Book excerpt: At an early age, Alexa Hampton learned the language of good design, the vocabulary to speak it, and the elements that define it. As the daughter of interior design legend Mark Hampton, she traveled the world by her father’s side, touring the great architectural landmarks and discovering beauty, training her eye. Now one of America’s most influential designers herself, Alexa Hampton provides a tour of stunning residences from her own portfolio. Eighteen classic spaces illustrate in rich detail the elements that govern cultivated design—contrast, proportion, color, and balance. Among the residences are a landmark 1912 McKim, Mead & White restoration on Fifth Avenue in New York City; an eclectic house by the sea layered in textures, patterns, and colors; a contemporary apartment distinguished by simple geometry and clean lines; and Hampton’s own apartment, filled with an exquisite collection of architectural elements. Hampton also explains how she tailored each space to meet her clients’ needs while retaining a timeless aesthetic, and she provides design expertise on everything from fabric schemes to the particulars of paint. From a French neoclassical tour de force of architec-ture, artwork, and design to a Queen Anne summer cottage furnished to showcase the house’s graceful nineteenth-century dimensions, the spaces here speak the language of design—a language that, under Hampton’s tutelage, anyone can master.