My palace in Dallas - Javier Burkle — James Kung Photography

“Solitude requires you to move past reacting to information created by other people and focus instead on your own thoughts and experiences – wherever you happened to be”

— Cal Newport, Digital Minimalism

Hello folks, summer is always super hot in Dallas, I hope y’all are staying hydrated and indoors whenever you can like I am. Summer is always a special season for me, my job, green card, first apartment, graduation, and most recently, this little project that wouldn’t have come this far without you reading it is now being featured in D magazine! As I reached my 3 years mark with this beautiful baby blog, I’m super excited to keep doing this and watch it grow.

I started My Palace in Dallas during the height of the pandemic, and it was born from pure curiosity: I want to know, I want to see, and, most importantly, I want to document what the people around me have become after these unprecedented years. They can be artists or comedians, or they can also be the people you meet on the street—which is quite hard cause supposedly people in Dallas don’t walk at all. So, what is it that they do? This project delves into their stories and, as the name suggests, explores their Palace in Dallas.

Allow me to introduce you to Javier Burkle. Funny story, Javier and I have been following each other on Instagram for a good while, but the first time we met in person was when we were waiting to board our plane back to Dallas from New York at Laguardia Airport. A year later I’m sitting in his gorgeous house, admiring all the arts, turtle shells, and his extensive loafer/velvet slipper collection. We talked about how Burkle Creative came to be, times at Ralph Lauren, every room’s stories, and what’s the most important thing to have in the house as he makes this place and the city his permanent home.

Hello Javier! Thank you for sitting down with me today! Before I bomb you with questions, for anyone who might not have the chance to know who you are, would you like to tell me a bit about yourself? Who are you and what is it that you do?

I’m Javier Burkle, founder of Burkle Creative. I started Burkle Creative 9 years ago, our work goes from interior design and renovation to styling and helping curating parties. Anything with creativity and lifestyle is where our focus is.

From knowing this is what you want to do, to Ralph Lauren, and launching Javier Burkle creatives in 2015, I’m sure you’ve seen and overcome so much up to this point. Could you tell me what the journey was like for you? How did you get to where you are now?

Growing up in Mexico I always thought I would be an architect and interned under a few architects there. My grandmother was an interior designer and my mother was a textile designer so I always knew I would be in the creative world. I decided to focus on the interior rather than the exterior when I moved to the US and noticed how different the architecture programs are from the ones in Mexico.

When you’re young you think you know everything, and fashion was a career path I thought to go into for a hot minute, but after a few years working in Neiman Marcus and Ralph Lauren I realized that’s not really what I want nor where my passion lies.

My time at Ralph Lauren opened my eyes to what I really wanted to do, and they gave me great opportunities as I switched teams and redirected my focus to interior design. I love them, we still work with them on some projects after all these years.

How did you land in Ralph Lauren? I would assume either interior or fashion Ralph wouldn’t have too many entry points to break into freshly out of college.

It’s funny because I applied for Ralph and didn’t get the job before joining Neiman Marcus. After a few years, I decided to try again with more experience under my belt, and when I started at Ralph I was in the fashion department still. I didn’t transfer to the interior team internally until much later.

I got to learn how they did their visuals, interior space curation, and how their furniture line works from within Ralph before switching lanes. I started working on the home department, visuals, and helping with home change, to this day I still work with them whenever they need something custom or as a contractor for their local store.

What sparked the idea of leaving Ralph and wanting to start Burkle Creative, your own business?

My dad always worked for big corporations, working in finance meant he was always in an office or traveling around for work so he always wanted the same thing for us. I told him I didn’t ever want to work under a corporate system, behind the desk, and not able to enjoy creating something of my own. He encouraged me to chase that idea, push it, and if it doesn’t work out then it’s behind the desk I go.

So far it’s been working out, but creating my brand with my name has always been my passion, it’s what’s been feeding and growing the company, leading me to hire the right team and work on the right project. We have a small and mighty team. I’ve learned how to hire the right people to let me focus on things I’m best at and offset the weight of other aspects of the business that I’m not necessarily an expert in.

Starting your own business from the ground up is never easy, especially since it’s been 9 years since the launch of Javier Burkle, what were those 9 years like?

For the first several years it was a one-man show. Just like anyone that started without a lot of capital, it all falls onto you to trust yourself, do everything you can to make things better and hopefully you’ll have clients that trust you and work your ass off to get everything done properly. I was taking in every package, opening every box, ordering, invoicing, and fluffing every single pillow.

