Colors add charm to everything. Everything looks enchanting when we decorate it with colors. So, colors carry a significant significance in our life. Similarly, when we build a home, we always prefer to select some flamboyant colors for our home because colors add beauty to the home. We always try to decorate our houses with colors that appeal to our eyes. Everyone likes to have eye-capturing views at ones house. We have brought this article for all the people who are looking for a guide on how much a paint project cost. We have some factor that determines the cost of the painting project when hiring commercial painter and decorator.

Exterior painting cost:

Painting the exterior of any building can be a challenging task. It is because the surface is more vulnerable to weather changes, and it should be durable enough to stand by harsh weather. In such circumstances, your paint should be strong enough to bear the weather changes, or else you may have to change your colors after little whiles. If you change your exterior colors after short periods, then it may prove to be more expensive or costly. You, whenever you choose to paint your exterior, must focus on these things that the paint you are going to want must be feasible and durable at the same time.

Moreover, location and size are two other main things that may affect the cost of your paint project. If the size of the area that is to be painted is large enough, then you may have to spend a little more. You must calculate the domain before hiring people to paint your exterior. You must clean the surface that you need to decorate, for it can also affect the cost of your painting. If you dont clean the cover yourself, then you have to hire some people for this job, and it will cost money and increase your cost of the painting project.

Interior painting cost:

And here comes another important part of the painting project! Interior painting is a way more sensitive part of the painting project. The interior of a home or any building is the most observed thing. Everyone notices the paint and other embellishments of the interior of the building. So, the interior of any building or house must be very eye-capturing. All the factors that are involved in affecting the exterior of the build are engaged in the interior of the building. Location, size, type of paint, the complexity of designs or textures, and the number of colors are the leading factors that may affect the cost of the interior painting project. So, it would be best if you did not take these factors for granted.

In addition to the above, you must also not compromise the quality of paint in order to avoid more expenses. If you use substandard colors, you may have to change it more quickly. So, you must choose high quality and durable paints for your building interior because your interior is as important as the exterior of your building.

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Factors that affect the cost of paint project - - VENTS Magazine

Barbara Smith, better known and beloved to fans as B. Smith, departed this world at the age of 70 after succumbing to a long battle with early onset Alzheimers disease. As a model, ESSENCE cover star, restaurateur, entrepreneur, lifestyle expert, author and more, Smith left behind a glowing legacy, in which she imparted many historic contributions as both an African American and a female pioneer in the culinary and lifestyle industry.

For me, B. Smith was our Martha Stewart. No matter what she did, she did it with style, elegance and grace, says celebrity chef, television personality and Cutthroat Kitchen winner Huda Mumin, who considered B. Smith a friend and advisor. Meeting her and being mentored by her was a dream come trueI will never forget the times that we spent together and what an inspiration her life was to me and so many.

Before Black female chefs like Mumin became ambassadors for major brands and recognized for their gastronomic talents on TV networks and before there was a lane for lifestyle influencers, home cook bloggers and food content creators; and before there were Gina Neelys, Ayesha Currys and other culinary empires for women of color, there was B. Smith, who carved out a path where her passion for food and home could occupy successful (and esteemed) entrepreneurial spaces.

She turned herself into a lifestyle brand, which is still groundbreaking for women of color, says Pinky Cole, who notably built her own successful plant-based province as the founder of the famed Slutty Vegan restaurants and forthcoming product line. Seeing a woman of color accomplish so much in the food/restaurant industry was inspiring. Its important for young people to see a mirror image of themselves and who they can become and thats who she was to me. She left her mark on the world and the hearts of so many, and for that, Im thankful and grateful.

B. Smith really opened the eyes to a lot of talented foodpeople of color, says Norma Jean Darden, a fellow food icon, whose careernearly parallels that of Smiths. Darden and Smith first met each other asmodels signed to Wilhelmina Modeling Agency, where they both launched their professionalcareers before becoming restaurateurs.

Toward the end of our careers [in modeling,] I remembergoing to a nightclub and seeing her sing. And neither of us was thinking aboutfood, recalls Darden, who shortly after that encounter published a cookbookthat would later launch her New York-based Spoonbread restaurants. Then [B.Smith] became a hostess at a trendy restaurant called America with MichaelWeinstein down toward the Village. And next thing I knew; he had put her in herown place, B. Smiths, which was a huge hit.

Opened in 1986, Smiths first restaurant on 8th Avenue in Manhattan marked the beginning of her food empire. Later, she would open restaurants in Sag Harbor, NY, and Washington D.C.

Walking into B. Smiths Restaurant in D.C. was a wow factor, Mumin reminisces on times spent with Smith at her D.C. restaurant. It was a historic and beautiful 300-seat elegant restaurant in Union Station, the biggest restaurant there, which made you proud to know it was owned by a Black woman.

Smiths restaurant success led to cookbooks: B. Smiths Entertaining and Cooking for Friends (Artisan Press); B. Smith: Rituals and Celebration (Random House) and B. Smith Cooks Southern-Style (Simon and Schuster). And in the midst of it all, Smith solidified herself as a much-respected media personality and lifestyle expert with her TV show B. Smith with Style and several guests appearances on news, talk, and entertainment shows. In 2001, Smith even introduced her B. Smith with Style Home Collection with Bed, Bath and Beyond, which is still touted today as the first line from an African-American woman to be sold at a nationwide retailer.

She gaveme hope that maybe one day I could do the things she did. For the first time Ifelt like maybe there really was a space for us, says Chef Resha, founder ofthe Carnal Dish recipe website and YouTube vlog, which has roughly 42,000subscribers. I remember B. Smiths gorgeous and infectious smile lighting upour television for many years. She even had a restaurant here in D.C. that ourfamily used to frequent. Growing up, I hardly ever saw Black women cooking onTV. But when I first saw B. Smith cooking and entertaining, she really had myattention.

As a vlogger and personal chef, Chef Resha acknowledges the lane that B. Smith paved for a generation of African-American chefs, home cooks, homemakers and social media influencers. And she did so in a way that elevated the Black chef into the echelons of global culinary adulation.

So many inspired Black women sawwhat B. Smith did and decided to become really dope event planners, chefs,interior designers, bosses and more, Chef Resha says. For those of us whonever knew of that kind of representation, we became more vocal and proud ofthe things we loved to do that nobody really paid attention to.

Female cooks, particularly Black female cooks, have long been the drivers of American cuisine. As enslaved cooks, then domestics and home cooks, African-American women created the meals that fed a nation. Their recipes and techniques were intertwined into the fabric of our food history, but they were footnotes, if not nameless or completely forgotten, in the story of American cuisine. B. Smith didnt just help Black women reclaim that culinary throne, she showed us the throne was never abdicated.

