About Me

Alessandra Branca was born in Rome, where her maternal grandfather was an art historian for the Vatican Museum: An early memory is of her frustration at being too short to see into the museums glass cases. At an early age Branca was, in her own words,Obsessed with the way things ought to look, moving the bedroom furniture around and, for the longest time, caring far more about art and architecture than about boys. She attributes her celebratory use of color to a childhood steeped in Renaissance art: Cerulean blue is still a thrill. And for proportion, she always goes back to Vitruvius. To the extent she had any, Brancas design mentors were Raphael and Giotto: She wishes she'd had one in Chicago and retains her immigrants surprise that the city lacks a great design school.

Branca regards interior design as a vocation much like portraiture: The designer creates a three-dimensional likeness of the client that is meant to reflect, to entertain, to amuse, to comfort, to impress, certainly, and to serve. Branca is a joyful student, a voracious reader, a haunter of resale book stores and house museums: A life lived fully, she says, is an irresistible smorgasbord. For her Chicago shop, Atelier Branca, she buys only what she is sure she will never see again.
Atelier Branca
1325 North State Parkway
Chicago, IL 60610
312-787-6123

Member Since

Feb 22, 2006

Sites

• Elements of Living