TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - Created with the exterior roller shade market in mind, Phifer's new SunTex 90 Design brings decorator touches to outdoor living spaces.

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Phifer's New SunTex 90 Design Brings Style to Outdoor Shades

Wealth and style ... inside Leslie Walford's Double Bay house.

Leslie Walford, 1927-2012

For 50 years Leslie Walford lit up the interiors of Sydney, and from the 1960s to the early 1980s he shone a light on the life of the city's beau monde in the pages of The Sun-Herald.

His death marks another end of an era in the history of old Sydney. Today, many might be bemused by a life that celebrated the wealthy and well-born and enhanced their exalted environments, but there was more to Walford than that.

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''Go and decorate Sydney'' ... Leslie Walford, a highly civilised, cultivated, liberal humanitarian, at his 85th birthday party. He had a particular genius for lighting and his favourite watermelon pink became a trademark.

Leslie Nicholl Walford was the only son of Leslie Walford and his wife, Dora Nicholl (nee Alexander), and a fifth generation Australian, the first Walford having been transported to Norfolk Island for stealing a bolt of fabric. On release, Walford's great-great-grandfather acquired land in Tasmania and prospered. By his grandfather's time, the Walfords were gentlemen.

Leslie snr, a cricketer, ladies man and chairman of the Australian Jockey Club, died before his son was two. He had wanted to call him Napoleon.

As an adult, Leslie jnr had in his office a huge copy, by a Chinese artist, of Jacques Louis David's portrait of Napoleon Bonaparte crossing the Alps. He told the Herald's Susan Wyndham: ''He is looking down at me and saying, 'Leslie, go and decorate Sydney'."

Walford in 1987.

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Fortune shone on decorator

When you think about home remodelling and interior decorating, the popular cable channel, Home and Garden Television (HGTV), may come to mind. But, what if you could get the same professional services right here at home? Members of the Association of Qualified Interior Decorators of T&T (AQIDOTT) say they’re up for the challenge. Founded in 2009 by president/director, Lestra Henry, AQIDOTT comprises 25 members, and is a non-profit organisation which acts as a support system for decorators under its membership, and by extension the general public. Henry also teaches the tricks of the trade through her company, Lestra’s Cottage—School of Interior Decorating, at Palm Plaza, Arima.

Secretary and graduate of the school, Helen Alexander, said the association was currently on a mission to promote the field in T&T and was in talks with the National Training Agency of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Tertiary Education to get the green light to award graduates with a diploma level certification, known as the Caricom Vocational Qualification (CVQ). “We are also awaiting word from the ministry for the courses to be Gate approved. Our courses are tailor-made for Caricom areas yet it’s up to international standards.” Alexander said the association—the first of its kind in the Caribbean—was also calling on both corporate and private T&T to assist AQIDOTT to further promote the industry, which she said had “real potential for growth.”

Stating that more people were beginning to consider interior decorating as a lucrative career option, Alexander added, “Thanks to television, people are more willing to say ‘yes, I’ll pay a decorator to make this look good.’ “Sometimes people have a house for sale on the market for a long while and wonder why it’s not selling. They don’t realise that it could simply be due to the way it’s laid out. It takes a professional to see that and guide them through it.” Alexander knows what she’s talking about. The well-spoken entrepreneur is the master-mind behind Decorate For You, an interior decorating company she launched at her Arouca home in 2009.

When it comes to decorating, Alexander, who honed her skills through years of helping friends decorate for weddings and other special events, assured that her services were not limited. From home and office consultations to de-cluttering—she can do it all. “People tend to think of a house and the inside of a house whenever they hear the words “interior decorating.” However, it really means the inside of any space. “You can even decorate something like a garden, because that’s also a space and so the same rule applies. It’s such a great field to be in.”

• For more details on AQIDOTT contact Alexander via aqidott_decorators@gmail.tt.com or Henry at 749-6851.

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Current weather

An interior decorator was killed in a hit-and-run accident on Inner Ring Road, Koramangala, on Friday night.

Tarun Kumar Choudhary (32), a native of Bihar who had settled at New Byappanahalli here around seven years ago, was riding his two-wheeler when an unidentified car rammed the motorcycle. “As Tarun was not wearing a helmet, he died on the spot,” said a source from the Ulsoor traffic police. As the road was poorly lit, eyewitnesses could not note down the number of the vehicle, said the police.