The best advice I got from other designers is the first person you need to hire is someone handling your finances, invoicing, and keeping up with the books, which is something I did not want to deal with. After you had your first hire you’d start thinking “ Well it would be great to have a little bit more help” so I continue to hire and add to my team. Still, it’s not a big team but I want to have people who are experts in their field and happy working for that aspect of the company.

There are many different stages we go through as we move forward in the past 9 years. The first time when I felt like I was doing a good job was when a client called me back for a second project because that means you’ve done something right and they liked it.

Another monumental moment was when we did Kips Bay Dallas, which gave us a lot of exposure internationally. Being featured on House Beautiful – my first national publication feature – was a huge step forward for me as well. It’s because of these goals we were able to achieve that as a business, carved our footprints as we trot forward throughout the past 9 years.

**Transitioning from working alone to now having a team you trust, are you still very hands-on with every project?**

Everything. There’s not a pillow we installed that didn’t go through me. I will look at every single component going into the project. I do not believe in putting something out there with my name on it that hasn’t been touched and approved by me, everything that goes through my offices down to the trim on a pillow.
If you asked me a few years ago I would say I’d take any project but as we’ve grown into a steady rhythm, I can take on projects that I’m genuinely excited about putting my name on. Having a team handling each part of a business allows us to come up with good practices for feeling each other out and making sure we’re on the same page. This guarantees both the client and I are excited about the project because ultimately you’d want someone working on your home to also love what they’re about to put into it.

Nowadays, as Javier and Burkle Creative, what element do you look for in a project that gets you excited about?

It has a lot to do with personality, and how they live. I love working with clients who are open to hosting and having family and friends over, we help them create a space to reflect that need. One of the big things I love about a client is when they have trust in the designer. Mutual trust holds weight, whenever you find a client that trusts your vision and what you can bring into the space, that is when you know you made it.

Talking about our “look”, the style, and our elements, we call it layered and masculine. There will be plaid, something black, layered patterns, and textures that we love to include.

Your home should feel functional and livable, I wouldn’t want to create a room you’re not comfortable hosting someone or simply sitting in. I love a modern room and clean lines but it’s not something I can do or who I am, I don’t want a room to look too perfect. Every piece we source or custom-made was meant to be lived in and enjoyed by everyone.

Like how you’d be curious about their letterbox account when you meet a film lover or would love to take a peek at someone’s mood board, can you tell me what consists of your media diet and where you usually get your inspiration from?

This might sound a little cliche but traveling feeds my soul. Being in a place that’s not your day-to-day, changing your environment opens up your creative eye and allows you to appreciate things differently.

I’m always hungry to get away and try out a new city. It could be the hotel I stay in, figuring out how to live in different rooms, what the layout of the bedrooms and bathrooms are, why they put a desk here and chairs there, and where the light fixture goes, it helps me in my world to understand how things should or can be.

I also enjoy watching old movies. Set design is a huge source of inspiration for me. One of the movies I’ve watched over and over again is Sound of Music, every single time I saw the Von Trapp house I’d be looking at the trim or the curtains and there would always be something new. I should be watching more of the movie sometimes but I would just be taking notes throughout the film instead.

Retail and fashion as well. Interior and fashion go hand in hand, often the color palette that is trending in fashion will trickle down and translate into interior design. For example, Ralph Lauren connected lifestyle and fashion going from using Jamaican print, flowy linen, and palm leaf fabrics in his design to turning them into elements on wallpapers or curtains. I do follow a few designers and keep a close eye on what they release every season.

Whenever you travel, is there a specific establishment or type of place that you always make sure to include in your planning?

Mainly hotels, every city has its special hotels. I have a huge list of hotels I’d like to stay in and often I plan on the destination based on where those hotels were located. The way they furnish the hotel speaks to the style of the city. The Belmonts or San Miguel or any small boutique hotel have their unique spin on lobbies, rooms, or bars and that’s something I always look for when I travel. More importantly, every designer that made a name for themselves tends to have a signature look to their design and I enjoy staying in these hotels or motels that they worked on to see what’s their take on renovation or designing it from scratch.

Whenever I travel, the dining experience is always a huge focus for me. The way how things were served, the restaurant decors, and down to the flatware were a huge part of my inspiration for dining out in different cities.

Museums, of course, I love going to local or well-known museums and galleries whenever I travel. I have a huge list of museums that I plan on hitting up, whether it's a small gallery or a big museum.

It’s been four years since the pandemic hit and for some reason, we all came out alright, if not stronger. What did you do to stay centered and sane? Have any of those new habits carried over now that things are back to normal?

The pandemic actually help decided whether I wanted to stay in this house or not.