I think food was mostly an ignored occupation for young Blackwomen and men, says Darden. [B. Smith] started a trend toward talented Blackpeople suddenly realizing that these were talents we had for centuries andbrought it to the limelight in the field.

In an interview with the Los Angeles Times from 2000, Smith herself recalls a time when her own mother gave up a dream to be an interior decorator because there were no precedents for it at the time. Smith is quoted saying of her mother, being African American, she wouldnt have had a career. But I turned that around and thought, I never wanted to say I wished I had done something.

And it wasnt just something Mrs. Barbara B. Smith, we thank you for everything.

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Forever Our Icon: Black Female Chefs and Culinary Influencers Remember B. Smith and Her Legendary Career - Essence

Holi is just around the corner. It is high you start thinking about some cool Holi decoration ideas. Holi decoration ideas are not only meant to brighten up your homes but your workspace as well. So take a look at some of these Holi decoration ideas for your office that will brighten up your workspace in no time.

This is one of the easiest Holi decoration ideas. Choose a wall in your office and paint it completely white. Then tell all the office employees to choose a colour of their choice and leave their handprint on the wall with the colour. Make sure this activity does not create a mess around the office.

Also read |Kylie Jenner's Home Decor Is Packed With The Best Of Interior Designs; See Pics

Every office has a common sitting area and this is one of the most-long lasting Holi decoration ideas. Add a bunch of funky and colourful pillows to a common sitting area in the office. Holi decoration ideas for office can have a lasting effect to add some pop to your workspace.

Some Holi decoration ideas can have a lasting effect on your workspace. When you are looking for office Holi decoration ideas, make sure you look for some long-lasting ideas. Adding colourful lights to certain office spaces can add that subtle hint of festive mood within no time.

Also read |Small House Interior Design Ideas To Make Your House Look Larger

Adding flowers to your office space is one of the easiest office Holi decoration ideas. Adding flowers will also add a sweet fragrance to some corners of the office. Make sure you use flowers in different colours. You can also assign a specific colour to each corner of the office and match the flower decoration accordingly.

Also read |Bauhaus Interior Design: 5 Things To Know About The Bauhaus Furniture

Also read |5 Home Design Ideas To Give Your Home An Interior Decorator's Touch

Excerpt from:
Holi decoration ideas for your office that will add a pop of colour to your workspace - Republic World - Republic World

Sussanne Khan shared this photo. (Image courtesy: suzkr)

While we were busy with work mid-week, Sussanne Khan and Gauri Khan managed to scoop some time out of their busy schedules to have fun with their "wolf pack". Yeah! That's what they call their group, which comprises Seema Khan (Sohail Khan's wife), Maheep Kapoor (Sanjay Kapoor's wife), Bhavana Panday (Chunky Panday's wife), Neelam Kothari and choreographer Shabina Khan. Sussanne shared two group photos on her Instagram profile on Friday, which happen to be from interior decorator Maison and Objet's 25th anniversary party that was held at a design store owned by Gauri Khan in Mumbai on Thursday. In one of the pictures, Sussanne, who was married to actor Hrithik Roshan, can be seen posing with Gauri, Seema, Bhavana, Maheep, Neelam and Shabina while in the other picture, Chunky Panday can be seen posing with the group.

Sharing the photo, Sussanne Khan wrote: "Catching feels and tunes... Super fun time, my girls... Love you! #wolfpack."

Take a look:

The event was also attended by Gauri Khan's actor husband Shah Rukh Khan, who arrived at the celebrations dressed in an olive-coloured t-shirt, denims and a brown jacket. The actor was photographed with his interior decorator wife and her "wolf pack" at the event. Take a look:

She was photographed arriving with Shah Rukh Khan.

The actor posed for the shutterbugs.

Shah Rukh Khan with wife Gauri and her "wolf pack."

Gauri Khan frequently shares pictures of her girl gang, who make appearances at several events together. Last year, Shah Rukh and Gauri Khan invited Sussanne Khan and Karan Johar to their Alibaug bungalow to enjoy their weekend together. Take a look at their pictures:

A post shared by Gauri Khan (@gaurikhan) on Oct 18, 2019 at 7:28am PDT

Gauri Khan has designed houses for Bollywood celebrities like Ranbir Kapoor, Karan Johar, Jacqueline Fernandez and Varun Dhawan among others.

Original post:
Nothing To See Here, Just Pics Of Sussanne, Gauri Khan And Their "Wolf Pack" - NDTV News

By Bob Sacks

The food at The Asbury Ocean Club is very good, and fully merits 3 stars. The setting less so. We arrived at this new since July hotel/condo complex, entered a small lobby, and asked for the restaurant. A young man appeared, and took us by elevator to the third floor. The doors opened onto a large room with a bar on one wall, where we were introduced to a pleasant young woman who showed us to what can be best described as an adjacent, dimly lit, wide corridor, with seven or eight round marble cocktail tables, and a banquette on one wall.

Two of the 30-inch round tables were pushed together to create our table for four, utilizing the banquette and two chairs for seating. There was a large room just beyond, with some random couches and seating with a few small cocktail tables, reserved solely for hotel guests and condo owners, but there was no traditional dining room. The high ceilings, lush design, and clearly expensive, eye-catching decorator touches of this dining area made for a contradiction I am still trying to understand. However, the food is why we came, and, happily, it was very good!

We started with Beet Cured Tuna ($18). Four thick slices of dark red Saku Tuna (high grade tuna cut into a block), cured with red beets, tarragon and Burgundy, beautifully plated with a streak of reddish pomegranate crme frache and bagel chips, was delicious; almost too pretty to eat.

Suckling Pig Belly ($16), garnished with pickled radish, soy sauce caviar, and edamame puree, was crunchy-crackly on the out- side, and meatier and less fatty than other versions of this dish we have had elsewhere. The open flame cooking lent a subtle smoky flavor to the meat. Excellent!

A thick and creamy Honey Nut Squash Soup ($13) was a cut above the ordinary. This diminutive relative of the butternut squash is far more flavorful; a bit sweeter and nuttier in taste, and said to be even more nutritious. Prepared with nutmeg crme frache, sage, pieces of honeynut brittle, lemon, and some olive oil for smoothness, it was a nice opportunity to try this less often seen squash.

So as not to slight the aforementioned larger cousin of the honeynut, we ordered the Harvest Risotto ($15). Properly creamy, but not mushy, risotto, was topped with cubes of butternut squash, toasted pumpkin seeds, nasturtium, and pickled currants, making for a hearty seasonal dish.

