Step Inside A 1920s Texas Home That's Filled With Meaningful Art And Family Treasures

Cristina Lynch and her husband first fell in love with their 1920s Dallas home via FaceTime. “We’d been looking for a house for a very long time. When we were told about this one, we both had COVID,” recalls Lynch, who owns Mi Golondrina, a covetable line of Mexican hand-embroidered clothing. “We called our moms, and they helped us look at the house while we circled it in our car.” The couple made an offer without ever setting foot inside. When they were finally able to see the home in person, Lynch knew immediately that they’d made the right call. “I grew up in a house that was built around the 1930s, so it reminded me of my childhood,” she says. “I was excited to find our forever place. I could just feel it. Everything about it felt so warm and special, like a family home.”

Her choice for decorator was equally meant to be: Dallas designer Noel Pittman is Lynch’s close friend and former roommate. “At the start of a project, I always ask, ‘How do you use the space, and what do you like to do at home?’ ” explains Pittman. “With Cristina, I knew right away what mattered to her. She loves hosting people and throwing dinner parties.”

Another priority for Lynch? To make every space welcoming to the couple’s two small children. “I grew up with my mom decorating our house so beautifully, but nothing was ever too precious,” she recalls. “I feel that way about material things in general. They’re meant to be used and enjoyed. I’m also okay with objects getting stained or broken. To me, it gives a house character. I like a lived-in home.”

“I want you to walk in and have a feel for the home and the people who live there,” says Pittman of the entry. The painting by Pedro Diego Alvarado was a gift to Lynch from her husband.

Rather than carving out a separate spot for the children to play, Lynch and her husband requested a family room that could comfortably accommodate them without sacrificing style. Pittman steered clear of white and cream fabrics and channeled relaxed English interiors, choosing a youthful Zak + Fox print for a pair of club chairs and covering two roll-arm sofas in a pale blue. The bookshelves are filled with volumes pulled from Lynch's father's collection.

They left the kitchen mostly as it was, freshening it up with new hardware and a coat of paint (a custom blend of Benjamin Moore’s Linen White, OC-146, and Cloud White, OC-130). Over the island, Pittman hung blue pendants by Mark D. Sikes for Hudson Valley Lighting for a pop of color that ties in to the neighboring breakfast nook and family room.

To maximize the kitchen’s bitty seating area, Pittman designed a built-in breakfast bench, which she covered in Lisa Fine Textiles’ Baroda, a bird print that subtly nods to Lynch’s clothing line (“Mi Golondrina” is Spanish for “my swallow”). “It gives you a cozy atmosphere and a different feel than the dining room,” says Pittman. “I try to create distinct moments in a home’s spaces. Sometimes you want to have dinner in the breakfast nook, and sometimes you prefer to eat in the dining room—the areas feel unique.”

“I use the dining room a lot; it feels old-world,” says Lynch. That’s largely due to the designer’s embrace of antiques there. For starters, Pittman anchored the room with a vintage table with a rough finish. “I really liked it because I didn’t want to put something in there that felt too fancy,” she says. “Their kids should be able to sit down and not worry about it.” To add color to the largely neutral spot, Pittman worked with a decorative painter to reimagine a carved brown sideboard. “I know Cristina loves these green ceramics from Mexico, so it made sense to use that as an accent color here,” she notes of the verdant hue, which doesn’t get much play throughout the rest of the house. “Very rarely am I against painting furniture.” Above the sideboard is a painting by Juan Torres, an artist in Michoacán, Mexico, who is Lynch’s family friend.

Textiles led the design in the “soft and romantic” primary bedroom, says Pittman, who chose Jasper Furniture & Fabrics’ Kashimir for the curtains and layered an antique suzani on the bed.

Old-fashioned patterns rule the guest room, where designer Noel Pittman was inspired by English interiors.

Instead of covering the porch walls in the same shade as the rest of the exterior, Pittman emphasized the indoor-outdoor connection more literally, painting them Benjamin Moore’s Linen White to match the sunroom inside the French doors. For an artful touch that can also withstand the elements, the designer hung a 19th-century blue-and-white Portuguese ceramic bowl over the fireplace. The chairs and sofa are from The Wicker Works.

Because Lynch loves entertaining, having a flexible spot for hosting outdoors was essential. “We wanted to create a space that could easily transition from day to evening, from informal to formal,” says Pittman. She selected a dining table and chairs from Frontgate and covered the cushions in Perennials’ Sail Cloth in Patina. “The color looks pretty in the sunshine and at night,” she adds.