A white picket fence surrounds the cedar-shingle house sitting among dozens and dozens of rose bushes, maybe more than 150 of them. People go by every day and are mesmerized, says Kara Sher, an interior decorator and real estate agent who lives in Fort Lauderdale.

Her roses include about a half dozen purple varieties as well as almost a dozen pinks with names such as perfume delight, ivory tower, Christian Dior, Belindas dream and sweet surrender. There are elegant long-stemmed hybrid teas, clusters of grandifloras and floribundas as well as showy cottage roses.

When Sher was asked what she wanted for the garden of her home where she lives with her children and life partner Jim La Vallee, she started sketching. She drew her dream, which grew out of a visit to a friends farm on Nantucket Island several summers ago.

The farm was nothing short of being storybook, she says. She recalls the yard was filled with nikko blue hydrangeas, pink roses and hot pink peonies.

Today at Shers home, there are roses along the street. Inside the fence, the yard is neatly carved into four beds that are bordered with ilex and separated by white pebble paths.

On clear nights, the family including Michael, 9, and Caroline, 12, gather on two handmade white benches to watch the stars and enjoy the perfume of the flowers. Its like an oasis. You come out here and you feel like you are on vacation, she says.

Or she might have her morning coffee in a wicker chair on the front porch overlooking a hedge of small lilac-pink Caldwell roses that grow in eye-catching clusters. Youll also find these charmers lining the fence along the street.

In summer these bushes explode with blooms, says Sher who grew up in Fort Lauderdale. But it wasnt until she moved to California as a young adult that she planted her first rose garden. The climate was perfect and I fell in love with them, she says.

Returning to South Florida, she worried that she wouldnt be able to grow roses in the hot sun. After all, they arent tropical plants.

But she was driving around town with her mother and saw a yard full of roses. They stopped the car and Sher knocked on the front door but no one answered. The next day she returned to find the owner home. I begged him to tell me his secret, she says.

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In rose-unfriendly subtropics, Kara Sher’s yard explodes with blooms

Ralph Fiennes has played Prince Hamlet and Lord Voldemort. He has been a Hollywood leading man (albeit briefly) and a collaborator with filmmakers ranging from Steven Spielberg to David Cronenberg. He may be the most acclaimed Shakespearean stage actor of his generation, and has been twice nominated for an Oscar (first for Schindlers List and then for The English Patient). What almost no one has noticed is that hes turned into an exceptional director as well.

Twice in the last three years, Fiennes has directed one of the years most intriguing, muscular and uncompromising films only to see it swamped by showier, higher-profile holiday releases. His 2011 Coriolanus is one of the most striking Shakespeare adaptations of recent years, a fearsome and imaginative reinvention of perhaps the Bards most impenetrable tragedy. With The Invisible Woman, Fiennes tackles another titan of English lit, Charles Dickens, playing the author of Great Expectations as an intensely conflicted and in some ways hard-hearted man, who dumps his wife for a much younger woman.

Dont make the mistake of assuming that The Invisible Woman is some sort of polite, actorly costume drama, driven by gowns, sets and showboating. And dont assume its a vanity project for Fiennes, who does not play the most important part and isnt the films real star. As we discussed when I met him in New York a few weeks ago, Dickens is a supporting character in the remarkable story of his mistress Nelly Ternan, played by Felicity Jones in what should be a breakthrough performance (if anyone sees it). Fiennes and screenwriter Abi Morgan adapted Claire Tomalins book about Nelly into a thoroughly unsentimental fable about a young woman navigating the profound sexism of Victorian society, and ultimately defeating it.

In this movie, and quite likely in real life, Nellys relationship with Dickens was essentially brokered by her mother (the reliably terrific Kristin Scott Thomas), an actress and theatrical impresario who understood that a famous writer offered her daughter a promise of security she would otherwise never find. Fiennes Dickens treats his wife, Catherine (Joanna Scanlan), with indefensible cruelty while pursuing Nelly, who isnt at all sure she wants the hypocritical and secretive life of being a celebritys kept woman. Much later, after Dickens death, Nelly successfully reinvented herself as a respectable middle-class wife, even passing herself off as 12 years younger than her real age. Meticulously crafted and full of brilliant, hard-edged performances, The Invisible Woman is a quietly subversive and yes, feminist portrait of Victorian society as the ancestor of our own time.

