STUDIO THOMAS JAMES INC.

There’s an ease that naturally comes with layered interiors grounded in organic materials. Linen drapery, woven textures, lighter woods, and soft natural finishes create spaces that feel breathable, relaxed, and quietly refined.

We’re always drawn to materials that soften light and bring depth without heaviness.

Thoughtful texture, natural light, the kind of layering that makes a home feel cooler, calmer, and more connected to its surroundings underscores how we approach spaces in our design.

Seen in — “As summer travel season begins, Dallas designers share the destinations that stay with them.”

For Philip Vanderford, Venice remains a masterclass in restraint, atmosphere, and timelessness. “It’s luxurious without being declarative,” he shares of Hotel Cipriani. “The interiors never try to compete with the setting… instead, they recede just enough, allowing the landscape and the architecture to carry the experience.”

What resonates most is the sense of inevitability within the design, spaces that feel layered, studied, and entirely resolved. “The highest level of design isn’t about creating a moment; it’s about creating something that feels inevitable, as if it could never have been done any other way.”

As summer travel approaches, we find ourselves drawn again to the rooms that transport us. To spaces layered with a sense of lived elegance from favorite destinations like Paris, Pathos, Sicily, and London, to the pink sands of Bermuda and beyond.

For this year’s Kips Bay Decorator Show House Dallas, Studio Thomas James conceived “The Belvedere Room,” a modern salon inspired by Milan’s Villa Necchi Campiglio. Wrapped in customized Phillip Jeffries Avon Scenic Roselyn wallcoverings and a shimmering Rembrandt ceiling treatment, the room layers a Donghia Renaldo chandelier, Thomas Pheasant for Baker Furniture cocktail tables, vintage Donghia seating, Vaughan lighting, and richly tailored textiles into a space that feels both transportive and deeply personal.

Interiors by James
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Philip Thomas Vanderford and Chase DeVasier of Studio Thomas James’ home seen in

A 1926 Prairie style home reimagined through a lens of disciplined glamour. Where history is preserved, yet thoughtfully edited. Art anchors the interiors, forming a collection that is as narrative as it is visual.

Furnishings strike a careful balance between past and present: Deco influences, sculptural silhouettes, and lacquered finishes sit alongside vintage and inherited pieces.

The result is a home where nothing competes, everything collaborates.

The Second Act

A study in contrast, where lightness and depth move in quiet dialogue. The transition is intentional: from open and luminous to rich and enveloping. Spaces that shift in tone, yet remain connected. Composed with both drama and ease in mind.

Photo
Styling

Project highlights — classic yet innovative, lively yet polished.

A collection of spaces that reflect our evolving design language and some of our favorite moments from the portfolio!

Spring calls for spaces like this. Tailored and quietly inviting. A courtyard where materiality and proportion come together to create a setting meant for gathering!

Palm Springs installation complete

Grateful for the opportunity to work with incredible clients and extend our design perspective beyond Texas!