It was impossible to resist the Skate Milanese ($32); it is not frequently seen on menus. A skate wing, dipped in egg and coated with parmesan and bread crumbs, is then skillet-fried, creating a nice brown crust. Florets of butter poached cauliflower, cauliflower fonduta (fondue), sage potatoes, and a caper berry concasse (read: chopped) buerre blanc, shared the plate with the moist, sweet-tasting fish. Yum!

Dutch Country Brick Chicken ($26), arrived with Brussel Bubble and Squeak (a traditional English dish made from roasted Brussels sprouts and potatoes), cranberry gastrique (sweet and sour sauce), and chicken demi-glace. This unique preparation was very good, and very interesting as well!

A novel presentation of Duck Two Ways ($38) offered a succulent, blood orange-glazed confit of leg and thigh, and thick slices of rare breast meat, paired with cooked red cabbage, sitting atop a butternut squash puree. The richness of the duck was balanced perfectly by the acidity of the cabbage and citrus flavors.

A selection of side dishes indicated that the kitchen did not consider them to be incidentals. A toothsome order of glazed carrots ($5), prepared with honey butter, were slightly sweet and deeply flavorful. We also enjoyed a Kennett Square Mushroom Ragu ($6); the earthiness of the mushrooms was enhanced with a mushroom stock, lemon and chervil.

The wine list is not long, but well chosen. We selected a 2018 Clement & Florian Berthier Sancerre ($64). This crispy white, sauvignon blanc-based wine, from the Loire Valley in France, with its appealing minerality, was an ideal contrast for most of the dishes.

The desserts were as beautifully plated as the rest of the food that preceded them. Sweet Potato Kuchen ($10) was memorable. A cube of that cake was topped with a small mound of black sesame glaze, and shared the plate with a pool of beet mousse and nuggets of white chocolate and coffee peb- bles. The humble sweet potato has never been so hon- ored before!

I was informed after the meal that there are indeed plans to create a more traditional dining room in the near future, which would then allow diners to enjoy the excellent, high quality food, in a setting more worthy of it. Once that has happened, the restaurant at the Asbury Ocean Club will definitely warrant four stars; the foods already there!

Asbury Ocean Club1101 Ocean Ave. AsburyOceanClub.com

Bob Sacks, longtime food and wine buff, reviews restaurants in this column. Follow him on Instagram @dinnerwithbob.

Link:
Restaurant Review: Asbury Ocean Club - The Two River Times

With the increasing expenditure on quality life by Indian urbanites and their rising exposure to exotic destinations in the global village, the need for interior designers is going all-time high at present times. On the other hand, due to rising population and a paradigm shift in family structures; joint to nuclear families, the per capita land consumption is decreasing day by day.

Therefore, effective and efficient use of the limited space is not just the choice, but the need of the people. With all these developments, interior designing is emerging as a booming career option for people with a creative bent of mind.

But, before making any final decision, below is some information about the industry that every aspiring candidate must know in advance.

Truly, anyone can become an interior decorator if s/he has a creative mindset and attributes discussed below.

A person who likes playing with colours, fabrics and textiles can become a decorator by merely printing business cards and promoting themselves to clients.

Therefore it becomes important to know what a person should actually be pursuing.

Interior design does not necessarily mean designing and planning residence interiors and other living spaces.

There are several career opportunities in interior designing from which one can choose, such as furniture designers, exhibition designer, lighting designers, kitchen designer, architect, architectural technologist, product designer textile designer, stylist, production designer.

For an entry-level for interior designer, average pay is around 4 lakh per annum, while a senior interior designer could earn up to a 30 lakh per annum.

Receiving a proper salary depends on a lot of factors, such as education, location, work experience and size of the company.

More importantly, one needs to win the favour of the potential employer by impressing him/her with the exposure and experience one cherishes.

1. Knack for apt design: It is understood that to become an interior designer, one should have a knack for colour, spatial arrangements, architecture and textiles, there is a wide range of skills which is needed since a designer also works with builders, architects, government agencies and business owners.

2. Communication skills: In order to become a successful interior designer, one needs to be educated and well-rounded.

Apart from technical skills such as space design, furniture design, technical drawing, material knowledge, and familiarisation with interior design tools, one must develop a great harmony between interpersonal and communication skills, to maintain a good network with the clients, contractors and suppliers.

Of course, one must have the brains to send it to the market and the designing service and update them regularly.

3. Detailed information: Some of the details may be boring, but to work on a particular project, knowledge of these details is quintessential for interior designers.

4. Keeping up with the trend: Interior design has become a competitive business. One needs to grab the attention of people towards the design in order to gain success.

The future trends involving population growth, designing for the elderly, modern architecture and green design can help in gaining the upper hand in the job market.

It is necessary to keep on the tab with the latest design trends by reading design publications and websites, communicating with fellow designers and following a mentor.

- Article by Rishabh Sarpal, Concept Architect and Founder of Rishabh Sarpal Atelier

Read: Career in Interior Designing: Skills needed, job opportunities, salary and where to study

Read: Skills to become an interior designer that you cannot learn in college

Read: Career opportunities in Business Interiors

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Interior Designing as career: Specialisations, salary and skills needed - India Today

PINELLAS PARK Kris Creque had gotten used to the pilgrimage to Jollibee in Jacksonville, the one place in Florida she wanted to go when she was homesick for the Philippines. Shed rally her family, endure five hours in the car, order six buckets of crispy Chickenjoy and 10 sides of gravy and ferry the food five hours back to Port Charlotte. Whatever she didnt finish, she froze.

Early on Friday, the 33-year-old Publix cake decorator stood No. 138 in a line that had been building since 4:30 p.m. the day before, with a Sharpied sign that said #NOMOREDRIVINGTOJACKSONVILLE.

At 9 a.m., confetti cannons blazing, the double doors of Jollibee Pinellas Park would swing open, with the promise of Palabok Fiesta just ahead.

Creque had grown up eating Chickenjoy in the Philippines, where Jollibees dominate McDonalds, but married an American and moved here in 2016. On Friday morning, she made it to Pinellas Park before sunrise.

First in line was Angelo Honculada, 21, a University of South Florida senior studying cellular and molecular biology. While he waited with a blanket, his Filipina mom called and asked if he was doing his principles of immunology homework. Honculada passed the phone to the stranger behind him. No. 2 Arlene Bonifacio, 54, vouched for Honculada, even though she had just met him and he kept bragging about beating her by five minutes.