I was surprised when Fiennes brought up Istvn Szabs great 1985 drama Colonel Redl (set in the Austro-Hungarian Empire before World War I) as a model for this film, but perhaps I should not have been. Its obvious that Fiennes has been watching movies and thinking about them all his life. Sooner or later, hell make one that cannot be ignored.

I understand you had some reluctance about playing Dickens at first.

Well, only because I found it such a handful to direct and act at the same time, doing Coriolanus. The script was sent to me with the offer to direct and they said, If you would like to play Dickens we would like that, this is BBC and Headline pictures. And I didnt know much about Dickens at all. I had almost deliberately moved away from reading Dickens. I had read a little and liked it but hadnt chosen to read more. So reading this early draft of the script and then Claire Tomalins book that completely got inside me and I was fascinated by everything about it.

I mean, he is extraordinary as a character, as a person. But it was also her and her story and her background. What moved me was the story of how she went on and shes this woman holding this past who hasnt had any kind of closure. Thats when it moved beyond just a biopic-y thing. Because it was about interior life, about a person needing some kind of resolution, some closure, some understanding within herself. That moved me a lot. Initially I could see the attraction for Dickens as a role. In Abi Morgans first draft, even then she had great scenes and things. But I kept being haunted by the memory of being under pressure and what it was like trying to hold a film in your head and suddenly go and start acting.

Then, in a weird way, I started rehearsing it without the intention of playing it, because I worked a lot with Abi who was a very generous collaborator. She and I wanted to rearrange and reemphasize things and we did a lot of rewriting, together. I would test bits of dialogue and read all the parts but with her to see how they felt, and I enjoyed reading Dickens. I guess in that process I felt like Id like to do this. And everyone, Claire Tomalin included, said, I just think that you should play Dickens. She was very disappointed that I wasnt going to. So eventually I said to everyone involved, the producers, OK, look, I did approach one other actor, I did approach someone else. But that didnt go anywhere so in the end I did it.

Ive had a couple of people say to me that Dickens seems like a stretch for you. One friend put it that Dickens overlaps, at least in the popular imagination, with Santa Claus. And although I might enjoy the film in which you play Santa, I suppose youre not the obvious choice.

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Ralph Fiennes: Dickens “was fueled by a kind of fury”

Organize: Interior Designer vs. Interior Decorator
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Ann B. Annie (Hudson) Druker of Braintree, a homemaker and retired business owner, died Saturday at her home surrounded by her loving family. She was 81.

Born and raised in Liverpool, England, Mrs. Druker was a survivor of the Blitz who was deeply proud of her British heritage. She immigrated to the United States after World War II.

She married her husband, Hershel, in 1952 and they raised their family in Chelsea before moving to Braintree in 1971.

In 1982, Mrs. Druker, a talented interior decorator, opened a business in Weymouth, Anns Window Shop, which she ran with her daughter Catherine for more than 28 years.

She loved spending time with her family, especially her grandchildren. She also enjoyed traveling and tackling home renovation projects. She was a strong role model for the young women in her life, and a generous hostess and friend to a wide circle of loved ones.

Ann is survived by her beloved husband, Hershel, a former Chelsea police detective and retired Suffolk County court officer; her daughters, Catherine Allen of Braintree and Linda Druker and her wife, Jennifer Miller, of Jamaica Plain; her son, Brian Druker of Braintree; her granddaughters, Rebecca Allen of Washington, D.C., Rachel Allen of Chestnut Hill, Erika Druker of Marstons Mills and Zoe Miller Druker of Jamaica Plain; her aunt, Margaret Kirkpatrick North of Braintree; and her devoted friends, Rosie and Joe Summers of Southport, England. She was also the much-loved niece of the late Ellen Harvey Kelleher.

