New York designer Alexa Hampton once traded in her Volkswagen Jetta for a custom-built, down-filled club chair from the best upholsterer in Manhattan.
Not a surprising $5,000 exchange from the daughter of the late Mark Hampton, the design legend who brought Bush Blue to the White House in the 1990s, worked with Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and Pamela Harriman and created one of the first successful designer furniture collections.
When her father died in 1998, Alexa Hampton took over his prestigious Madison Avenue office. Now, at 35, she has brought the business into the new century, furnishing lofts in Manhattan, delving into licensing of lighting and furniture, appearing regularly on two PBS design shows and making Architectural Digest’s list of the top 100 designers.
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Welcome to the series premiere of ‘Top Design’, the show Bravo is betting on to take over ‘Project Runway’ and ‘Top Chef’s’ successful timeslot for the time being!
Making it in the world of interior design is a challenge, but they have selected twelve of the top designers from around the country to prove that they have the passion, drive, creativity, and the vision to create the Top Design. Each week, these interior designers will be faced with grueling design challenges that will force them to be innovative.
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When it comes to their homes — and many other pursuits domestic — women seem to be throwing out the old “sittin’ in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G” approach to settling down.
No longer is “first comes love, then comes marriage” the standard order of business. More and more, single women are taking the route of first comes a house, then comes a designer. And if Mr. Right comes along, that’s OK, too.
“If you’re waiting to get married to decorate your place, you may be waiting a long time,” says Sara Ruffin Costello, creative director at Domino, a style magazine catering to 25- to 45-year-olds. (more…)
The human home is now just as much the dog’s. Homeowners who are building or remodeling have taken to considering their pets’ needs as much as they do those of their biped family members, turning “pet-friendly decorating” into industry buzzwords.
This is about more than stylish dog beds that cost upward of $350; this is about stain-resistant fabrics, scratch-resistant flooring, colors that match a pooch’s coat, or out-and-out design and architectural elements.
In Chris Rudolph’s case, the Chicago architect put in “dog overlooks” and a “Doggy Detox,” a large porcelain-tiled shower with hand-held showerhead, when building his Michigan home. (more…)
It’s not even officially summer, and my sights are already set on fall. Hot trends and new wares were revealed at the end of April during the International Home Furnishings Market in High Point, N.C. I couldn’t wait until fall to see them, so I got the scoop from several local furniture retailers.
The event is reputed to be the largest furniture industry trade show in the world. It is also known for being difficult to navigate, for the same reason, with a sprawling nearly 12 million square feet of showroom space, 188 buildings and 2,500 exhibitors.
“It’s so huge you would never see all of the showrooms, even if you were there for an entire week,” says Kelly Judd Schwartz, owner and creative director of Loft Home Decor in the Second Street District. She spent a whirlwind three days in North Carolina — it was her first trip to the show. (more…)
