Vogue editor and aspiring diplomat Anna Wintour added the role of interior decorator-in-chief to her titles this week by overseeing a decor overhaul at Sarah Jessica Parkers luxe home before President Obamas visit.

Wintour whos reportedly in the running for the US ambassadorship to Britain was photographed with her daughter Bee Shaffer paying a visit to Parker and Matthew Brodericks West Village townhouse just as movers were hauling furniture in and out to prep for yesterdays $80,000-per-couple fund-raiser hosted by Wintour and the Sex and the City star.

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Anna Wintour

Sources said the fashion oracle wanted to clean out SJPs shabby chic furniture. One told us, Anna was going crazy about the decorating. She was having a lot furniture removed and sending all of SJPs tchotchkes upstairs.

Some of the stuff in the house was shabby chic, and lets just say, Anna wanted less shabby, and more chic, the source added.

While Wintour, known for her painstaking planning of events like the meticulous Met Ball, was at Parkers place Monday, movers lugged in a piano. Parker was reportedly strolling nearby with her kids and a nanny.

After Annas work was done, sources said Parker and her brood had to adjust their routines. Theyve had to live upstairs in the house, said a source. Its not like this is an event at the Trump SoHo its the place where [Parker] feeds her kids.

A small battalion of cleaners was spotted scrubbing door handles and windows outside the house. Yesterday, dozens of plump, white roses were delivered along with rental chairs, and a gardener planted mini- ferns out front.

But a source close to Wintour downplayed her dcor directions, telling us, Anna didnt decide the dcor. That was done in a meeting without her. Those pictures were just her walking into [the] house for her meeting. Furniture was being brought in and out, but not for Annas benefit to preside over, They were in prep mode.

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Anna Wintour overhauls Sarah Jessica Parker’s house for President Obama’s fundraiser

Whoever said it was out with the old and in with the new was terribly mistaken, at least in terms of the latest interior design trends.

The French laundry look, where everything appears distressed and weathered, is dominating the home furnishings market, according to Lisa Bizzell, who has been an interior decorator at Tassels for over 14 years.

Theres a lot of use of texture, she said, pointing to a beige Baker Heritage Furniture sofa with metallic gold geometric pattern. Tassels designers used an abundance of brightly colored teal, blue and green pillows to accent its neutral tone.

French laundry makes a statement by understating. Most furniture in this style tends to be a shade of white or brown. Bizzell said the color greige, which is a combination of gray and beige, has become fundamental to French laundry. But for those who arent fulfilled by the minimalism that characterizes this look, vibrant colors are an asset.

Shinier pops of color can balance neutral-based colors, said Bizzell. Oranges, fuchsias, hot pinks and turquoises are becoming very popular.

By keeping up with the latest clothing trends, one can, in essence, also remain well versed in the latest interior design trends. Chartreuse yellow is appearing in the form of dresses, blazers and blouses, but its also the color of an armchair by Lexington Furniture Company with a subtle white bird-and-branch pattern. In an otherwise neutral room, a chair like this can supply just the right amount of color.

At High Point Market, a trade show for the furniture industry, Bizzell learned that shades of purple are also making a comeback and that metallic accessories have the same effect as adding bright colors to French laundry furnishings.

Mercury glass is used to create home accessories that look silver. But the difference between mercury and actual silver is that mercury is translucent. A lamp by Cyan Design with a mercury-glass body and taupe shade was proof that metal really can spruce up objects seeming plain.

Though weathered woodwork may look old, its really the newest trend. And just like vivid colors can balance neutral ones, brightly-painted woodwork can maintain quaintness while remaining interesting.

A tangerine-colored secretary desk by Justin Camlin, a designer specializing in painted pieces, can provide the perfect amount of color to an office. But the desks versatility makes it usable in virtually any room, especially when accompanied by the tan, woven, long-backed chair Tassels had on display with it.

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It’s In With The Old In Interior Design

Interior dcorator Bo Casey moved to the area one year ago and has already opened her third shop.

Casey opened her first store Bo Dacious at Grand Boulevard a year ago, which was filled with eye-catching jewelry and purses and other pretty, blingy things that made the ladies want to stop and come in.

Come in they did. And while customers were in there, if they happened to notice the furnishings that made a statement and needed an interior dcorator for their home, Casey could help them.

