"I walked in, and it looked kind of depressing and sad, but it had potential," says Judy Aldridge, recalling her first impressions of the Trophy Club house she now calls home. "And, more importantly, it fit my budget."

Fans of Aldridge's '80s Deep Ellum store Chiarascuro or '90s clothing label Atlantis Underground might be surprised to find her in suburbia, amidst carpoolers and yard art. But through the live oaks, past the stone walkway and behind the beveled glass door, it's clear Aldridge is not keeping up with the Gnomes.

After a divorce in 2002, Aldridge was ready to begin her second life but wanted her two daughters, Carol and Jane, to have the continuity of not leaving their Trophy Club neighborhood. "I wanted something close to my ex-husband so we didn't have to have the typical, 'you get the kids, I get the kids.' He literally lives half a block away." She also wanted the girls to remain at Westlake Academy, a city-run charter school.

She decided to buy the house. "I liked the cathedral ceiling, and I saw that the rooms could be opened up. I liked the big galley kitchen. It could work, I thought.

"And I liked it because it has 22 gigantic live oaks on the property. That was a big draw."

Inside her new house, Aldridge got to work. She didn't have as much money as she would've liked, but she "wanted to make the most impact. I pretty much gutted it. There were railings everywhere, like a country-western bar; beige carpet; creepy, hideous ceiling fans with little flowers painted on them..."

With the dumpster filled, walls demolished, carpet ripped up and acoustic popcorn ceilings smoothed, Aldridge washed everything white.

"That's where I was in life," she says. "I wanted everything calm and simple after the storm. After going through a divorce, minimal seemed best."

The absence of carpet revealed another challenge. "There was paint all over the floors. Because this was a really cheap house, the original builders just blew the paint in. They didn't mind getting it all over the foundation. My sister and I rubbed all the paint off with acid. By hand. For a week."

"Then it was, 'Okay, it has pretty sealed floors and white walls. What do you want to do with it now?'"

"I just kept picking white pieces, that's what I wanted," she says, gesturing to her now well-worn furniture – a mix of Pottery Barn, vintage finds and subtle designer pieces. "I had a vision, but I am not a good planner. I think my subconscious just kept directing me toward these pieces.

"I was very disciplined. I left things behind when they didn't fit my original vision."

However clear her vision, not everyone who visits the house sees it. "No one is really so-so about it," Aldridge says. "It either looks unfinished to them, or they love it and get it. Some people are definitely not comfortable with it. They don't get why the furniture is so beat up. They ask, 'Why are your dining room chairs plastic?' or 'When are you going to finish the floors?'"

"It could change. I wouldn't say 'This is going to be me forever.' I was in a hard-core modern phase before this house – Mies van der Rohe, Warren Platner, Florence Knoll – and I still love that. I could see myself pulling that in again," she adds.

"I like things that had some other use before they came to me. I like things that have a history – that you can touch, feel the texture and see the age," she says, glancing up at the living room's antique wood mantel.

"I like things that are on their second life. Or third. Or tenth."

Wearing: 1980s Comme des Garçons shirt, Hysteric Glamour jeans, Prada pumps

Seeing gray: "I would never go and pick pink and brown or green and blue as favorite colors. I love shades of noncolor."

Denim or death: "My daughters and I could have our own blog on jeans. I love Hysteric Glamour, which I discovered in Tokyo. I also love old 501s, and we just discovered Proportion of Bleu at Barneys."

Never without: Men's Omega Seamaster wristwatch

Power source: Hot Tamale Antiques in Aledo and Forty Five Ten in Dallas are "my two destination places."

Get out of here: "For a really great weekend, we go to Tulsa. It is a complete treasure trove. The antique stores are amazing."

Smell good: Sheer by Costume National

Make a wish: "Anthropologie has a great candle that smells like birthday cake."

The tube: "If I had it to do all over again, I would have banned TV the day my daughters were born – although we do watch Dynasty on DVD on our Mac."

Ladies' night: Once a week at Barnes and Noble in Southlake's Town Square. "We get Starbucks and buy foreign magazines."

Influential women: Anjelica Huston, Tina Chow, Carolyn Bessette Kennedy

Latest purchase: "Killer Dries Van Noten beaded sandals"

Syllabus: In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan

iPod: "Nice mix of North African music, Goldfrapp and Justice"

Celebrity dressing: "I like Tilda Swinton's style."

Must clicks: "eBay; my daughter Jane's blog, seaofshoes.com; and stylebubble.typepad.com"