I bought this house thinking I would eventually sell it after renovating and living in it for a few years. During the pandemic, I started drawing out the backyard and deciding what I wanted to do with that space, either I put the money in and enjoy the house for a few more years or leave it as it is when I sell it. The backyard project became something that kept me sane when the pandemic hit, since I already had it all planned out I decided to work on it and make my vision a reality.

There are several things I wish we could bring back into our routine, for example, our front yard dinner. It was a fun little activity we did during the pandemic where we set a table out front and watched the people in the neighborhood walking by in a safe distance. Thinking about it now I probably wouldn’t sit in the front yard but it was a fun time when we did it then.

Coming from Mexico and constantly sourcing pieces all over the world, I’m sure you have your fair share of traveling experience and exposure to different scenes across the states. From an interior design perspective, what do you think sets Dallas apart from all the other well-known big cities or any other city you’ve been to?

Dallas doesn’t have a particular look which makes it more interesting. California has its signature look as well as New Mexico and its adobe look, Dallas is one of those cities that looks collected and does not have a specific style attached. I do wish there was more appreciation towards historic homes and the preservation of old buildings happening in Dallas. That being said, it’s fun that Dallas has love and spaces for various styles allowing much more creative freedom for the designers here.

I’m friends with a lot of great designers in town and it never felt like a competition because we all had such different takes and are all so well embraced in Dallas, it solidified the idea that markets meant for certain styles and clients exist here.

I also think we’re really lucky to be able to afford a lot more with the cost of living in Dallas. People can spend a little more on their homes, land, or owning a bigger house. I’ve worked on condos in Chicago with limited spaces and Dallas gives you so much more space indoors and outdoors, backyard spaces are so special and accessible here.

With your non-linear heritage and making a name for yourself in this city, you must’ve spent quite some time finding your creative identity here, what do YOU think of this city?

I love it here. I think Dallas is a great place to live, it’s a great hub to be in and venture into other cities from. We have great restaurants and houses, and the people here are amazing.

Moving to Dallas during my senior year of high school, it didn’t take me long to fall in love with the city. I was already excited to be in this city, and after spending some time and finishing college in three years, I knew this was the city I’d be in.

As I look around I can see a lot of your taste in a tangible form! Now the hard part is, what would you say is your most prized possession?

So I have a few favorite things in each room so I’ll walk you through the house as I tell you.

We raised the ceiling for this room and the best decision we made was opening it up to let the light flow in, now it feels a lot more airy and open. My favorite thing in the room is this book. This was my grandfather's, a book with original drawings and paintings from the Mexican cathedral. His father was an engineer ensuring the structural integrity of the cathedrals in Mexico making sure they didn’t fall apart. This is a book that they gave him after as a token of appreciation showing him everything that was in the cathedral. My grandmother gave it to me, it was the one thing I would always ask to see whenever I came over to her house. If there is ever a fire I would run to grab this.

We wanted to make sure the living room was a cozy spot where people could hang out that wasn’t surrounding the TV. People can have a drink or conversation without staring at a screen. We also changed this room seasonally, our main Christmas tree would be here and whenever we have friends over this is where we would have some cocktails before the party starts.

This place was supposedly a second bedroom, but again since we don’t have a screen and for living room purposes I want to create a den that felt homey and cozy. So this is where I would relax and watch TV or read, other than the bedroom this is where I spent the most hours.

My favorite piece in this room would be my grandmother’s self-portrait. She’s an interior designer that shown me the world of interior design. She is also an artist and a painter, so this was her self-portrait, looking like a real housewives cast holding a fruit. This and her father’s portrait were the two pieces I asked from her when she was moving to another place and asked me if I wanted anything.

I started building the base color of this room when I got the painting and she was wearing a blue dress in it. The blue sets the tone of this room and that’s where the wallpaper and the color on the ceiling came from.

Two things I love to collect are coffee table books and turtle shells. This hallway is where I display all of my book collections, and I come here to go through them all the time. Re-doing this bookcase at least once a year is my favorite thing to do, and whenever I came across a book I hadn’t read in a while was always fun during the re-do process.

There are many sentimental things on this bookshelf. This is a model of one of my favorite cars as a kid, a custom portrait of Ellie and Finn made by Ashley Braithwaite, one of my favorite antique dealers gifted me this portrait, those are my grandmas’s china set. I like to say everything you put in your house should have a story, it’s extra special and I love having them on display around the house.

