PaperCity Magazine

November 2014 - Dallas

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NOVEMBER | PAGE 37 | 2014 enclosed courtyard and better lighting — it's the restaurant that garners all the attention. Separated from the shopping area by a glass-and-steel wall, it's "less Victorian and more industrial," Patel says. Steel girders help break up the long rectangular room, and there are places to attach unexpected, beautiful objects. A clothing designer, Lee looked to fabrics for inspiration, including the laser-cut steel window screens, which were taken from a damask pattern, and intricate chains that hold a large wood display shelf in the center of the room, which are reminiscent of another damask in Lee's fabric collection. A large wall sculpture designed by Lee from metal, has velvet panels that can be switched out as seasons and moods change. For now, the mood is mauve. "Mauve is such an old, odd color that nobody uses anymore," Patel says, "but I love it." The overall palette runs the gamut from gunmetal gray to dusty rose, with punches of pink from the flowers. It's a subtle look, but for Lee and Patel, it's akin to a riot of color. "Originally, I wanted the restaurant to be even darker," Lee says. But as the design progressed, things got brighter and, dare I say it, more fun. "'Playful' is the one word we use about our whole approach. For instance, the chandeliers are not really chandeliers, but lampshades," Patel says of the dangling, fabric fixtures custom-designed by London husband-and-wife team Hannah Plumb and James Russell of James Plumb, which resemble the English foxglove flower. A pair of walnut chests (designed by Lee) that hold the restaurant's flatware and linens appears to be a stack of drawers piled off-balance, with mismatched drawer pulls he's collected along the way. The well-conceptualized furniture displays singularly dramatic objects for sale, such as an antique bronze fireplace chenet, polished to a golden glow. Once their order from Nymphenburg arrives from Germany, says Patel, he'll probably put tiny porcelain mice scampering down a ledge or two, surely the most costly rodents ever known. A charming bronze bird (fittingly designed by a company named Swallow, and sold on the retail side) will hold custom-made bronze plaques with certain customers' names to reserve their tables. Just who gets those plaques is another of the ineffable qualities of Grange Hall, which not even Patel can put into words. "There's no real criteria," he says. "It'll happen organically." A golden tufted titmouse by Sparrow holds a reserved card on a table in the restaurant. Lydia Courteille snake cuff in 18K gold with brown and white diamonds, $67,760. Mad Et Len scented candles in burnt-steel vessels, $115. The restaurant's massive wall art was designed by Jeffrey Lee and rendered in wrought iron, with removable panels covered in mauve and gray velvet. Custom walnut chairs. Grange Hall's laser-cut steel front doors. Lion ring by Lydia Courteille in 18K gold with black and white diamonds, yellow sapphires and citrines, $77,000. Tidy Eaton Mess (crisp meringue, Greek yogurt mousse, seasonal compote). Antique saucer from Richard Brendon, paired with a gold teacup. Flatware by Cutipol. A signature avian taxidermy creation from British sculptress Polly Morgan Grange Hall mise en scène Cabinets of curiosities

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