Upon entering Debby Jewesson’s Kessler Park home, you immediately want to start exploring. Curiosities abound; almost every angle presents an interesting tableau of texture and color. Jewesson, who looks effortlessly stylish in her beaded baubles, rolled jeans and flip-flops, has an interesting story to tell about almost every piece in the home. It quickly becomes clear that her chosen design elements are not just functional furniture and accessories, but artifacts with long, rich and sometimes comical histories. The massive iron birdcage sitting grandly in the front room? Spotted at home boutique Wisteria; when Jewesson learned it was a 1920s French original, she couldn’t resist. It now houses several fluttering zebra finches—providing endless entertainment for her two house cats, Mr. Bojangles and Rocky Balboa. The pair of chic Tiffany-blue armchairs? A steal from the Salvation Army—marked at $80 but haggled down to a mere $60 (the original velour is in great condition!). And what about the artful display of antique radios and cameras sitting in a glass cabinet in the family room? Those come from her great uncle, who was “more of a hoarder than a collector,” Jewesson says with a laugh.
Jewesson and her family—husband Mike, daughter Maddie (age 6) and son Spencer (age 5)—have lived in their 4200-square-foot-home for almost three years. And the home has a backstory of its own: Before they moved in, the house was used to film several episodes of the television show Prison Break, and also made a cameo on a TXU commercial. “We were really in a quandary about whether or not to get this house, and every time we talked about it, the commercial came on,” Jewesson recalls. “It was a sign from above!”
Almost everything in the mom-cum-event planner’s home has an organic feel, filled with objects made with natural materials such as wood, leather, wicker and cotton. Simple greenery of ferns, eucalyptus and crabapples are used in place of formal floral arrangements, and are accompanied by collections of seashells, branches and glass. But Jewesson’s home is not merely “on display.” A museum it’s not, the finely furnished abode is warm and inviting.
The home is so full of life it almost feels interactive. A treat for the truly tactile, you want to reach out and touch things at every turn. This is most true in the playroom, where children Maddie and Spencer busily write on a wall with colored markers. Yes, wall writing is allowed! Encouraging her children’s artistic side, Jewesson painted rows of playful frames on the wall, and the kids have drawn everything from scenes of stick figures to animals in almost all of them. When the wall gets too full, the family just starts fresh with another coat of paint.
That wall is merely one example of how the mom-of-two has carved out space in the home where the kids can be creative and have a place all their own. Maddie and Spencer know that they can go crazy in their playroom and bedrooms, provided that toys are not to be dragged and left in other more formal parts of the house. That’s not to say the kids haven’t added their own personal touch to the home’s décor. They regularly drop shells, rocks and twigs from beach vacations and neighborhood hikes into a “treasure tray” that sits in the living room. And, as the old adage goes, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree—Maddie, in particular, is already showing signs of her mother’s design sense. She points out the favorite elements of her room: a branch hung on the wall pinned with silk butterflies; curtains with stripes of pink ruffles sewn by Jewesson; a pair of printed fabric pendants that hang over her bed. Maddie’s favorite color is clearly pink, but she says her “second favorite is aquamarine,” a more sophisticated tone that Jewesson has incorporated throughout the home.
After five years of taking time off to be a full-time mom, Jewesson went back to work a year and a half ago doing what she loves and is so clearly adept at: design. She launched Branching Out, a floral and event-design company right out of her home. Though just a few months ago, opened a spacious studio off of Oak Lawn Avenue, where she meets with clients to plan displays and floral arrangements for fabulous fetes. She primarily focuses on weddings, but is decorating a select number of homes for the holidays this season, too.
Not surprisingly, her clients have taken a keen interest in her taste of wares. So much so that she’s loaned some of her personal goods to blushing brides and as well as incorporated her own pieces in some of her events. For instance, Jewesson has a massive inventory of vases, milk bottles, green glass and antique jugs that regularly rotate from her home to her studio to her clients’ events. And several brides have used her vintage, floral-brocade sofa to pose on for pictures. A woven antique rug that now lies beautifully in her living room was recently rolled up and laid out in a wedding she designed at the Mansion in Turtle Creek.
But sneak a peak at Jewesson interacting with her children and it’s clear that the detailed attention she gives her clients hasn’t diminished her involvement in Maddie and Spencer’s lives—though she does get a little extra help on occasion. “It’s a balancing act,” she admits. “I’ve got two weddings this weekend and [husband] Mike is out of town, so I’ll be relying on a lot of babysitters.” But Jewesson makes it a point to be home with her kids every weekday afternoon and on Mondays—the one day during the week she tries to takes off completely. And while her house may look perfect at this moment, she candidly explains that it is always a work in progress. “I have six loads of laundry in the back room that need to be folded,” she laughs. But “let it be what it is” has become her mantra for many things, whether it’s the seemingly never-ending pile of laundry or the rustic patina that has developed on her antique silver. By focusing on her passions—her family and her design work—and letting the rest fall where it may, Jewesson creates happiness and style amid the chaos of daily life.
