37 SOUTHERN HOME | SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2019
If
you ask owner Tracy Salisbury what defines the aesthetic of her
home outside Tulsa, Oklahoma, she’ll likely distill it down to her
love of light and large windows, her obsession with textures, and
her desire to invoke a sense of peace and calm in a place where
life can be lived to the fullest. From massive stone walls and
chunky raw wood beams to reclaimed brick, wood, and exposed
concrete flooring, the open spaces of the home create a comfortable
cohesiveness. The copious amounts of iron windows give many of the
rooms an almost greenhouse-like feel that allow the incredible views
surrounding the home to shine with a dreamy, bright atmosphere.
When Salisbury and her husband first laid eyes on those stunning
views the better part of a decade ago, they quickly purchased the land and
began building the two-story, 8,000-plus square-foot house while their
family of five lived in a two-bedroom barn apartment on the property.
“We have an incredible view of all of Tulsa from up here in the hills,” she
says. “It’s a bit of a shock when you approach and see it, and when we
built the house, that’s really what we focused on in the design and the
layout. We see the best sunrises and views of downtown at night, and it’s
an especially wonderful place for watching storms roll in.”
It’s breathtaking, to be sure, but the view would be nothing without
the proper home to capitalize on its natural wonder. Fortunately for
Salisbury, the ability to do just that is innate and comes as naturally to her
as breathing. The design DNA that has made her so successful over the
past 30 years in her work as an interior designer and the running of
T.A. Lorton, her Tulsa-based home decor shop, is plainly present in every
aspect of her home up on the hills. No space is unused, and no room is too
formal or compartmentalized. For Salisbury, the focus was all about
keeping the flow of the home connected: in light, in airiness, in materials,
and in accessibility. “We wanted a home that was comfortable, friendly,
approachable, and beautiful,” she says. “We were moving to the country,