Visiting hours are tomorrow from 2-4 p.m. and 6-8 p.m. at Cartwright-Venuti Funeral Home, 845 Washington St., Braintree. A funeral Mass will be celebrated at 10 a.m. Thursday at St. Clare Church, Braintree. Burial will be private.

Donations may be made in Anns name to the Alzheimers Association, 480 Pleasant St., Watertown, MA 02472, or to Temple Bnai Shalom, 41 Storrs Ave., Braintree, MA 02184.

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Ann B. Druker, 81, Braintree resident, a business owner

PATTI Austin VIDEOGRAB FROM THE VOICE

MANILA, PhilippinesThe Philippines is one of the places American singer-songwriter Patti Austin holds dear to her heart. Having been to the country numerous times since 1973, Austin described the Philippines as her home away from home. She then mused that, for some reason, Filipinos have always been part of her life.

The first time I had enough money for an interior decorator, it was a Filipino designer who used to work at Bloomingdales who did my apartment. And when my mom fell ill after suffering a major stroke, two Filipino caregivers helped me take care of her, Austin told reporters in an interview on Saturday afternoon at the M Studio in Makati City.

She continued: My makeup artist and hairdresser are from the Philippines. So is one of my dearest friends, Marguerite Lhuillier, who designs and builds furniture in her factory in Cebu.

The last time Austin held a concert in Manila was just last September. And the experience, the 63-year-old music artist said, was mind-blowing. This time shes back in town for a worthy cause. As her way of giving back to the Filipinos who have given her so much support, Austin will be holding two benefit fundraising shows for the survivors of Supertyphoon Yolanda (Haiyan).

The Grammy Award-winning jazz and R&B artist said she hoped to help build new homes for the calamity survivors through Habitat for Humanity. I will try visit the hard hit cities; I would really like to do that, related Austin, who plans to stay in the country until Jan. 6. Its been really rough for everyone, but I know that if we move forward, things will be better. And I want to be a part in lifting up the peoples spirits.

Tonight, Austin will perform with special guests Lea Salonga, Richard Merk and Martin Nievera in a show titled Brand New Day at the Solaire Resort and Casino in Paraaque City. On December 31, she will go onstage at Fairmont Makati for the New Years Eve show One Heart, One Voice again with Merk, plus Emcy Corteza, and the Sticky Band.

Tickets are available at TicketWorld; call 891-9999.

Excerpts from our interview:

What went through your mind when you heard about the devastation in the Philippines?

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Patti Austin back in PH to help build homes for ‘Yolanda’ victims

Jajaajajaja el interior decorator
Jajaaja jugando quelf.

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Jajaajajaja el interior decorator - Video

INTERIOR DECORATOR MIGRATING FROM PHILIPPINES TO AUSTRALIA
Mabuhay! This video is presented by Jose Respall, the principal of Respall Migration Australia which was founded in 1999. If you are a Filipino Interior Deco...

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INTERIOR DECORATOR MIGRATING FROM PHILIPPINES TO AUSTRALIA - Video

Starbound: The Beta Files - Part 7: Interior Decorator
Twitter: https://twitter.com/RacketLord I have been waiting for the Starbound beta for so long, you guys have no idea. Part Terraria, but in space? Sign me u...

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Starbound: The Beta Files - Part 7: Interior Decorator - Video

By PJ Bremier IJ correspondent

INTERIOR DESIGNER Suzanne Tucker's newly released book, "Interiors: The Romance of Design" (288 pages, Monicelli Press, $65), is a lush coffee-table book that features a dozen homes she's designed. They range from a cozy country bungalow to a crisp apartment in San Francisco's Millennium Tower to a spectacular lodge home in Sun Valley.

Within the gorgeously styled and photographed pages are illustrative chapters on Tucker's own stylish home and her two showcase spaces a dining room for the 2010 San Francisco Decorator Showcase and the living room for Villa Belvedere, the 2012 Marin Designers Showcase, which also graces the tome's cover.

