Issue link: http://papercitymagazine.uberflip.com/i/1543536
Hand-Painting a Legacy: Gracie x Alexa Hampton 78 G racie handpainted wallcoverings, founded in NYC in 1898, is still family owned and in the hands of fifth-generation siblings Jenn Gracie and Mike Gracie, and Jenn's son Zach Shea represents the sixth. Designer Alexa Hampton has enjoyed such a meeting of the minds with Gracie over the years that the two design legends have launched a stunning collection of 10 wallcoverings. "The collaboration was the result of two generations of love between our firms," Hampton says. "Gracie is always top of mind for me as one of the design world's most precious resources. Add to that, Jenn Gracie and I are good friends, and the collaboration became inevitable." As stewards of family companies — in Alexa's case, Mark Hampton Interiors, the design firm of her late father, who was named one of the world's top 20 designers of all time by Architectural Digest — heritage and timelessness are guiding watchwords. The collection showcases how legacy style can be carried forth with a contemporary vision. Gracie's handpainted artistry is on display in Mirrored Lattice, which mimics a clouded mirror by randomly covering a gray textured treatment over handmade silver tea leaf, hand- painted with a bamboo lattice. Coromandel is a nod to Chinese l a c q u e r w a r e screens with b i r d s a n d flowering trees atop a deep b r o w n - b l a c k background. Alexa Hampton and Jenn Gracie are honored guests at the PaperCity Designer Dinner at The Halles in Round Top, Monday, March 23, 6 pm, and both will sign their newest books at Red Antler Bungalows, 4 to 6 pm. Alexa Hampton for Gracie, at Gracie, Dallas Design Center, 1025 N. Stemmons Fwy., graciestudio.com. Anne Lee Phillips If y o u f o l l o w design media c l o s e l y , you've likely seen Ernesta e v e r y w h e r e l a t e l y — praised in House Beautiful, Architectural Digest, and Dwell for rethinking one of the most stubborn frustrations in interiors: rug sizing. The custom rug company, founded by Peloton co-founders John Foley, Hisao Kushi, and Yony Feng, has opened a 1,256-square-foot Dallas showroom in Preston Royal, the North Dallas shopping center many of us know for Eatzi's Market & Bakery and Bird's Bookstore. Ernesta's premise is practical: The company produces rugs entirely to order, cut to precise measurements — down to the inch. And they make it easy. You're guided through a measuring process that accounts for furniture placement and circulation. Measurements are reviewed before production, adding a layer of reassurance that feels more like working with a designer than clicking "custom" and hoping for the best. While the showroom is clearly geared toward retail, Ernesta also offers a dedicated trade program, making it a useful resource for designers. The Dallas showroom is meant to be tactile and approachable — a place to see textures up- close, compare weaves, and talk through scale in person. Ernesta, Preston Royal Shopping Center, 6025 Royal Lane, Suite 330, ernesta.com. Rebecca Sherman Cut a Rug … Very Precisely Ernesta's Luca indoor/outdoor rug, from $450 Mirrored Lattice over silver tea leaf. Left: Coromandel is a nod to Chinese lacquerware screens.