Tarun leaves behind wife and two young children.

Four held

Four persons were arrested by the Devarajeevanahalli police in the early hours on Saturday for allegedly setting vehicles on fire in P&T Quarters . The arrested are Kumar (19), Abhishek (21), John (20) and Vishwanath (21), all residents of Kavalbyrasandra.

They allegedly set fire to two motorcycles, an autorickshaw and two four-wheelers by pouring kerosene around 12.45 a.m.

Commits suicide

The body of a 17-year-old girl was found hanging in a shed near her residence at Bandenallasandra, near Anekal, on Saturday morning.

According to the Bannerghatta police, Uma, who worked at a brick factory in Jigni Industrial Estate, hanged herself with her mother's sari. They were unsure of the reasons behind the suicide.

Uma was a native of Tamil Nadu.

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Interior decorator killed in hit and run

Nationally known decorator feels at home in W.Va.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Even with a résumé that includes HGTV, the "Rachael Ray Show" and the Oprah Winfrey Network, decorator Kristan Cunningham can still relate to West Virginians with her designs that make a house feel like a home.

Cunningham is a 1995 graduate of Sherman High School in Seth. She attended the University of Charleston for a couple of years and then took off for Hollywood. But she's never severed her West Virginia ties.

Her journey began in south Florida, but when her mom remarried, she and her brother were given the option of moving to Southern West Virginia. It's a move Cunningham is glad she made.

"That's where my formative years were," Cunningham said recently in a telephone interview. "When I brag on West Virginia, and I try to as often as possible, I try to shine that bright light on the best things the state has to offer.

"I brag on Tamarack, of course The Greenbrier, Lewisburg, so many other places. I love to tell the world how wonderful West Virginians are!"

Oprah at one time had a shelter magazine, called O at Home, and they did a story on Cunningham.

"It was called 'Kristan Cunningham Heads to the Hills,'" she said, and it featured favorite places the young designer liked at home in West Virginia. "They eventually featured some really important people on that page, but we were the first one."

At the time, Cunningham was hosting HGTV's "Design on a Dime," an early show for the network. She called it "old-school HGTV."

"We carried our own chop saws, etc. We really did all of the work ourselves, without much of a crew."

When she says "we," she's referring to her longtime partner and fiancée, Scott Jarrell. They've been together for 15 years; he's from Madison and went to Scott High School. Although their paths almost crossed many times in their youth, they met at UC and have been collaborating ever since. The couple lives in Los Angeles with their dogs.

Five years ago, Cunningham left HGTV to become the go-to designer for the "Rachael Ray Show." Additionally, she was doing segments for a Los Angeles-based show, "The Talk."

Now she's looking forward to a new show debuting on OWN, the Oprah Winfrey Network, in May. While she can't disclose the show's premise, she can say that filming took her to small towns all over the country.

"We were in Iowa, Alabama. And we're not 'Gossip Girl,' only relating to big-city life. We like to help people in their own homes in their own towns. We make it a point that Kohl's or HomeGoods are the local places where people shop, not designer showrooms.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Even with a résumé that includes HGTV, the "Rachael Ray Show" and the Oprah Winfrey Network, decorator Kristan Cunningham can still relate to West Virginians with her designs that make a house feel like a home.

Cunningham is a 1995 graduate of Sherman High School in Seth. She attended the University of Charleston for a couple of years and then took off for Hollywood. But she's never severed her West Virginia ties.

Her journey began in south Florida, but when her mom remarried, she and her brother were given the option of moving to Southern West Virginia. It's a move Cunningham is glad she made.

"That's where my formative years were," Cunningham said recently in a telephone interview. "When I brag on West Virginia, and I try to as often as possible, I try to shine that bright light on the best things the state has to offer.

"I brag on Tamarack, of course The Greenbrier, Lewisburg, so many other places. I love to tell the world how wonderful West Virginians are!"

Oprah at one time had a shelter magazine, called O at Home, and they did a story on Cunningham.

"It was called 'Kristan Cunningham Heads to the Hills,'" she said, and it featured favorite places the young designer liked at home in West Virginia. "They eventually featured some really important people on that page, but we were the first one."

