Enter Julie Cohn’s Dallas home and you’re no longer in the city—you’re in a streamlined woodsy retreat that coaxes you to check your stress at the door. Bare windows on every wall that stretch from floor to ceiling offer an uninterrupted view of what most Dallasites don’t get nearly enough of on a daily basis: Nature.
“My favorite feature of the house is the relationship of the indoors to the outdoors,” says Cohn, mother of 10-year-old Mila and wife of David Rolston, a landscape architect. Cohn and Rolston’s design talents are clearly reflected in the home’s interior and landscape, respectively. “The backyard is [Rolston’s] portfolio…he brings clients over often.” A Zen-like rectangular fountain nestled by an expanse of green lawn, gravel pathways and textural plantings creates a botanical backdrop for each paired-back room in the house. And while her husband is busy outside on their half-acre lot testing new garden ideas, Cohn, who owns the textile design firm Design, is usually in her in-home studio working on concepts of her own. “I’m a bit of a jack of all trades. I design textiles, rugs, carpet, wall covering, drapery hardware. I am working on a collection of jewelry under my own name. I consult on interiors.”
A complete home remodel four years ago (sadly necessitated by a house fire) gave Cohn the opportunity to redesign from scratch the living spaces of the original 1948 home. “We used the same footprint of the house, but changed the volumes of the rooms and added 10 feet to the front,” she explains. Cohn designed each room’s elevation deliberately, choosing changes in floor and ceiling height—rather than walls—to define living areas. For instance, only a built-in desk separates Cohn’s studio space from a large sunken craft / piano room that Mila loves to hang out in, allowing mom and daughter a feeling of togetherness even when occupied with different activities.
Much of Cohn’s vintage furniture was salvaged after the fire, and now sits perfectly positioned in cozy groupings throughout the home. Pops of orange play off of slate-colored floors and white walls. Cohn’s number one design tip to achieving peaceful, edited rooms? “Omit the clutter” and focus instead on meaningful, functional pieces.
But, like most designers, Cohn considers her home a work in progress. “I’m a perfectionist. The list [of changes to make] is always growing.” She wishes, for instance, that the dining room table wasn’t so close to the kitchen. “I hate seeing my cooking mess. I’m all about the visual. When I sit down for a nice meal I want to be surrounded by beauty, not dishes piled in the sink.”
But most parts of the home she relishes, like the view from her desk chair of her husband’s handiwork. “Working with a beautiful garden outside my window definitely filters into my design sensibility. Much of the inspiration for the products I design comes from nature,” says Cohn.
Having a home studio means Cohn can work “whenever,” but she tries not to work between dinner and Mila’s bedtime. “That’s family time,” she explains. When not in her studio, you can usually find her with her family in the kitchen. “Cooking together is fun. We entertain other families and their kids on a regular basis … I love when the house is full.”
The home’s natural setting and open spaces make an ideal spot for fifth-grader Mila, who is into crafts, computer, games and piano. “She is not a heavily scheduled child,” says Cohn. “She has one after school activity. Her life is all about playing. She’s got a great imagination for inventing games … basically, she loves just being with her friends.” Her neighborhood friends like hanging out with Mila, too. “The kids make up these crazy games in the backyard. Mila and her friends have an incredible life. All of the parents [on the block] comment how much more interesting our kids lives are than ours were growing up,” says Cohn of her close-knit Lakewood neighborhood. “It’s rather communal.”