Nobody got much sleep, what with the mosquitoes and anticipation and drive-through pavement for a bed. Instead, they shared McDonalds snacks, camp chairs and blankets. By morning, a DJ had arrived, spinning Justin Bieber as Jollibee videographers roved the lines edges, taking in the homemade signs with glitter stick-ons and mini Philippine flags.

Near the front, Pinellas Park resident Melinda Schramm, 42, held her green No. 10 ticket along with her order form (2 Yumburgers, 1 Palabok, 6-pc. Bucket, plenty of rice). She moved to the U.S. 10 years ago from Manila after meeting her husband online. She, too, has caravaned to Jacksonville for Jollibee. Thursday night, she and her Filipina friends played cards and dreamed of Peach-Mango Pies and her favorite, peppery, garlicky adobo rice.

Schramm posed for photos, hunger building. Those first few years had been so hard, she said. She still remembers the first time she ate Jollibee stateside. It was Seattle, 2013, and she ordered more than she could possibly eat.

It tasted like home, she said, like home.

***

The day before, to inaugurate Floridas second Jollibee, the chain invited a roster of local VIPs for a morning of jolly fanfare. Pinellas Park city staffers mingled, sipping free Pineapple Quenchers, while a remix of Cardi Bs Bodak Yellow pulsed in the spotless, blond wood interior.

There were traditions to uphold: A reverend, in a humble brown cassock, crossed himself before speaking of the dignity of labor. While friers sizzled, Jollibee executives read from Genesis and led a responsorial psalm, the crowd echoing: Lord, give success to the work of our hands. The VIPs held red votive candles while Father Vijaya walked the kitchen, sprinkling its every corner with holy water.

They tossed lucky coins and candies to bless the space. There were speeches about Jollibees humble beginnings, two ice cream parlors in the Philippines opened by a new college graduate trying to feed his family. Beth Dela Cruz, president of Jollibee Foods Corporation North America, Philippine Brands Group, cited stats that show the fast-food chains seemingly indomitable, global growth, but admitted even she is sometimes surprised by the fervor.

In Canada and Arizona, people have camped out for days in punishing temperatures. Fans have burned gas driving across state lines. The menu is relatively small, a billboard of reliable favorites, mass-market comfort. At Jollibee, the ice cream flavor is ube, purple yam. Spaghetti is sweet, and Burger Steaks come with rice.

Jacksonvilles Jollibee saw 3,000 customers on opening day in 2017, when it became the first in the Southeast. Placards on the door there still warn, years later, that pricey orders might take extra time.

This Jollibee hired its manager from Jacksonville, Dela Cruz said, and sent some newly minted employees to train there, so theyd be ready.

Jollibee landed in Pinellas Park after pleas from Tampa Bay area Filipinos, who number 22,000, with 4,000 in Pinellas Park alone. Plus, Dela Cruz said, the corporation keyed in on blogs that boasted Pinellas Parks diverse, affordable food scene as a best-kept secret.

For months, eager fans had been driving by, posting forlorn photos of the empty building on Facebook pages like Pilipino Sa Tampa Bay, speculating about opening dates. As Friday approached, one fan wrote, isang tulog nalang only one more sleep.

The opening marked the 40th Jollibee in the U.S., with goals for 150 by 2023.

We cant do a champagne toast in here, Dela Cruz said Thursday, so out of the kitchen came a monster, waist-high bucket of Chickenjoy on wheels, still hot to the touch. She plucked a drumstick and held it up for a cheers.

***

Basking in the spotlight, first-place Honculada sounded like a Jollibee spokesman himself on Friday, praising the mascot for being hardworking, happy and sweet like his beloved sugary, hot-dog-studded Jolly Spaghetti, the first food he ate after getting his wisdom teeth out.

In a red and blue jacket embroidered with a map of the Philippines, he danced without reservation, dropping to the sidewalk to perform a stiff worm.

Have a nice day, he said to reporters, shaking hands. Stay jolly.

Were less than 10 minutes out, the emcee shouted.

Its our turn! yelled a fan.

The people with the best 50 signs would get a mini Jollibee doll wearing a traditional Filipino barong, a formal shirt. The first 50 in line would get free Chickenjoy for a year.

Thats a bucket every month, folks! the emcee yelled.

Finally 9 a.m. neared, and the dancing bee burst out, Jollibee himself, bouncing to the chirpy theme song. His eyes blinked, and he wiggled his striped bum to the words: Im your friend! Jollibee! Jolly, friendly Jollibee!

Melinda Schramm wiped the corners of her eyes. The cannons fired, and a hot breeze blew eddies of red-and-white confetti around the fans feet. The first customers bounded inside, while Schramm and her friends were held back.

Oh my god, hes coming! Schramm squealed as Jollibee neared and All I Do Is Win blared from the speakers.

An 8-year-old held his own in a dance-off with the mascot.

The wait stretched on, 15 minutes feeling like hours. Finally, No. 10 got the all-clear. Schramm scrambled inside, waving, Hi, hello! at the cashiers, high-fiving one of her friends.

Have a jolly day! the cashier said, ringing Schramm up for $48.64. She took her receipt, then paused. Her friends stood waiting with bags to go. Her shoulders sank a little as she realized they didnt plan to slide into a red booth and dig in. Well, she already had plans to come back with more friends for a 7 p.m. Jolly Spaghetti dinner. She made a phone call.

Twenty minutes later, another friend pulled into the crowded lot. Irene Rutter, a fellow Filipina, had wanted to stand in line, but shes three months pregnant and had worked late. The music was still pulsing, lunchtime traffic rushing by, but Rutters smile was tired and soft. Schramm handed her a sack heavy with palabok, burgers, peach-mango pies and small cups of rice. It was still warm.

Contact Claire McNeill at cmcneill@tampabay.com or (727) 893-8321.

Continued here:
The rush is on for Jollibee, a taste of home for Filipinos living in Tampa Bay - Tampa Bay Times

You know him, right? Shiny-suited prog traitor. Ruined Led Zeppelin. Wife ran off with the decorator. All true. But theres way more to the man who nearly joined The Who, once considered suicide and is, in all honesty, a Thoroughly Misunderstood Chap.

Ancient tape machines clutter the upper corridors of Abbey Road Studios. Theyre the clunky old contraptions, with big metal spools, that would have been pressed into service for his first recordings. At the age of 18, in 1969, he was in a rock band that had elaborate songs about the moon landing. A year later he was in a room downstairs in this very building, playing on a George Harrison album.

