A beautiful life

Famed for her layered, luscious interiors, Alessandra Branca knows how to live graciously, Chicago-style

August 02, 2009|By Lisa Cregan, Special to the Tribune

Whether she's on Michigan Avenue or the Via Veneto, Italian-born, Chicago-based interior designer Alessandra Branca lives life as the Romans do -- in famiglia.

Admittedly, if you've seen magazine photos of her mouthwatering Rome and Manhattan pied-a-terres, or visited her showstopping Pearson Street store, or heard about her ravishing new coffee-table book (coming this fall) you may suspect that her vita famiglia, or family life, might be a tad more glamorous than yours. So let's get that niggling suspicion out of the way right up front. Yes, it is. Way more glamorous.

"Yes, I live with beautiful things; everything you see in my store is also in my home or one of my projects. That's kind of the point," admits Branca. But she says living with "beautiful things" does not automatically translate to a glitzy lifestyle. In fact, here in her Gold Coast townhouse, this Roman ex-pat says she leads a very quiet old-world kind of life. She, her husband, Steve, and their three kids have lived on this prominent row (iconic 1920s architect David Adler was a former resident) for the last 20 years, and over time Branca's legendary attention to detail has telescoped down to a single obsession -- a beautiful, comfortable life amid family and friends.

"I literally have to kick myself out of my office at 6 every evening," says the workaholic. But once at home, just a short stroll away, she puts the frenzy of fabric and furniture behind her. She says walking in the front door transforms her, "Once I'm with my babies and my husband? In five minutes I'm a different person. I'm such a homebody."

Frankly, Bedouin herders would be homebodies if their homes looked like this. To-die-for French furniture, down-stuffed banquettes, gorgeous gewgaws from around the world, all bathed in that sunny Italian joie de vivre Branca seems to inject so effortlessly into all her projects.

As for those "babies" she's referring to -- Alex, Andrew and Anna -- they're actually 22, 21 and 20, respectively, though, to be fair, they do still seem to get a fair amount of motherly coddling. The coach house out back is the children's hangout, and Branca says she'll often come down in the morning to find one of their friends fast asleep on the silk-swathed sofa, head pillowed on some priceless antique Parisian fabric. And?? "My house is not a prop," she shrugs happily. "It's not a showpiece. This isn't a big house, and I really want my family and good friends to feel comfortable everywhere. People who don't know me don't get that about me."

Branca says the family never leaves Chicago in summer, eating as many meals as possible in their backyard garden, though as the kids have grown older, she has learned to give them some space. "Steve and I joke that the garden has a first seating, us, and a second seating, the children, who tend to stay up very late out here." The stories about her children and their friends crop up as frequently as the traces of what casual observers consider Branca's real obsession: red.

"I don't do red rooms, but everyone thinks I do!" Branca protests. "Red is punctuation. It's the spice, not the whole meal." Proving her point (sort of), a crimson hue she calls "cadmium" is sprinkled through her home's cream-colored palette. It turns up on lampshades, throw pillows, in the paisley upholstery on a pair of classic bergeres and, most gloriously, on the walls of the absolutely-not-red dining room that doubles as a library. "These rooms are actually very neutral," notes Branca, "and this warm red goes better in a cold climate like Chicago. I would never use this red in Rome, for example. What's right here doesn't suit the light there. Color is so much about place."

And what else suits city living in Chicago? "I adore hurricane lamps!" she laughs. "We live with our windows open, and they protect the candle from the wind,but I also love the way the flame reflects off the glass." And mirrors: "Huge mirrors. I love mirrors. They're like windows, and when you live in the city you're always desperate for light." And flowers: "In winter I buy big bunches of roses at Costco and do them as a mound in bowls and planters. In summer I go to the farmers markets."

Branca's own garden seats a crowd. Summer meals anchor family life here: old-fashioned endless midday feasts that often include Branca's two brothers' families and her artist mother, Anna Chiara. "Last night everyone was here," says Branca. "I think we had 15 people. The children playing, the adults just hanging out, everyone admiring the new baby in the family, and one of my brothers turned to me and said, 'This is why you do what you do, isn't it?"

Si, si it's all about la famiglia.

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The Good Life: Chicago

What are the secrets that make Branca's world beautiful?

A garden: Like any good Chicagoan, she's intent on dining al fresco when summer arrives, and her garden is set up to accommodate large family meals.

Flowers: Whether discount roses or armfuls of hydrangeas, she likes her bouquets simple-yet-bountiful.

Mirrors: She uses them to draw in light.

Hurricane lanterns: In another true-to-Chicago move, Branca lives with open windows in warm weather. Hurricanes keep her candles lit, even with a breeze, and the glass adds extra sparkle.

A touch of red: It's her signature color, and she has chosen a warm hue to complement the cold climate.