The more people in the area Casey met and helped with their decorating needs, the more she felt a need to open a furniture consignment store for those gently-used items her customers no longer liked or needed. She opened Bo Dacious Consignment at the first of the year.

Now, she has brought the two stores together under one roof just west of the Walton County line in the purple building that formerly housed Kay Fant Interiors.

Casey held the grand opening of her new Bo Dacious store there May 31 to celebrate her newest venture.

Inside, shoppers will find not only eye-catching jewelry and furnishings, but also original artwork, chandeliers, and decorating advice. While there, Casey makes everyone who enters her store feel right at home and like a lifelong friend.

In the interior dcorator business for 25 years, Casey embraces the career path she recognized in herself from childhood, as she was always decorating and re-decorating her room at home while growing up in Montgomery, Ala.

On the way to her chosen career path, Casey has also participated in a fair number of beauty pageants. When pressed, she admits to reigning as Alabama's Junior Miss "a long time ago," being a Bicentennial Belle, and earning a spot as a runner-up in the University of Alabama pageant.

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Bo Dacious holds grand opening in new Destin location

When an e-mail from famous New York interior designer Bunny Williams showed up in her inbox March 27, Raji Radhakrishnan knew the news was good. The designer, based in the Brambleton neighborhood of Loudoun County, had been selected to participate in New Yorks 2012 Kips Bay Decorator Show House, akin in the design world to winning an Oscar.

I almost fell off my chair, says Radhakrishnan. (It was a vintage art deco desk chair, by the way.) She had submitted her portfolio to the Kips Bay committee for several years but had never been chosen. For a designer, I dont think it can get better than this.

(Marco Ricca/RAJI RADHAKRISMNAN) - Nice views, inside and out: Loudoun Countys Raji Radhakrishnan designed a homeoffice for a museum curator at the Kips Bay Decorator Show House.

(Greg Powers/GREG POWERS) - Interior designer Raji Radhakrishnan, who's based in Loudoun County.

Williams, who is this years show house chair, invited Radhakrishnan to walk through the show house venue: two huge luxury duplexes at the Aldyn, a contemporary high-rise building on Manhattans Upper West Side. They are on the market for $16.9 million and $15.9 million each. Radhakrishnan was one of 32 designers who had five weeks to come up with design schemes for the spaces, which opened to the public for a month-long gig May 16.

The great thing about Kips Bay is that they let you run with your imagination. You can turn a bedroom into a meditation room or a lounge, says Radhakrishnan, who started her business in 2005 and opened a New York office this spring. Her concept: a home office for the chief curator of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Because nearly all the rooms were white boxes with big glass windows, she says she knew she had to make hers special and sophisticated without going against the architecture. She had pearl white Venetian plaster applied to the walls and ceiling. It enveloped the space and gave the room a beautiful glow, and still was clean and modern, she says.

It was a fitting backdrop for 20th-century vintage pieces, including a 1960 bar cabinet and Arts and Crafts rug, plus furniture from contemporary designers. She installed a white marble mantel for architectural heft and hung two large photo murals. The curators desk, made of wood and leather, is from Ralph Lauren Home.

A curator would have only beautiful, comfortable and practical things in their home, Radhakrishnan says. Thats what guided me.

The 40th annual Kips Bay Decorator Show House, at 60 Riverside Blvd., New York, is open daily through June 14. Admission is $30. The money raised benefits the Kips Bay Boys & Girls Club after-school and enrichment programs for New York City children. For more information, go to http://www.kipsbaydecoratorshowhouse.org or call 212-755-5733.

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A local designer at Kips Bay showhouse

LOS ANGELES, CA--(Marketwire -06/06/12)- Capital Art, Inc. (CAPA), was established to acquire, edition and manage some of the most valuable iconic photographic images and to internationally market limited editions and reproductions from the original negatives.

We are proud to announce that internationally renowned interior decorator Christopher Guy has chosen a selection of iconic images by Bert Stern, Douglas Kirkland and Bud Fraker to be sold at Harrods.

Sean Goodchild, CEO of Capital Art, Inc. commented: "We are very proud of our relationship with Christopher Guy. The showroom at Harrods will bring these iconic photos to a wide audience both from England and abroad. Harrods is probably the world's best known shopping destination for the elite and wealthy customers from around the world."

Christopher Guy Harrison added: "We are excited to be working with Capital Art to provide these iconic photographs for our customers around the world."