He started early, Phil Collins, and hes crammed a lot in. When still only 20, he signed up as the denim-dungareed drummer with Genesis. He ended his tenure with them as their satin-jacketed singer, and went on to release the eight solo albums now resurfacing in extended and remastered versions in a reissue project called Take A Look At Me Now. There was also a sideline in production, working with everyone from John Martyn and the Four Tops to Adam Ant and Tears For Fears.

Hes weathered every storm imaginable; one minute the revered godhead of atmospheric popsoul, the next lambasted as a mawkish balladeer, his two-continent appearance at Live Aid pouring petrol on the critical flames. But in the typically cyclical nature of fashion, a raft of American rock and R&B stars are now sampling and loudly applauding the very records that were supposedly over-processed and disagreeable 30 years ago.

Today Phil Collins is in a little side-room that contains only two chairs, a small table, him and his can of Red Bull. He has the thickest, most muscular arms imaginable, and two main emotional gears: when we talk about music and the people hes worked with, he lights up like a pinball machine I havent thought about this for years!; when we touch on that famous critical pasting or the sad recent events of his private life, he seems to shrink in size, so crestfallen and preoccupied that hes like a completely different person.

You ask it, he says, raising his Red Bull, and Ill answer it.

I can remember everything about seeing Genesis at Farnborough Tech on May 29, 1972, including a stupendous version of The Return Of The Giant Hogweed. Can you remember anything about it?

Yeah. It was good times. We played Farnborough quite often. It was always friendly, as some of the guys were from that neck of the woods. We did the Great Western Festival in Lincoln two days later, and I remember meeting the promoter, Stanley Baker, on the Embankment somewhere. He had a lovely penthouse overlooking the river. Hed been in Zulu with Michael Caine, so that was a real star.

Theres an elite club of former child actors who played the Artful Dodger in Oliver! when they were kids and went on to be rock stars: you, Steve Marriott, Davy Jones of The Monkees and Robbie Williams. Do you think you had anything in common?*

My manager once said Robbie Williams was a new version of me, a cheeky chappie. Stevie Marriott and Davy Jones, yes it was a great part if you were a precocious kid.

How did you get to be in The Beatles film A Hard Days Night?

Well I was in it, but not in it. Walter Shenson [the producer] asked me to narrate a Making Of DVD for its 30th anniversary in 1994. And I said: I was in it but they cut me out. And he gave me the outtakes of the concert scene at the end and I went through it frame by frame and I found myself! And on the DVD I circle myself on the screen. I was thirteen. I was also in Ive Got A Horse, a Billy Fury movie which has the Small Faces in it, but I didnt finish up in the film. And I was edited out of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. So yes, theres pattern here.

But I did Buster later on. And I played Uncle Ernie in Tommy, which I loved doing though it was very politically incorrect playing a paedophile. But it was great cos I was with The Who. I was working with Townshend just after Moon died, and I said to him: Have you got anybody to play the drums? Cos Id love to do it. Ill leave Genesis. And Pete said: Fuck, weve just asked Kenney Jones. Cos Kenney Jones, unbeknown to most people, played on stuff when Keith was too out of it. He was far too polite for The Who. But I would have done the job. I would have joined them.

The band you joined when you were nineteen, Hickory, made a concept album about the moon landing. You couldnt make it up. How 1969 is that?

Yeah, it was. I remember it all. We were called Hickory, and then became Flaming Youth. Ken Howard and Alan Blakely were the writers they wrote for The Herd and Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich. And, being a gay couple, theyd taken a shine to our keyboard player, who drank at this club in Warren Street. And they were looking for a band to do this concept album theyd written. I said: Im in a band. And they came to see us at Eel Pie Island, and they liked us so we did it.

How did you get to play on George Harrisons All Things Must Pass?

That was when I was in Flaming Youth. Our manager got a call from Ringo Starrs chauffeur, who said they needed a percussionist, and he suggested me. So I went down to Abbey Road and Harrison was there and Ringo and Billy Preston and Klaus Voormann and Phil Spector, and we started routining the song. No one told me what to play, and every time they started the song, Phil Spector would say: Lets hear guitar and drums, or Lets hear bass and drums. And Im not a conga player, so my hands are starting to bleed. And Im cadging cigarettes off Ringo I dont even smoke, I just felt nervous.

Anyway, after about two hours of this, Phil Spector says: Okay congas, you play this time. And Id had my mic off, so everybody laughed, but my hands were shot. And just after that they all disappeared someone said they were watching TV or something and I was told I could go. A few months later I buy the album from my local record shop, look at the sleeve notes and Im not there. And Im thinking: There must be some mistake! But its a different version of the song, and Im not on it.

Edited out yet again.

Yeah but worse theres more! Cut to years later. I bought [former F1 driver] Jackie Stewarts house. And Harrison was a friend of Jackies, and Jackie told me George was remixing All Things Must Pass. And he said: You were on it, werent you? And I said: Well I was there. Two days later a tapes delivered from George Harrison with a note saying: Could this be you?

I rush off and listen to it, and straight away I recognise it. Suddenly the congas come in too loud and just awful. And at the end of the tape you hear George Harrison saying: Hey, Phil, can we try another without the conga player? So now I know, they didnt go off to watch TV, they went somewhere and said: Get rid of him, cos I was playing so badly. And then Jackie rings and says: Ive got someone here to speak to you, and puts George on and he says: Did you get the tape? And I said: I now realise I was fired by a Beatle. And he says: Dont worry, it was a piss-take. I got Ray Cooper to play really badly and we dubbed it on. Thought youd like it! I said: You fucking bastard!

All that effort for one little gag. Wonderful!

It was lovely, wasnt it? [laughs]

On that bill in 1972, Genesis played with Atomic Rooster, Vinegar Joe, Humble Pie and Wishbone Ash. I always imagined the rock underground were all in it together. Was there any sense of rivalry?

We were in it together, yeah. You didnt feel threatened by anybody. It was the days when youd bump into people at Watford Gap [service station on the M1]. We did the Six Bob Tour six shillings to see three bands: us, Lindisfarne and Van der Graaf Generator. We went on first, then Lindisfarne brought the house down every night Newcastle band, singalongs and then Van der Graaf came on and it all went very dark. We shared a coach together and we all got on very well. Its funny to think about [smiles fondly]. I dont often think of those days.

How did it feel to be suddenly out front in Genesis?

I felt exposed. Id lived all my life behind the security blanket of a drum kit, and suddenly there was nothing except a microphone stand. And the band sounds different from out front. You hear a different kind of balance out front, and it isnt comfortable. And I didnt want the job, frankly.

Why not?

