The Franklin R e p o r t R E C E N T P R E S S C L I P

DECEMBER27, 2001 Bloomberg's Decorator Says, Hello, Gracie JAMIE DRAKE is a casting agent's dream. He the decorator du jour." added, "there is always something quirky or funny." is a City decorator who exuberant But Mr. Drake is hardly that. A dark horse "Jamie has range," said Elizabeth Franklin, color and showiness in his fake fur chubby, his in the New York design establishment, he has a founding editor of The Franklin Report, a guide orange-lined suits and his velvet paisley news- sometimes florid style, which differs markedly to decorators and home services. boy cap. As seen on the cover of the November from that of Albert Hadley, the doyen of New He can do classical, and he can do unconvention- issue of Elle Decor, Mr. Drake unleashed his York decorators, who had a hand in the man- al, but he doesn't do anything without a flourish." most riotous impulses in his own home, a sion's 1984 renovation. That undertaking, begun Still, the very flexibility that endears him Manhattan loft done in throbbing pink, Tyr i a n by Mayor Edward I. Koch, who established the to editors, who have put his work on their cov- purple and chrome yellow, the last thrown into Conservancy to oversee the ers, and to clients, who reward him with fees in high relief by a zebra-and-leopard-pattern rug. project, was completed for $5.5 million, most of the six-figure range, has made him a cipher to People don't come to me for beige or for Laura it from private donors. It took into account the the Park Avenue crowd. Unlike such establish- Ashley sweet," he told Elle Decor last fall. "I history of the mansion and struck a balance ment favorites as Mark Hampton, Mario Buatta, have very bold taste." between gracious tradition and modern practi- David Easton or Thierry Despont, each of And now some wonder if he will exercise ca l i t y . Highlights of the renovation included a whom has left an indelible imprint on the homes his signature audacity on a decorating makeover dining room decorated by Mr. Hadley with of New York's upper crust, Mr. Drake has yet to of Gracie Mansion, a wooden house built in French scenic wallpaper from 1830 and a hand- develop a solid design identity. 1799 by a Scottish-born sea merchant, painted, marbleized floor in the entrance hall. He has, to be sure, designed uptown proj- Archibald Gracie, which has served as the offi - The most functional change was a passageway ects. But he hasn't truly cracked the Upper East cial mayoral residence since 1942. allowing visitors to go between the Wag n e r Side," Ms. Franklin said. "People don't know Michael R. Bloomberg's office said this Wing, built in the 1960's, and the mansion with- how to classify him. And because of that he is month that the mayor-elect's transition team out passing through the kitchen. not regarded as one of the great designers." had begun consulting with experts to give the Mr . Drake's relative obscurity did not faze house a face-lift. The mayor-elect has said he Mr . Bloomberg, who hired him in the mid- will use it to entertain visiting dignitaries and 1990's to renovate his imposing limestone town for public functions. house on East 79th Street, where the mayor-e l e c t "I'm thrilled that we are going to be says he will continue to live after taking office. involved in the renovation and restoration of Mr . Bloomberg's choice of designer shows one of New York's treasures," Mr. Drake told a certain confidence," said Mayer Rus, design The Daily News. He later declined to discuss the editor of House & Garden. "Jamie Drake, par- project or to return phone calls from The New ticularly at that point, was hardly the socially York Times. His status as decorator to Mr. advantageous choice." Bl o o m b e r g, for whom he has designed three All the same, Mr. Drake proved adroit in residences, leaves little doubt that when it is interpreting Mr. Bloomberg's somewhat time to redecorate,he will get the job. grandiose vision in properties that include a It might seem an improbable choice (after horse farm in North Salem, N.Y., and a all, this is a man who spent his childhood years town house in Cadogan Square, described by in a bedroom done up, at his own insistence, one insider as "an entertainment palace com- with black patent leather walls). Redecorating plete with marble pilasters and a sweeping cen- the gracious two-story pale yellow Federal tral staircase." It is unclear who first approached house overlooking the requires a Mr . Drake to design the New York City town vision at once authoritative and self-effa c i n g , A graduate of the Parsons School of house, or exactly who piloted the project. "Even one that can blend the client's personal taste Design, Mr. Drake apprenticed with An g e l o back then," Mr. Rus remarked, Jamie remained with a restraint appropriate to a city landmark Donghia before establishing his firm, Drake extraordinarily discreet about his clients." and public trust. Since Fiorello H. La Guardia Design Associates, in 1978. He describes him- Working with the British antiques dealer, moved into the house nearly 60 years ago, most self as a traditionalist at heart. But even his most Philip Hewat-Jaboor, he indulged Mr. of New York's chief executives have sought to ardent fans would say that he uses that term Bl o o m b e r g's penchant for opulence, filling the take up that challenge with a view to elegance lo o s e l y . In an interview last week, Marga r e t house's high-ceiling rooms with silk- velvet- and historical authenticity. Russell, the editor-in-chief of Elle Decor, covered chairs bordered in fringe, billowing "Every mayor brought his own decorator described Mr. Drake's Manhattan residence as draperies, French Savonnerie carpets and to Gracie Mansion," said Henry J. Stern, the "over the top, glamorous and swanky." In gener- European paintings, and endowing the place parks commissioner, whose department main- al, she added, "he likes to push things a little bit." with a grandeur worthy of the gilded age. tains the house and grounds. "Everybody brings "Even in his more traditional work," she "Michael wants to live large, like a 19th- NEW TIMES - DECEMBER 27, 2001 By RUTH LA F E R L A