Mike Gracie is the fourth generation to take over the reins of Charles R. Gracie & Sons in New York. Originally started as a custom lamp business in 1898, Charles Gracie started importing Chinese porcelains, and in 1930 was introduced to some exquisite handpainted Chinese wallpaper. The rest is, as we say, visual history with ever expanding collections of the gorgeous murals and florals that are found in the most elegant dining rooms, entry halls, and powder baths in Dallas. I visited with Mike at the George Cameron Nash showroom a couple of weeks ago and he told me about a new direction in the traditional patterns of Chinese wallpaper. “People are wanting more graphic pattern instead of the antiqued, painterly quality that has been more popular in recent years.” Now if I were to analyze this philosophically as I too often do, I would attribute this to an uncertainty that we are feeling these days and the comfort of highly constructed, literal patterns. The new Rateau pattern is graphic with an Art Nouveau quality—I love it.