About Christopher Guy

Christopher Guy is one of the leading Interior Decorating companies in the world with offices in the United States, England and Singapore. Clients include many of the major hotels and resorts, movie productions and the world's finest private homes. For further information please go to http://www.christopherguy.com.

About Capital Art, Inc.

Capital Art, Inc. (CAPA.PK) acquires, editions and manages some of the most valuable iconic photographic images and internationally markets limited editions and reproductions created from the original negatives. The company also makes available images for publications and merchandize.

Capital Art sells and distributes classic and contemporary limited edition photographic images and reproductions with a focus on iconic celebrity images. The company already owns and/or manages an amazing array of valuable photography including the works of the late Frank Worth who was "confidant to the stars" during the golden era of Hollywood.

Investment in iconic photographic images is increasingly becoming an important component for a growing number of art collectors and investors. As photography is becoming an asset class in its own right, and with a rapidly growing middle class, the demand for iconic images should continue to increase with little new material coming to the market.

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Capital Art and Christopher Guy Launch Iconic Photographic Collection at Harrods, London.

Students honoured with interior design awards

Staff Reporter / 2 June 2012

The competition was organised by Danube in partnership with the Association of Professional Interior Designers (APID).

Al Qattami highlighted the importance of interior design in the industry, encouraging students to strive for excellence in their approach. The event also marked the presence of Zarine Khan, Bollywoods favourite interior decorator.

The Danube-APID Student Interior Design Competition was developed as an adjunct to typical course work, in which students could utilise skills learned through their current academic development in the design of an interior environment with far-reaching appeal. The registration process started in March 2012 inviting post-secondary students from the GCC to apply for the competition.

The inaugural competition awarded 12 winners with total prize money of Dh85,000. The winners were chosen from over 280 entries submitted in the two categories, the Reception Lounge Category and the Display Vitrine Category. The grand winning entry, Group Ad.Infinitum, was rewarded with a cash prize of Dh20,000 and the winners in the CEOs category, Group AGU, were awarded with a prize of Dh5,000. The competition recognised five winners in each category with special merit awards. The designs were evaluated on aspects such as functionality, presentation, innovation and usability.

Interior design in the Middle East is developing at a rapid pace. Launching the competition was part of a move to help boost the regions interior design industry and also to discover the talent of emerging interior designers. The success has given us the assurance to lay the groundwork for a more exciting and activity-filled second edition of the competition,said Rizwan Sajan, founder and chairman of Danube Group.

Farida Kamber Al Awadhi, president of the APID, said, The overall quality of the submissions was of a high standard. The entrants demonstrated a holistic approach to sustainable design that communicates a forward-thinking approach. Each submission featured a unique solution to the ever-evolving concept of interior designing. news@khaleejtimes.com

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Students honoured with interior design awards

The wife of Jack Kelley, a Tulsa architect and entrepreneur who later made headlines as a globe-trotting undersea explorer, Jean Kelley had an adventurous streak of her own, family members say, and regularly joined him on his expeditions.

Scuba-diving together as they visited the sites of ancient shipwrecks, she was by his side as he became a recognized authority in the field and led wreck recovery efforts.

"There was nothing my grandmother wouldn't try," the couple's granddaughter Whitney White said. "Once, during one expedition, they lived in little huts on the side of a rocky cliff for a few weeks.

"She and my grandfather had a wonderful 61-year marriage. It was definitely an adventure."

Jean Rhodes Kelley died Wednesday in Tulsa. She was 82. A visitation is set for 5-7 p.m. Monday at Ninde Brookside Funeral Home. A service is planned for 11 a.m. Tuesday at Asbury United Methodist Church.

Kelley moved to Tulsa from Texas as a child and graduated in 1948 from Central High School.

It was as a student at the University of Tulsa, where she was the 1951 homecoming queen, that she met her future husband.

The couple eloped before she finished school.

Kelley never returned to complete her degree, but with her gift for interior design, it didn't hold her back. She ran her own business, Designers Inc., for many years in Tulsa.

Dividing her time between that and being a full-time wife and mother, along the way she took up a variety of philanthropic interests.

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Tulsa interior designer and community volunteer Jean Kelley dies at 82

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ST. LOUIS An interior decorator admitted in federal court here Wednesday that she bilked wealthy clients including former St. Louis Cardinal Scott Rolen out of more than $1 million.

