The Antiques and Garden Show of Nashville is just days away from opening and last minute preparations are being made as we type. All we can tell you is that this is going to be a beautiful show. Another guest we are quite excited to welcome is interior designer Alexa Hampton. Hampton joins the Antiques and Garden Show from New York on Saturday to present in the "Ask-an-Expert" series. Alexa is the daughter of the late design legend Mark Hampton. Today she serves as the president and featured designer of Mark Hampton, LLC, a firm her father founded in 1976. Alexa has put her own stamp on her father�s classic, gracious look, giving it a relaxed and modern quality that we love.
Today we bring you an personal interview with this design legend in the making:
Your father is Mark Hampton, the legendary interior designer. What was the most valuable lesson you learned from him?
Answer: Every lesson I learned from my father is valuable, as I learned from him. It is hard to isolate just one. Perhaps the best thing I learned from working with him was the culture of hard word he perpetuated.The show�s co-chairs are both mothers, as are many of the show�s attendees. As a mother of three young children, how do you create rooms that are both beautiful and impermeable to spills, rips, tears, etc.?Answer: Nothing is entirely impervious to the trials and tribulations of family life. However, being a mother to three young children has encouraged me to be thoughtful about where I put my satins and taffetas, if I use them at all. A silk in my apartment would most likely be found on a curtain or a pillow or in my room which can be locked! The best thing that motherhood has brought to my workplace is a sense of humor.
How many years have you been coming to the Antiques and Garden Show? What continually excites you and draws you back to the show?
Answer: I have been coming to the Nashville Antiques and Gardens show since February of 2007, a mere 3 months after my twins were born. I fell in love with the Antiques Show and was so impressed by the people, the vendors, and the event that I can�t help but want to come back year after year.
In addition to being a wonderful designer, you�ve also demonstrated talent as a painter. Who is your favorite artist? Do you ever find that his/her style seeps into your aesthetic?
Answer: First of all, make no mistake I am not that good of a painter. But that doesn�t keep me from loving many accomplished painters. My top five favorite painters are: Velasquez, Titian, Manet, Hammershoi, Sargent.
What�s your favorite room in a home � either to decorate or inhabit?
Answer: I love decorating Living Rooms best. Not only are they often the most used room of a house, but they are usually the most ambitious in terms of scope and design.
Images via NYtimes; Architectural Digest; Finest Rooms in America
Labels: Inspiration
Click for Comments