Sausalito resident Suzanne Tucker has just released her second book, 'Interiors: The Romance of Design' (The Monacelli Press, $65). Photo by Michal Venera

Tucker, who lives in Sausalito with her husband, Tim Marks, is managing projects across the country; a formal city residence, a rustic ranch, a modern apartment, a classic California Spanish revival, the Auberge du Soleil maisons and a historic house on the Hudson River.

Despite this schedule, she managed to answer some questions on her design approach:

Q: What does your Santa Barbara upbringing bring to your design?

A: Growing up in Montecito, the world was certainly my architectural and horticultural oyster! My sister and I would spend days on end building forts out of whatever organic materials we would find to create our fantasies. And as a child, I loved my parents' dinner parties, the set-up, the silver and china, and tagging along with them so I could see their friends' houses and explore the gardens. It all strongly developed my love of design, the decorative arts, architecture and garden design. It also influenced my approach to my projects in that I love creating homes that are essentially charming and individual and, yes, romantic.

Q: What are your three design essentials?

A: Balance, proportion and scale. Amen!

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Fine Living: Sausalito's Suzanne Tucker shares her secrets for interiors

When the holiday season rolled around, Holly Joe, interior decorator, said that she could not resist decorating a Christmas mantel as part of Van Millworks Mantels and Mistletoe Holiday Showcase.

A full-scale interior designer by trade, Joe often mixes classic design with modern twists. In her piece for the exhibit, Joe decorated the library, which she said was a mahogany paneled room with bookcases and corner cabinets.

The room exudes warmth from the mirrored sconces and gilded chandelier, she said. I decided to play up the gold by introducing silver. Mixing metal tones is an on-trend decorating style that I knew would work in this traditional space.

The library suite that Joe has decorated for the exhibit is one of nine individual suites that represent different styles and architectural periods. For Mantels and Mistletoe, different area designers decorate each of the suites in a holiday theme. The display is open to the public through Dec. 20 in the Van Millwork Needham Showroom. The event, which is free to attend, but suggests an unwrapped toy or article of clothing to donate, benefits Horizons for Homeless Children, Cradles to Crayons, and The Italian Home for Children.

I got involved with Van Millwork's Mantels and Mistletoe event because I believe in giving back to help a good cause, well, three good causes, Joe said. As a full-scale interior designer, I normally work on single rooms and complete houses, but I couldn't resist decorating a mantel for Christmas.

In order to decorate her space, Joe said that she began by clearing the room of accessories and then began to organize the pieces that would add a modern flair to the traditional appearance of the Library.

After clearing the room of accessories, I laid down an evergreen garland on the mantel and around the chandelier. I brought in gold-dusted silver evergreen boughs and cut them apart to add sparkle and dimension to the mantel, she said. Next came the mercury candleholders with battery-operated candles and a round gilded mirror.My design philosophy is all about symmetry, so I took out the bookcase shelves and placed a 4-foot lighted Christmas tree in both spaces. The trees are decorated with silver, platinum and white ornaments intermixed with glittered snowflakes. This cozy library also includes a small chesterfield sofa that I've decorated with gold and silver pillows and a faux mink throw. To keep the space from becoming too formal, I added a little whimsy in the form of a large greyhound statue complete with gold and silver bow.

By mixing metals with the traditional wood paneling, Joe said that she was able to brighten the room and bring hints of sparkle. Joe added her work as a designer was reflected in her mantel in the sense she believes in putting a modern twist on traditional design. She said that New England architecture contains a lot of history and tradition, but adding an unexpected color or space can turn a house into a cozy and inviting home.

Though this exhibit is for display to the public, Joe said that making design choices for the home is based strongly on personal preferences.

The most important aspect of design is to be true to yourself, she said. Cultivate a collection and decorate with accessories you love and colors that make you happy. Your home should be a collection of treasures you found, no matter their provenance.

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Westwood resident decorates mantel for exhibit