Our powder bathroom is our second bathroom, the no-monkey business bathroom. I loved those monkey lights and built this room around it to evoke that jungle feeling when you’re in it. Serena & Lily wallpaper all around the room, and everything else across is lacquered green, I just love a good theme.

Sometimes a room comes as a full idea like a pre-decided theme or color palette, but sometimes it’s built around a certain piece. This room is around the monkey lights or a client may have their grandmother’s rug and we’d base the entire room around that element.

Our primary bedroom is of course my favorite room and I wanted this place to be as cozy and comfortable as possible. I’ve mentioned it a few times but it’s all about the lighting used in here and depending on each room’s purposes different styles are used to reflect that.

Every single piece in this room has a story, there’s nothing that is placed in this room that doesn’t hold a specific meaning or story behind it. This little foot here was from a Mexico birthday trip I went on with my best friend, it was originally a pair but we split it so we can each have one in our home.

A silly one but Mason and I’s first date was at the Library, so I don’t know why I saved the first napkin of the place we had our drink at and now it’s framed and on our nightstand.

The chair here is super important, it was a gift from my mentor Jon Tutolo when moved back to New York. He works for Ralph Lauren now, it’s like a full circle moment because someone who was my mentor, and now works at one of my favorite places.

My second favorite, I bought this painting in Chicago when I was doing my first project there. feeling like I finally made it I decided to buy myself a painting as a celebration. This is from an illustrator who did a ton of work for fashion magazines in the 30s and 40s. Jayson Home had a full collection of them for a while and I wish I’d bought a couple more of them because the colors of his work were so good.

Coming to the primary bathroom, I can say for certain that my favorite thing is the mural by Ashley Braithwaite. She was here for almost three weeks painting this mural, which is also the first-ever mural we’ve worked on together for this house. There are many meaningful things tucked into this wall, my favorite tequila, the date when the house was built, our company logo, and lover carvings on the tree. We have a cardinal on the top of the door frame looking over us, my grandmother always said cardinals symbolize your loved ones coming to visit you after they're gone, and we had one by the window for a week when she passed away so it was extra special to add that to the mural looking over us.

This room used to be my very first office and now it’s a filled-up walk-in closet. With a retail background – also my excuse for justifying some shopping problems – I had quite a few clothing items and this closet is entirely used for my clothes.

If I had to pick I would say this secretary desk is my favorite furniture here. I got this from Show Pony in Florida, he knows I love a good bamboo and black finish piece. The ceiling is a wallpaper by mind the gap, supposedly representing the Persian rug, and it compliments the Timothy Oulton top hat lights hanging from it.

It’s hard to pick one, this mirror was from the original Neiman Marcus dressing room in Downtown Dallas, one of my antique dealers found one for me and it’s been here ever since.

Finally, we’re in the kitchen now, we had to do a full gut because it did not look like this when we bought the house. We raised the ceilings and re-did all the furniture. My favorite piece here is the kitchen light, it came from an elementary school in France. I was looking for a perfect light and The M, which is a group in McKinney that I met in Round Top was carrying two of them and I knew I found the one when I saw them.

And we are almost at the bottom of my list of Qs for today, for those who are interested in getting into this business or starting something of their own. What suggestions or advice would you like to give them or wish you had known sooner?

My number 1 advice would be to follow your gut, if I hadn’t stepped into the fashion industry at the beginning of my journey I wouldn’t have ended up in Ralph Lauren. I am a true believer that everything happens for a reason, every single step you take even if it doesn’t seem right at the time, will make sense later on.

For anyone looking to start a business of your own, you should say ask yourself “Would you still do it if they didn’t pay for your time.”, if you would still do it, then great because you get to do what you love and still get paid.

If it’s something you love enough to do it for free, and you’d like to turn it into a business? You should do it, that’s always been a good reference point for me.

To wrap this interview up, also because I am curious personally, what’s on the horizon for you? Are any “Big things coming” in the works for you? What would you like the world (whichever random soul stumbled upon this article) to know about?

I feel like as humans we need to set goals for ourselves, an ambition to be better, and not settle for what it is now. From the beginning, there have been ideas I’ve been wanting to get started on, so hopefully soon we will be releasing the Burkle Casa brand. Burkle Casa will be a collection of items I want to sell or custom pieces I’ve designed allowing people to own what we’ve created whether they’ve worked with us or not.

There are a couple of projects coming in the fall that I’m pretty excited about, Dallas is a great design city and with design week coming up in October, there are a few exciting projects in the works.

Another big thing coming down the line that I’m always so happy to be a part of is Dwell with Dignity opening on August 22nd. I am the chair this year, the charity is something that I love and the more people know about this and are involved the better.