Officials said she also cheated the wife of ex-St. Louis Blues player Doug Weight, although she did not plead guilty of that count.

As part of her plea on three mail fraud charges, Kay T. Ottinger, 51, of St. Louis, acknowledged inflating invoices from real companies and creating fake invoices so she could pocket more money for her work.

Ottinger and clients of her company, Well Appointed Inc., had agreed that she would be paid a flat fee and between 15 and 30 percent of the cost of furniture and other items used in the decorating.

A federal search found invoices that had been inflated by tens of thousands of dollars, court documents show, and fake invoices that had been created to inflate and, at least once, to double a real bill.

One of the counts to which Ottinger pleaded guilty involved the creation of a fake invoice for Rolens Florida home from Old World Pavers for $88,970. That invoice was more than $66,000 higher than the $12,000 bill that Ottinger paid, court documents show.

In the indictment, Ottinger was accused of inflating an invoice for services and labor to Weights wife by $20,175.

The investigation began in 2010, when another Ottinger client and an employee approached federal prosecutors with their suspicions.

At sentencing August 27, Ottinger could face 15 to 21 months under federal sentencing guidelines and will be ordered to pay back the money.

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St. Louis interior decorator admits $1 million fraud

To paraphrase a popular movie line, "There's no crying in design," but Bay St. Louis artist and interior decorator Yuki Northington couldn't help but shed a tear when she was the first competitor eliminated in the Season 7 debut of "Design Star," HGTV's talent show for interior designers.

Elimination is never easy when a national television audience is watching, but Northington left with her head held high when the judges informed her the home-and-garden cable channel would not be producing her show.

"I'm happy I had the experience and I'm happy to return to my family and wonderful life," she said.

As she left, she invited the remaining 11 contestants to visit the Mississippi Gulf Coast for Mardi Gras.

In the end, only one of 12 contestants will be rewarded with an HGTV show.

Northington, who owns and operates Social Chair in Bay St. Louis, said she was proud to be chosen to compete.

"The experience has made me a better designer," she said.

The first challenge for contestants was to design their new digs, a Hollywood mansion they would live in during the competition.

Northington was paired with a fellow artist Stanley Palmieri of Pittsburgh and the two were assigned the studio-design space in the mansion. Each contestant brought an item from home and Northington chose a multi-colored fleur-de-lis.

In the end, judge Genevieve Gorder liked Northington's choice of wide-paneled wood flooring, but she was not a fan of her Mardi Gras paint colors on the walls. Judge Vern Yip was equally critical.

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Bay St. Louis designer is first eliminated from 'Design Star'

An interior designer is tasked with creating usable and aesthetically pleasing architectural spaces inside a physical structure. Interior design professionals typically study the behaviors and movements of individuals in the working and living environment in order to create spaces that are both attractive and functional.

Interior designers may also perform the interior decorating work on the spaces they design. An interior decorator, by contrast, does not design the space in which he or she works. Instead, interior decorators focus on the furnishings, wall and floor treatments and artistic touches that provide ambience and atmosphere to the interior space.

Differences Between Hiring A Designer Vs. A Decorator

Most interior design professionals are employed by construction or architectural firms and work in conjunction with builders and architects to design usable spaces for a variety of human activities. In other cases, interior designers may be called upon to create a functional and beautiful set of interior spaces for a private home. Generally, however, interior design experts work for builders and contractors rather than directly for private individuals.

Interior decorators are typically hired by homeowners to improve the aesthetic appeal of an existing space. These interior decor experts usually specialize in commercial or residential spaces and may use lighting, wall treatments, flooring, furnishings and accessories to create a look pleasing to the owner or manager of the space in question.

Benefits Of Hiring A Decorator Or Designer

The services of a qualified interior designer are crucial in order to create usable spaces for working and living. Contractors and builders depend on these professionals to provide advice on a variety of ergonomic and acoustic issues and to help in the design of lighting and traffic flow patterns that make sense in the specific interior environment.

Homeowners can benefit significantly by enlisting the help of an interior decorator when remodeling or revamping their living and working areas. Interior decorators are knowledgeable about the effects of color and the right use of accessories to create an illusion of greater space or to provide a cozy, comfortable environment for everyday living.

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This article originally appeared onAngies List.

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The Benefits Of Hiring An Interior Designer