I wanted to stay the drummer. We had people down every Monday [auditioning], five or six people, and I would teach them what they had to do. We were writing A Trick Of The Tail and I would teach them some old songs Firth Of Fifth or whatever and I ended up sounding better than anyone else. And this [Genesis] was kind of a family. Do we want this person in our family? Will he fit in with the way we do things? Anyway, we didnt find anybody and ended up with me.

Youd grown up listening to pop music and Motown, but I remember people being surprised when you released In The Air Tonight in 1981: Phil Collins is rock musician, but isnt this a pop ballad with synthesizers?

Face Value had a huge variety of songs on it. I was listening to The Beatles, Count Basie, Weather Report, Earth Wind & Fire, Neil Young They all featured in my life, so I kind of wrote songs like them. I remember doing In The Air Tonight at Live Aid and Townshend saying: Are you going to do that fucking song again? as it was the only one I ever played.

Why did so many people connect with Face Value?

Well, it was a very personal album, and I said it like it was. The romantic songs were heart-on-sleeve. The lyrics of the songs were real. I didnt hide it Youve taken everything else. You know what I mean?

So they identified with the heartbreak, the divorce?

[Theatrical mock-sorrow] Oh please, dont mention that! Yeah, people identified with it.

Did they identify with you playing In The Air Tonight on Top Of The Pops with a paint pot and brush on your drum machine as a message to your wife, whod gone off with your interior decorator?

All these stories come up and theres never enough time to talk about them properly. What happened was I didnt know what to do on Top Of The Pops. I didnt want to just stand there and sing cos of all that insecurity, so I thought: Ill play the keyboard. But I didnt want one of those poncey Duran Duran things on a stand. So I got a Black & Decker Workmate, and a drum machine on a tea chest. So there was a theme there.

So people just assumed it was about the bloke who went off with your wife?

Well she certainly did. I improvised the lyrics to In The Air Tonight and wrote them on a sheet of paper. And when I turned it over, weirdly, it was the letter-headed notepaper from the painter and decorator. She took great umbrage, my ex-wife, at me writing about anything like this. She didnt like the way I was giving people my side of the story. But I didnt colour it any way.

Musicians respected you but the press werent always as kind. One critic said: Phil Collins has been guilty of placing the bullseye on his own forehead a reference to the Concorde caper at Live Aid and after Another Day In Paradise he was a purveyor of tortured romantic ballads for the middle-income world. How did you react to things like that at the time?

I didnt understand it. I know what I meant with Another Day In Paradise, but people took offence to it because I was rich. What I was saying is that we should all be very appreciative of whatever weve got, as were all doing better than that. But they all took offence at it.

With Concorde it looked like I was showing off. Id played on Robert Plants solo records and he said: Are you doing this Live Aid thing? And I said: Yeah. And he said: Can you get me on it? [US promoter] Bill Graham doesnt like me and he doesnt like Zeppelin. Maybe you, me and Jimmy can do something? And I said: Great, yeah. And then Sting called me and said: Can we do something together? [UK promoter] Harvey Goldsmith said: You can get Concorde and play both. I said: Well, okay, if it can be done. I didnt think Id be showing off.

By the time I got there, me and Robert and Jimmy playing together had become The Second Coming Of Led Zeppelin John Paul Jones was there too. Jimmy says: We need to rehearse. And I said: Cant we just go on stage and have a play? So I didnt rehearse when I got there, but I listened to Stairway To Heaven on Concorde. I arrived and went to the caravans, and Robert said: Jimmy Page is belligerent. Page says: Weve been rehearsing! And I said: I saw your first gig in London, I know the stuff! He says: Alright, how does it go, then?

So I sort of [mimes the Stairway To Heaven drum part], and Page says: No, it doesnt! It doesnt go like that! So I had a word with [co-drummer] Tony Thompson cos Ive played as two drummers a lot and it can be a train wreck and I say: Lets stay out of each others way and play simple.

Thompson, rest his soul, had rehearsed for a week, and Im about to steal his thunder the famous drummers arrived! and he kind of did what he wanted to do. Robert wasnt match-fit. And if I could have walked off, I would have done, cos I wasnt needed and I felt like a spare part.

So you could tell it was going badly?

Yeah, frankly. But wed all have been talking for thirty years about why I walked off stage if Id done it, so I stayed there. Anyway, we came off, and we got interviewed by MTV. And Robert is a diamond, but when those guys get together a black cloud appears. Then Page says: One drummer was halfway across the Atlantic and didnt know the stuff. And I got pissed off. Maybe I didnt know it as well as hed like me to have done, but I became the flagship, and it looked like I was showing off.

Why did you let this kind of criticism affect you so much?

Because you tend to beat yourself up. You start to think you are the things people say you are. Things like that review you just read me of Another Day In Paradise [shakes his head]. I should be over that by now, but it still puts the hackles up occasionally.

Youve worked with such a variety of great people Thin Lizzy, Adam Ant, Tears For Fears, Anni-Frid from ABBA, to name just four. Why did you go for those four?

I kind of knew Phil Lynott. He lived with one of our tour managers, thats how I got the call. Adam Ant funny guy, lovely guy! Tears For Fears just wanted me to do that big drum thing from In The Air Tonight on Woman In Chains We want you to come in here in a big way. Frida flew over to the Genesis studio to meet me its so interesting for me to talk about this sort of stuff! and she was ever so nice.

She thought I was a kindred spirit as she was going through this painful divorce, and she liked Face Value and she thought Id understand her. I picked the songs with her or for her, actually. That whole Somethings Going On album is great.

Only Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson have sold more records than you as a solo artist, so it must have been impossibly hard to choose material. Dont you end up thinking this will sell, rather than this is good as your main concern must be to maintain your success?

You cant help it. You cant help but judge it by what position it gets to. Both Sides fell through the cracks a bit I mean, it still sold eleven million copies. But I was very aware that everyone wanted me to go back to doing You Cant Hurry Love and Sussudio, and here I was being serious and dark. People were saying: Youve lost your sense of humour, Phil. People didnt know what to make of it.

You were deeply unfashionable for a while, so how did it feel when you started getting support from the hippest quarter imaginable Kelis, Ol Dirty Bastard and the Wu-Tang Clan?

I felt good about it my people! Those R&B artists didnt have all that conditioning, they didnt have the rock critic backstory, and its refreshing. Whats written in The Sun goes everywhere; whats written in the Philadelphia Inquirer stays in Philadelphia. So theyre not as aware of it. They dont have the conditioning and the bias.