At the time, Cunningham was hosting HGTV's "Design on a Dime," an early show for the network. She called it "old-school HGTV."

"We carried our own chop saws, etc. We really did all of the work ourselves, without much of a crew."

When she says "we," she's referring to her longtime partner and fiancée, Scott Jarrell. They've been together for 15 years; he's from Madison and went to Scott High School. Although their paths almost crossed many times in their youth, they met at UC and have been collaborating ever since. The couple lives in Los Angeles with their dogs.

Five years ago, Cunningham left HGTV to become the go-to designer for the "Rachael Ray Show." Additionally, she was doing segments for a Los Angeles-based show, "The Talk."

Now she's looking forward to a new show debuting on OWN, the Oprah Winfrey Network, in May. While she can't disclose the show's premise, she can say that filming took her to small towns all over the country.

"We were in Iowa, Alabama. And we're not 'Gossip Girl,' only relating to big-city life. We like to help people in their own homes in their own towns. We make it a point that Kohl's or HomeGoods are the local places where people shop, not designer showrooms.

"It's not a great decorating tip if the viewer isn't able to use it," Cunningham said. Her producer, a product of the big city, was amazed by the generosity and hospitality of the people in the small towns they visited.

"Scott and I were in towns like we're from, so it wasn't unusual for us," Cunningham said.

She's in post-production for the show now, doing voiceovers and final editing, awaiting the May premiere.

Cunningham fondly remembers friends and neighbors in her hometown, including Paula Smith, who still lives there and who works in Charleston.

"She's like my second mom, and her husband, Fred, and my stepdad, Jeff, who's Boone County born and bred, were best friends," Cunningham said. "Paula and my mom, Susan, were good friends. I was more lucky than most as I have parents who think I put the stars in the sky -- Paula and Fred and others were like extra parents to my brother and me."

When Cunningham was at UC, she had a family member looking out for her there as well.

"My grandfather, Forrest Thomas, was a security guard at UC. He used to visit me at the design studio with soup his wife, Charlotte, had made. It was wonderful."

Cunningham works with a Northeastern furniture company, Raymour & Flanigan, creating design plans and product guides that can be used by salespeople when showing the furniture line.

When she talks of her years in West Virginia, she's less of a proud parent and more like an outsider who became an insider.

"It doesn't come from born-and-bred pride, like my husband, who was born and raised in West Virginia, who grew up next to his grandparents. My pride comes from someone who was taken in by an entire community."

She's as proud of her work as she is of her West Virginia roots.

"Young girls are writing to me instead of Britney Spears! When they run up to me in Target, I'm so thrilled. HGTV has done that for these girls. They watch me use power tools, do it myself, and they are interested in design.

"The average household now doesn't settle for a ho-hum home. They have access to good design, everybody now talks about a little bit about design."

Reach Sara Busse at sara.bu...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-1249.

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Nationally known decorator feels at home in W.Va.

Interior designer Martyn Lawrence-Bullard has pulled together luxurious looks for A-list celebrities, such as Eva Mendes, Cher and Elton John.

The British-born decorator is known for his adroit use of color and patterns to create rich-textured spaces, garnering him multiple awards and recognition in the pages of top design magazines. His reputation landed him a spot on Bravo’s “Million Dollar Decorators ,” a show documenting the lives of five celebrity designers in Los Angeles.

In addition to the show, Lawrence-Bullard has been keeping busy with a new fabric line for Schumacher and his first book, “Live, Love and Decorate.” The designer also has a line of candles, handcrafted rugs and furniture.

We asked him a few questions while he was in town this week giving a lecture at the Washington Design Center.

What are some of the exciting trends in interior design?

Lawrence-Bullard: Color. Fashion and interior design seem to go hand in hand these days. All of the runway fashion for this summer had bright colors: ­oranges, limes, cerise pink. And you will see that in so many collections.

People are beginning to understand that [the colors] they love to wear they also want to surround themselves with in their homes. There is much more of an openness to color now. People are beginning to get a bit more adventurous.

