Since I launched Alexa Hampton Home with HSN, I have been asked a many times how this all came about. I would love to share with you the story of this collection.
For almost the past 30 years, I have been involved in the business of design. The summer I turned 13, I began a month long internship at my father’s decorating firm. Every year after, I always spent a month or more in the summertime working for (or terrorizing?) the firm. At 27, I took over the business and I have now owned and operated it for 15 years.
But my involvement in the world of design has always been deeper than my life at work. My family was and still is obsessed with seeing pretty houses and gardens, – from some of the great houses in the Midwest, from where my father hailed, to Southern plantations, to historic houses, museums and churches all over the world. Needless to say, my parents’ friends shared these interests, too. So, many a meal saw our table peopled with artists, architects, designers, museum curators, architectural historians, garden designers, fashion designers and the like. Over all those years, I learned to believe that design is truly interesting in every form and in every setting. I learned that having a lifestyle that incorporated design in its every aspect, could put a smile on people’s faces and give joy. It can also be useful, and I especially love that.
Now that I am a working mother of twin 6 year old boys and a 4 year old daughter, I want practical, beautiful design more than ever. I like to work on each end of the design spectrum, from casual to formal, and in all styles. In 2010, I published my first book, The Language of Interior Design, that explains what I like to call my “Julie Andrews” approach to design. Everyone can have good design if they contend with the basics: Contrast, Proportion, Color and Balance. So, just like Maria taught those von Trapp children, “once you learn the notes to sing, you can sing most anything.”
Unsurprisingly, I consider myself a true design schizophrenic, and HSN has partnered with me to give me a wide open space in which I can play and have fun while producing pieces that I have wanted to find but simply couldn’t in today’s marketplace. I wanted to be able to create designs that weren’t simply individual pieces, but a slice of what results from the experience of having an interior designer at your disposal (minus any craziness that that might conjure up).
I hope you enjoy the results of our partnership. As an HSN customer myself, lord knows, I am selfishly thrilled to have these items available for my own purposes. This summer, I am trailing after my kids with my navy blue, Greek Key bath sheets. Having messy beach fun never looked so good!
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