And Taylor Hawkins of the Foo Fighters wrote you a note

He wrote me a lovely email: Us in the Foo Fighters, we think the world of you. Please dont feel bad about anything. Id done a thing in Rolling Stone which echoed round the world. Id spent three days with this journalist, and we started talking about things They were saying: When three marriages have gone wrong and youre not living with your kids, then sometimes its a dangerous word to use, but have you ever felt suicidal? Yeah, I have.

And people rang me up and said: Dont say that! What are your kids going to say at school? There was a picture of me with Davy Crocketts rifle and an axe. I thought it was lovely that hed taken the time to write.

You said you were going to retire, and did so for a while, and now youre not. What happened?

You say something one day and it goes around the world. I retired so I could be at home with the kids. Then my wife left me and took the kids they moved to Miami so I found myself in a void with no work. But I didnt really want to work, and the kids werent there.

That sounds terrible.

It wasnt particularly nice. I had a big hole in my life and I started drinking. And I wanted to stop so I could be with my kids. I also wanted to stop so that I could maybe do something else I didnt know what though I felt l deserved the right to do nothing. All this stuff happened. The ear thing was in 2000 I lost my hearing in my left ear and then [waves arm painfully] the arm [a spinal injury affected his nerves in 2009, making it impossible for him to play the drums]. I had various operations. I still cant play, but its better than it was.

Did you stop drinking?

Oh yeah. I havent had a drink for over three years. I nearly died from the damage, organs starting to break down. It was a series of things and I just kind of felt I want to be someone else. Im a man of my word but, at the same time, theres a hole where that used to be and I might as well do something.

Any regrets?

Not really. The serious things would be: Would you try a bit harder at a marriage? But things lead to other things. Theres a few people Id love to have worked with Miles Davis would have been nice, Aretha Franklin would have been nice. My daughter told me it was dangerous to stop working Its part of what you are, youre a writer and I realised it was important. Whats nice is I now realise people miss me.

This feature originally appeared in Classic Rock 2017.

See the rest here:
Phil Collins interview: the Live Aid fiasco, going solo, and coping with criticism - Louder

A new life for the Queen's Theatre, now the Sondheim Theatre

Ahead of last night's re-opening of Les Miserables at the newly-redubbed Sondheim Theatre (formerly the Queen's), theatre owner and producer Cameron Mackintosh took members of the press on a quick hurtle around the theatre, from the upper circle to the stalls, accompanied by his long-serving archivist Rosie Runciman who had a collection of "before" photos to hand to remind us what it used to look like.

He last did this when Hamilton re-opened the Victoria Palace in 2017, and it was wonderful to see his palpable enthusiasm for the building and bringing it back to its former glory, completing a project which has now seen every single one of the theatres in his portfolio undergo extensive restorations. From the moment he took on the ownership of the Prince Edward Theatre, which he refurbished lavishly in 1992, he has made it his personal mission to make his theatres the most sought-after and glamorous theatrical addresses in the West End.

It comes, of course, at a cost: it was reported that last year's profits for Delfont Mackintosh Ltd, the operating company of his theatre empire, were down by 57%, falling from 12m to 5m on the previous year across the group, despite turnover increasing 14% to 50m. This was attributed to "the cost of extensive restoration work at the Victoria Palace", on which more than 60m was spent, instead of the originally projected 35m.

But then, as he once told me in an interview, the money that was invested in the Prince Edward has "come back time and time again and paid itself back, so I hope that in my lifetime this money will come back, too...I know that whatever happens, I will leave for my foundation and indeed the enjoyment of future theatregoers, buildings that are in a much better state than when I got them."

True enough. It may turn out to be his most lasting legacy; but it is also a source of great personal pride and enjoyment for him, too. As he also told me, "I get an enormous amount of pleasure out of doing the theatres up, helping to design the carpet and choose the wallpaper. I love old buildings my office and my homes are all classic buildings, so to have these beautiful buildings you could never afford to build now is lovely. But theyre also a big responsibility theyre all a hundred years old, and you know that if you left your own home for a hundred years, you'd soon be cold, miserable and wet, so why should it be any different for them?"

Indeed. His amazing example has also led other theatre owners to follow his example, even if they have less personal wealth than he has, from Nimax (whose co-owner Nica Burns once told me of personally applying a new lick of paint to the foyers in the Duchess Theatre) to Andrew Lloyd Webber, who is currently spending some 45m to refurbish the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, before it reopens late this summer with the British premiere of the stage version of Disney's Frozen. As Lloyd Webber commented, "The auditorium will be completely reconfigured into a comfortable and more intimate space. Producers will have the choice of a traditional proscenium arch or in-the-round configuration. Were reducing the audience capacity by 200 to create wider seats, more legroom and better sight lines. The auditorium will also be reshaped to create a tighter curve, bringing the performer and audience closer together."

There will also be 20 new ladies toilet cubicles added to make a new total of 55. A similar emphasis on increasing ladies loos has occurred at the Sondheim - though it's been matched by a significant reduction in provisions for men, who in the large stalls area have just one toilet now on auditorium left with only a handful of urinals and cubicles.

But it is also the enormous attention to detail that he proudly brings to the work, undertaken -as have all his theatre refurbishments -with the help of veteran interior decorator Clare Ferraby, who is now in her 80s and despite suffering two strokes, now counts the restoration of the Sondheim as the 103rd building she has worked on. As Mackintosh told The Stage, who named her their Unsung Hero in their annual theatre awards in 2018, of her work on the Victoria Palace, "Indomitably, cane in hand, she managed to create an extraordinary colourful and exhilarating temple of theatrical magic and light that will certainly last for another hundred years. The Victoria Palace is arguably her finest achievement and we should all sing from the rafters a hymn of praise and thanks for what shes done for the British theatre."

He was singing them again yesterday as he showed off her latest work, particularly in the theatre bars on each level of the theatre (in the dress circle bar there's a tribute to the studio theatre that was originally intended to be made out of the Ambassadors Theatre when it was scheduled to be re-named the Sondheim). She is that rare person who is apparently able to stand up to him: as she told The Stage, "When I feel strongly about something I will say so, and I dont take no for an answer, even from Cameron." She proves it with his anecdote about the Victoria Palace: "He wanted velvet for the curtains in the new boxes at the rear of the Victoria Palace stalls. I said I wanted to use organza because it gives off a shimmer and hangs better. So weve got organza. Its the Yorkshire in me."

