Issue link: http://papercitymagazine.uberflip.com/i/1500319
Designer Alessandra Branca's High-Minded Take on a Country Getaway. BEHOLD The BUNGALOW BRANCA By Anne Lee Phillips. Photography Jack Thompson. D e s i g n e r A l e s s a n d ra Branca brought her decorating prowess to Round Top with the B r a n c a B u n g a l o w showcase at über-chic Red Antler hotel bungalows. Red Antler proprietors John Cone and Greg Fourticq, who knew Branca from time spent on Harbour Island where Branca has worked on numerous projects, hatched the plan while Branca was in Dallas installing her Kips Bay Decorator Show House room. Fourticq had taken note that the shows were becoming more design-driven and sought Branca's approachable yet highly designed look for a first show house. As national media partner, Branca enlisted Veranda and together their teams tapped sponsors Cosentino, Hector Finch, Monogram, New Moon Rugs, Strike Fireplaces, Woodard, Benjamin Moore, and Peacock Alley. The showcase debuted for tours during the Round Top Spring Antiques & Design Show, with proceeds benefiting Round Top Family Library, the smallest accredited library in Texas. Branca and her team of eight spent two weeks prior to the opening installing and tweaking. Her son, Casa Branca CEO Andrew Uihlein, and his wife, Casa Branca brand director Georgia McElveen, headed up the boots-on-the-ground team and were Branca's voice when she had to shoot off to other projects around the globe. Months before, Alessandra tweaked the architectural layout of the Branca Bungalow, raising the ceiling height by a foot, which made space for 8-foot doors and 5-foot windows. She then turned to her new Casa Branca collection of fabric, wallpaper, and furnishings for a stunning, high-minded take on a country getaway. "The nice thing about Texas, especially for an Italian, is it's the most American you can be," Branca says. The great room with Chad Dorsey's Calistoga by Strike fireplace flanked by banquettes upholstered in Casa Branca Verdure Camo. Steve Wrubel "Wild West Series" photographs through Christopher Martin Gallery. The wall is papered in Casa Branca Umbra. Slipper chair upholstered in St. Moritz Tartan faces a Brighton chair upholstered in Lino Pom, and the sofa is draped with a sofa blanket in Audrey St. Moritz. 42