Friday, May 18, 2007

What's happening in the design and decorating world these days? Lots! And as the world turns and changes every day, less becomes more.

Remember the days – oh, I remember them well – when airlines pushed trolley-carts up the aisles, with "stewardesses" slicing roast beef off the board?

Well, flight attendants don't do that anymore, nor do they wear Mondrian dresses with white patent-leather boots like those on the Northeast Yellowbird jets used to do.

And real estate? Talk about changes! A townhouse in New York would sell for $200,000 some years ago, and today the prices go up to $20 million and more.

Fine department stores are fewer, luxuriously decorated restaurants are fewer and there are fewer and fewer folks out there with the wherewithal to design and decorate the way they once did.

And there are fewer resources in America where furniture is actually manufactured and where fabrics are woven or where towels are made.

True, there still are moments of high style – but rare, oh rare they are. Queen Elizabeth II was in Washington this month – and everyone but everyone saw how beautifully groomed the White House was for the occasion of the state dinner honoring her. The president wore white tie and tails for the occasion – a first for this administration – and how beautifully the tables looked at the dinner dressed in cream damask tablecloths with a beige strié pattern! Arrangements of white roses for Her Majesty were everywhere, and the tables were set with the Clinton China – ivory with a gold rim, emblazoned with a vignette of the White House. (You can view nice photos of the decorations at the White House's official Web site, www.whitehouse.gov, by clicking on the "Current News" link and going to the May 7 entry. Click on the "Welcoming Queen Elizabeth II" icon, then go to the "State Dinner – Menu Photo Essay" link at the bottom of the box on the far right side). I guess the queen remains among the last of her style and era, and I hope she will live forever.

The publishing house Pointed Leaf Press continues to turn out books that showcase the grand and glamorous years. The newest Pointed Leaf Press book covers the life, times and designs of the late Englishman Norman Hartnell, who for years created designs for the royal household. He designed the queen's wedding dress and her coronation gown as well as frocks for Her Majesty's sister, the late Princess Margaret, mother of the British designer-decorator David Linley, who has just done up some suites at London's Claridge's Hotel.

What else is new in design besides David Linley's suites at London's Claridge's? Here are a few musts to see and do:

• "Legally Blonde, the musical playing on Broadway in New York City, is a delightful show, and the set designs by my friend, the very talented David Rockwell, are quite Dorothy Draper in feeling – lots of white and pink. In fact, the doorway in the opening scene is right out of New York's Hampshire House! Those were the days when doors were meant to be beautiful with elaborate moldings and surrounds plus gorgeous hardware. Everyone should see "Legally Blonde." I recommend the musical for a jolt of fun and happiness, as the world seems very short on these.

• For new color and spirit, I recommend a visit to Liman Galleries on the ground floor of the Paramount Building, just across the street from Green's Pharmacy in Palm Beach. This gallery has windows outfitted with colorful – very colorful – canvases, some of which might be just the right designs to brighten the walls in your home, be that house in Palm Beach or in Pittsburgh. And if you are breakfasting at Green's one Sunday morning when the gallery isn't open, cross the street and visit the famed Paramount Building to simply window shop. I did just that on a recent weekend.

• Hurry in or you'll have to wait until next season when Stephanie Bojokles reopens her Tropical Fruit Shop on Royal Poinciana Way. Sadly, the orange juice lady closes for the summer on May 31, so you'll just have to depend on Publix for your O.J. She'll will be back next season to make those delicious smoothies, and she is planning a new "iced" flavor next season – my own "Carleton's Ice Cocoa." I can't wait to see how she does the blend. We shall all miss the summer without her own homemade Key Lime pie – the very best on the island, I think.

• Shopping Dixie Highway in West Palm Beach for great finds will continue during the summer, and last week, when covering the street, I found lots of the dealers running special sales. The Incurable Collector has some items at 50 percent off, but not the charming cement ducks in the windows.

And speaking about the goose and the gander, Judy Barron at the Brass Rail has a pair of beauties in her window for under $700 – and that is for the pair. I hear that she is off to spots unknown on a shopping trip, so I look forward to seeing the new treasures that will arrive in her shop.

N.P. Trent will continue selling its fabulous collection of antiquities during the summer months – even though the Peckners will be upstate New York for six weeks. Stuart and his wife have a residence in Kinderhook, N.Y., where they cool off from the busy Palm Beach season every summer and where I'm sure they continue their hunting for the very best of everything!

And what else is news worthy on the design market? Who knows, but everywhere I travel this summer, I'll be sure to keep you up to date. My summer days will take me to England, Ireland, France and Spain – and to places closer to home as well. And I'll be back and forth to Palm Beach, where our office is putting the Dorothy Draper touch on a few projects.

Interior designer, author and columnist Carleton Varney is the president and owner of Dorothy Draper & Co. in New York City, the oldest established interior design firm in the United States. Varney's worldwide roster of clients includes many in Palm Beach. He welcomes comments and suggestions from readers. Send your decorating questions to Carleton Varney, c/o Darrell Hofheinz, Palm Beach Daily News, 265 Royal Poinciana Way, Palm Beach 33480.