Now, for your readers, if they’re not sure about having an orange living room, but they like the idea of it, then paint your powder room orange. Start off small. Powder rooms are such a great space because they’re intimate. You close the door it doesn’t affect anything else in the house, but you can make it a surprise. More importantly, you can make it your experiment pad. And if you find that you love that orange powder room, you can expand the color elsewhere.

There is also a huge movement to 1970s furniture. We’ve gone through this whole period for the last five years of mid-century. Mid-
century is definitely now leading more into 1970s, even a little 1980s.

Brass is the new black. In the 1980s brass was huge in furniture, and it’s making a comeback. And I’m finding it very fresh. At the moment, I’m doing a big estate for Ellen Pompeo and all of the taps, everything in that house is brass. It looks new, fresh, sexy and rich again. Not that horrible gold-plate, but the brass that has a little patina to it.

Even the 1970s and 1980s furniture that was gold-plated now has a patina on it; so you can now bring it in and the gold is not so bold. But it still creates this sort of wonderful layered, textural feeling.

What advice would you give the homeowner or renter that wants to freshen up their place, but doesn’t know where to start?

Lawrence-Bullard: Paint is the boldest, easiest way to transform a space, because you can buy a can for $20 or $30 and paint the place yourself. If you’re a renter and don’t want to have to repaint when you leave, an easy fix would be pillows. With pillows you can delineate the seasons. Even for $20 of $30 you can buy fun pillows at Pottery Barn, Crate & Barrel or Restoration Hardware. You can buy beautiful, fun florals that are fashionable for the season. And when the winter comes around, you can change those out and put faux fur and velvet.

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Martyn Lawrence-Bullard talks design

Joe Frazier, the great former heavyweight champion, died of liver cancer in November, but not before granting writer Katherine Dunn a lengthy interview that she turned into a terrific portrait of the man.

Frazier is best known as the boxer who defeated Muhammad Ali on March 8, 1971, in the most famous bout in history, but Dunn paints an indelible picture of Joe Frazier the man in her profile that appears in the March issue of Playboy.

She takes you inside Frazier's personal life with vivid details. She tells how, despite being blind in one eye, he repeatedly managed to pass eye examinations.

Frazier had also injured his left eye while preparing for the Olympics. He was hitting a speed bag when the steel swivel broke and a piece of shrapnel flew into his eye. The lens was damaged, the vision clouded. No boxing commission in the country would have allowed Frazier to fight as a pro if word got out. He kept it secret.

All these years later he laughed like a naughty kid, explaining how he got through dozens of commission eye exams by memorizing the eye chart and switching hands instead of eyes when the doctor said "And now cover the other one."

She writes of his infidelity and his long-time relationship with Denise Menz, who was at Frazier's side when he finally succumbed to liver cancer.

Menz went from being the other woman to his constant companion, the most significant figure in his life. She helped guide him through his post-retirement years with skill and aplomb.

On the night Frazier flattened Buster Mathis, another important thing happened. At a party after the fight, the 24-year-old Frazier met Denise Menz, the spunky 19-year-old from New Jersey who would be his lover, friend, office manager, interior decorator, supply clerk, nurse, historian, jokester and companion off and on for the rest of his life.

The laughing, redheaded Menz welcomed me into the apartment she'd been sharing with Frazier since his last spinal surgery, in 2008. She said, "I have a Ph.D. in Frazierology." In addition to running the popular Menz Restaurant near Cape May, New Jersey with her family, Denise is an interior designer. The big front room was full of comfort and grace all the way to the glass wall looking onto the terrace.

Dunn eloquently tells the tale of the time when Frazier was married and Menz was the other woman. She checked into a hotel with Frazier, only to find out he had three other women in the same hotel.

Over the decades, when Denise got mad at Frazier, it was usually over women. The first time, she said, she was devastated. "I was so naive. I knew I was the other woman, but I didn't know there were others."

The best stuff, though, is when she talks about the pressure Frazier felt in 1971 in the build-up to the first Ali fight. Frazier was protected by the police but still didn't feel safe.

There were so many police around him, even as he trained, that Frazier said he felt like "a jailbird."

The pressure became most intense as the fight neared, and Dunn skillfully weaves a narrative.

Frazier was set to fight Ali on March 8, 1971. Two days before, Philadelphia police escorted Frazier to New York City. In his gold Cadillac the usually friendly fighter was so silent and grim that the cops joked about taking an order for his last meal.