Unfortunately, Stephen Sondheim was not able to be present for a lunchtime event that had been scheduled to mark the renaming of the theatre on Tuesday. In a statement, Mackintosh commented, "Stephen Sondheim suffered a fall a few days ago at his Connecticut home where he tore a ligament which has seriously compromised his immediate mobility... It is likely to be a few months before Stephen will be fit enough to travel to England again to celebrate the new theatre bearing his name." And Sondheim, in turn, said, "I would do nearly anything for Cameron. But to stand side by side with him on a West End stage holding onto a stroller is not something I will let him enjoy teasing me about. From the early reports of friends and the mouth-watering photos I have seen,Les Mizwill have to run another 35 years for him to break even on what he has spent creating such an extravagantly beautiful new theatre out of an old building. As I recover from my tumble, I'm impatient to throw away my cane, grab my hat and head across the Pond as soon as I can to see on which cherub Cameron has tattooed my initials. I am, to put it mildly, chuffed to have my name on a theatre in the West End I have loved visiting ever since my first trip to London almost seventy years ago."

You can read my review of the re-opening of Les Miserables at the Sondheim Theatre, but in the building, abeautiful painted portrait of Sondheim in the stalls bar will have to suffice. Sondheim's own connection to this theatre is that it is where Passionreceived its London premiere in 1996, with a cast led by Michael Ball and Maria Friedman.

As for Mackintosh himself, it was also a theatre where one of his earliest original musicals The Card played briefly in 1973, choreographed by the late Gillian Lynne (who just eighteen months ago had her own West End theatre named after her, the former New London Theatre. Aweek before she died, aged 92; she became the first non-royal woman to have a theatre named after her in the West End).

A fourth leading lady for Waitress

Last weekend there was an extraordinary run of bad luck at the Adelphi Theatre, where according to a press release issued on Monday, "All 3 of the Waitress company who play the role of Jenna (Lucie Jones and understudies Olivia Moore and Sarah OConnor) were struck down ill. It was too late to do anything about the matinee and sadly the producers had to take the difficult decision to cancel the show altogether. It was decided that the evening show would not be possible either... The company worked hard in the afternoon to put together a presentation of songs from the show that the remaining company members could perform to audiences members who turned up... The company performed, I Didnt Plan It, When He Sees Me, Never Getting Rid and the finale version of Opening Up. It was an incredibly warm reaction from those people who stayed, and David Hunter introduced it all very humorously and warmly."

And to enable the show to go on, as scheduled, from Monday, the producers madefast plans to fly in Desi Oakley, who has played the role of Jenna in the US tour of the show, to take over. She duly did; and a friend of mine who read my tweet of this account took himself to the Adelphi to make sure he caught her.

He reported back, "And thank goodness Ive seen this. She is phenomenal. Ive seen five Jennas now (in 6 performances) and shes my favourite. Its not just the voice. Desi is a terrific actress. So thank goodness you keep me in the loop."

See the article here:
Friday Briefing: Transformation of the Sondheim Theatre and intercontinental cast mates - LondonTheatre.co.uk

Lair: Radical Homes and Hideouts of Movie VillainsBy Chad Oppenheim / Andrea GollinTra Publishing$75.00

Bad people dont always have good taste, but when they do, their homes are the stuff of architecture history. Curzio Malaparte was attending fascist rallies in between stays at his cliffside retreat, the various owners of Lloyd Wrights Sowden Housecommitted unspeakable crimes behind its stony facade, andPhilip Johnsons sordid past all but eclipses his career as one of the most accomplished architects of the 20th century.

Lair: Radical Homes and Hideouts of Movie Villains (Courtesy Tra Publishing)

While most of us may not be able to tour the homes of these baddies or live in anything remotely like them ourselves, the homes of movie villains are at our disposal however many times we wish to visit them. Chad Oppenheim of Miami-basedOppenheim Architecture and writer Andrea Gollin have come together to shine a spotlight on the homes of the silver screen that lurk in the shadows to draw an undeniable connection between low morale and high design. Their book, Lair: Radical Homes and Hideouts of Movie Villains, pries open 15 of the most diabolical abodes and renders them in silk-silver linework over depthless black paper, all of which were exquisitely illustrated by Carlos Fueyo, a VFX and CG supervisor behind some of the most visually sumptuous blockbusters of the last decade.

Carlos Fueyos perspective cutaway of the Death Star reveals more of the structure than can was ever depicted in the original Star Wars series. (Courtesy Tra Publishing)

Lairmakes evident that the average movies art production team is at its most creative when given theopportunity to imagine homes as sinister and calculated as the villains that would commission them with dark money. An eye-opening interview between Oppenheim andStar Wars set decorator Roger Christian uncovers the inspiration behind the Death Star, arguably the most famous evil lair in cinema, albeit one that doubles as a weapon capable of obliterating planets many times its size. When it came to the Death Star, Christian explained, that was inspired by the Reich architecture of Albert Speer, obviously. When you look at Nazi architecture, its very black with red on it. Very simple and very dauntingand strangely beautiful.

Fueyos illustrations render the highly articulate surface of the Death Star with all the wonderfully arbitrary detailing of the original and managed to produce a perspective cutaway that offers a glimpse into the orderly, clock-like work of its scaleless interior. The divergent paths of the light and dark sides of the force are as apparent in the contrasting austerity between the Empires home base and the humble desert residences of the Jedi as they are in any of the other cinematic choices made in the production of the blockbuster film series.

John Lautners Elrod House in Palm Springs played the evil lair in Diamonds Are Forever (1971). (Courtesy Tra Publishing)

About a third of the 15 lairs are owned by various Bond villains, from Ernst Stavro Blofelds sub-volcanic hideaway in You Only Live Twice (1967) to Karl Strombergs spider-like marine research laboratory in The Spy Who Loved Me (1977). While Bond trots around the world as a stylish nomad, his enemies stay put in increasingly eccentric abodes that speak to their character just as effectively as their words or actions. The sensuous architecture of Los Angeles-architect John Lautner makes more than a few cameos and is otherwise the unsubtle inspiration for a number of the evil lairs throughout the movie series. A rarely-seen interview between Lautner and Marlene Laskey on the Elrod House, a home the architect designed in 1968 that was extensively featured inDiamonds are Forever (1971), reveals that the home was built with surprisingly few restraints, thus imbuing the structure with a number of eccentricities suited to the fictional supervillain Ernst Stavro Blofeld.

Good design often comes at a price, either through its exchange with ones soul or a sum of money that no one person should reasonably have. While real-life crooks reveal little of themselves to the public by trade, the homes featured inLairgrants its readers a more-than-generous look into the lives lived by a fictional class of villains.

Continued here:
Lair puts a spotlight on the homes of famous movie villains - The Architect's Newspaper