Architectural Digest | Dec 2017
Written by Hadley Keller | Photography by Sara Essex Bradley
A Day in New Orleans with Designer Chad Graci
AD tags along with the creative in the Big Easy
Though he's lived and worked around the world, Chad Graci's heart has always belonged to New Orleans. After cutting his teeth at the likes of David Easton and Michael Carbine, Graci returned to his hometown to found Graci Interiors. "After six years of living in New York, the draw to head back down south was too great to resist," the designer explains. "I was ready to try my hand starting a business on my own in a place that I have always loved but moved away from too soon. New Orleans, in all its dysfunctionally beautiful glory, was the perfect homecoming for me. It was a chance to bring my New York decorating experience and know-how home to a place that was used to traditional, southern style." By all accounts, it was the right decision: The designer has now earned a devoted following for his richly layered interiors that blend traditional silhouettes with modern textures in fresh ways—showcasing the best lessons he's learned from afar and right at home. We shadow the designer for a day in the Big Easy to get a sense of why he loves it so much.
Graci's Pomeranian, Baron.
5:30 A.M. If I’m not woken up by the alarm by this time, a paw to the face usually does the trick. Baron, my black-and-tan Pomeranian, is up and ready for his walk. Black coffee, avocado and eggs, along with a quick review of the day’s agenda and any pressing emails, take up the precious morning.
7:00 A.M. Really the only hour of the day that is just for me. My boxing workouts with Keith Director are essential for a clear head.
Graci and team review a kitchen project.
8:30 A.M. A quick, but important, site visit to a kitchen project. Meeting with stone installers to review slab details. If the slabs are very unique or have dramatic features, I like to tape out what sections belong on each part of the counters.
9:30 A.M. Finally getting to the office, where I have a 30-minute meeting with my staff, Jeannine and Boo. We set a list of goals for the day, and I give direction and answer questions as needed before running off again.
10:00 A.M. An unexpected problem arises at a ground-up house that I’m working on in Old Metairie. I need to address the way a stair intersects a ceiling. We decide on a board-clad tray ceiling, thus creating niches flanking the firebox. I think best with a pen in hand and a sketch, even if not to scale—it always helps me work through an issue.
A sketch Graci made of one of his projects.
11:00 A.M. Phone meeting with an out-of-town client to review and approve a circa-1890 pine beam to separate her family room and kitchen. We removed an existing segmented arch and decided that something more dramatic would have a larger impact. Little did we know that the contractor would show up with this treasure! Still has some of the old nails. Now, how to get it up there?
12:00 P.M. At least one day a week, I make a point to book a lunch that I don't have to rush through, eat at my desk, or skip entirely. Today, I’m at a regular favorite, Lilette, on Magazine Street, for the famous hearts of palm salad and four iced teas.
Selecting rugs on the street.
1:00 P.M. Post-lunch upholstery review at Leonel’s Upholstery. They’re putting the finishing touches on a custom banquette that I’ve designed for a loft project in the Warehouse District. Seam placement, cushion density, and detailing are key to a flawless finished product. There’s also some discussion on nailhead trim color and size.
2:30 P.M. I’m back at the office. We’ve set up at meeting with Carol from Matt Camron Rugs to search for some unique and unexpected patterns and colors. Wanting bold these days. We’re causing a commotion on Jefferson Avenue!
A bookshelf in a Graci project, styled by the designer. Photo: Sara Essex Bradley
4:00 P.M. Final meeting of the day! In preparation for an install next week, I am going through an accessories proposal package with my staff. We’ll decide what to show the client beforehand, and what to collect from around town and bring on approval. Sometimes it’s best to just stage smalls and accessories for approval on-site, in situ. This is one of my favorite parts of the design process: the layering of objects. Even these seemingly small details will bring a room to the next level.
The New Orleans Museum of Art.
6:00 P.M. Costume change at home followed by some Pomeranian time, and off to the New Orleans Museum of Art for a cocktail preview of "East of the Mississippi," a collection of landscape photography that explores the earliest forms of this medium through images of the dramatic landscape.
7:30 P.M. So hungry. I head to a post-museum dinner with friends at the ever-charming Cafe Degas, along historic Esplanade Avenue. This is a favorite spot not only because of the tree-covered indoor/outdoor dining room, but also because of the steak frites, which I try not to order, but fail at every time.
9:30 P.M. I’m home, coming out of an Instagram daze. I read a page and a half of The Razor’s Edge by Somerset Maugham before dozing off.