In Manhattan a contingent of New York cops met the Cadillac and guarded his hotel room. When fight time came the police smuggled Frazier into Madison Square Garden through an underground tunnel to avoid the mobs outside.

It's a wonderful piece about a fascinating man and one of the greatest boxers ever.

It's so good, you can say you read Playboy for the articles and, at least this time, you'd be telling the truth. (Warning: The landing pages hosting the Frazier story contains links to explicit content.)

Continued here:
Playboy gives legendary champion Smokin? Joe Frazier a final send-off

By CARLETON VARNEY

Special to the Daily News

There are many things prima, from prima ballerinas on the stage to prima classe on Italian aircraft. And there are lots of prima “Donnas” and prima “Dons,” for that matter. But there is only one Prima Antiques & Gallery in the Palm Beaches, and it’s on Antique Row in West Palm Beach.

Prima, of course, means the best of the best, and if you’re in touch with the history of Palm Beach, you know that Addison Mizner was the prima architect of his time. And today, I would venture to say, a prima custodian of the Addison Mizner image is Robert Eigelberger, known to his friends as Bob.

At his shop, he has assembled a collection of authentic Italian Mediterranean furnishings that’s a must-see for decorators — ceramics, mirrors, tapestries and lighting fixtures, any of which could give a home a touch of Palm Beach glamour.

Bob hails from St. Louis and in 1978 came to Palm Beach, where he became an early force in ensuring that the town’s architectural heritage would not be lost to redevelopment by helping found the town’s Landmark Preservation Commission.

It was Bob’s passion for the Mizner style that led him to turn Warden House, a mansion designed by the architect in the 1920s, into six apartments a couple of decades ago.

Those of you who have visited Warden House at 200 N. Ocean Blvd. know that the original floors, doorway details and terraces were carefully preserved for future owners and generations to enjoy.

Eigelberger lived in one of the apartments prior to his marriage to Suzy Cochran Phipps, his creative partner.

Eigelberger also converted and preserved another mansion, Bienestar, on Root Trail, and Villa Flora on North Ocean Boulevard at the corner of Dunbar Road.

If you visit Prima Antiques, I hope Bob will give you some tidbits about the Mizner indoor/outdoor style of living; his own passion for landscaping is well known.

Or you might meet Sybil de Bourbon Parme, who has been an antiques consultant to the shop for years and is also an interior-decorating consultant. For two years, she worked with the late Gianni Versace on his Miami residence Tutt. She assisted contractors, supervised restorers and advised on faux painting, among her duties there.

She enjoyed a youthful stint in Paris and moved to Palm Beach in the 1980s, where she lived with her family in The Vicarage, the historic home on North Lake Way, and met the Eigelbergers who live across the street.

A woman of many talents, she holds a patent on a turbo charger for motorbikes, acquired from her days in Los Angeles. When I asked Bob if he rode a motorcycle, he responded, “No, but I do ride a Vespa.”

Bob and Sybil share a passion for fantasy, creativity, color, Addison Mizner, tropical gardens, cooking, entertaining and offering shoppers high-quality items — and that is what Prima is all about. Stop by Suite 2 at 3300 S. Dixie Highway and see for yourself.

And tell them Carleton Varney sent you.

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Your Family Decorator: Prima Antiques a reflection of Bob Eigelberger, Sybil de Bourbon Parme’s creativity

21-02-2012 03:33 Interior Design Brisbane - from design concept,detailed preparation of plans, project managment and fitout. Furniture selection, art selection. Commercial and residential design.

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Interior Design Brisbane - Video

22-02-2012 10:34 http://www.divinehome.ca Mississauga Interior Decorator hink of return on investment. A qualified interior decorator knows how to stretch a budget and work with you to create your decorating vision. Divine Home brings years of experience and access to industry suppliers to bring maximum results with a minimum budget.Your home is your biggest investment. Whether you are selling or staying, an investment in renovating and interior home decorating will help maintain and increase your home's value.Home Interior Decorating by Divine Home Staging and Décor. Why settle for "Home Sweet Home" when you can make your home Divine!

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Mississauga Interior Decorator - Video