elements. By updating functional elements like systems, circulation, and windows, but maintaining original design features, Fruit made modern upgrades to the home without altering the aesthetic. 

Inside the home, Bodron redesigned the home’s floor plan and layout to accommodate modern living styles and promote natural circulation throughout the space. He strategically defined zones for living, dining, and private areas to enhance daily usability and flow. He also chose natural and balanced finishes, furnishings, and fabrics to not distract from the home’s architectural elements and put the homeowner’s art collection at center stage. 

During the project, the Dallas interior designer and architect were challenged to balance the historical charm of the home with modern amenities. The homeowner’s priority was also to integrate a grand art collection, so the team had to come up with creative solutions to highlight the art without compromising design. They successfully maintained the home’s original style, but with a modern twist. Every decision, from furniture scale to material texture, was guided by a vision rooted in subtlety to ensure the home felt cohesive, elegant, and polished. 

The newly restored home pays homage to Johnson’s original modernist design, while being fully functional for today’s lifestyles. After six years of restoring the home, this project serves as a signature example of the Dallas architect and interior design firm’s expertise in designing for complex and high-profile residential projects. It demonstrates their tact at merging historical preservation with contemporary design to create visually striking and comfortable homes. By combining historic modernist architecture with modern functionality and amenities, Bodron Fruit’s attention to detail, balance, and art-forward design took center stage. This project is a clear example of the firm’s ability to restore high-end residences while preserving the space’s original architectural design.