Thursday, May 31, 2007

The banks of the Thames always bustle with activity, but Carleton Varney's busy schedule on a recent trip left little time for sightseeing, as his Decorator's Diary reveals.

Often, my friends and my clients ask me a question laden with possibilities: "What has your day been like? You have such a glamorous and exciting life!" Indeed, I do have days that are exciting in more ways than one, and sometimes I do touch on what is referred to as "glamour." But remember that these are not the days of Errol Flynn, Lili Damita, Barbara Hutton and Hedy Lamar. Glamour just isn't what it used to be. So taking that to heart, I've decided to write a Decorator's Diary for a few days to let you know exactly what an interior designer's life and days are all about.

We shall start with Saturday, May 19, where the dateline is New York's Kennedy Airport, en route to London's Heathrow, and the hour is 8:45 a.m., the time my 747 airliner is due to depart. Of course, I've been up since 5 a.m., putting my carry-on bag together and waiting for the car in New York to fetch me. You must be at the airport two hours prior to departure, and you know all those check-in and security procedures! By 8:15 a.m., I'm on board and in my seat – and, alas I'm caught in a Business Class middle seat in the new British Airways configuration.

And what a configuration it is! Since I'm into interiors, planes included, I can honestly say that I think the designer of this new "look" was a contortionist – how else would he or she have gotten in and out of this seat? There also are all kinds of buttons to pull and push, all of which require demonstrations on how they operate. If any of you are planning a trip to London shortly and if you are booked on the newly configured British Airways 747 to get you there, here's a travel advisory: Select an aisle seat only. The two interior joined-at-the-hip middle seats are claustrophobic – there seems to be little air available except that circulated in the cabin. And the window seats look impossible to get in and out of, should you need to go the lavatory. Otherwise, of course, BA's service, attention to detail and cuisine are superb!

Sunday, May 20

Arrived in London at 11 p.m. due to electrical-communications problems on the BA 747. Actually the 8:45 a.m. departure became an approximate noon departure, but in today's world, airline delays are expected, and four hours didn't seem too bad to me. The only dilemma was the London arrival. My 9 p.m. dinner appointment had to be cancelled at my favorite restaurant, L'Autre, at Sheppards Market, because like most London restaurants, it closed at 11 p.m. as most everything does here. A friend in London, Barry Lowe, provided me with an at-home snack, so I did not go to sleep, shall we say, hungry. "Early to bed" prevents next-day jet lag, I've discovered. Morning flights to London work best for me. I dislike nighttime flying to Europe.

Sunday proves to be a sunny day, perfect to see the spring flowers about the parks, namely, the American Garden on South Audley Street and the park at Berkeley Square, where the nightingales are meant to sing. The "designer" part of my Sunday is spent looking at decorating-showroom windows. Not to be ever missed are the windows of Colefax and Fowler, two names in English design that are always to be recognized. Sybil and John may have gone on to that decorating world in the heavens, but their names remain, as does some of their style. The Colefax and Fowler windows were a bit beige for my personal taste but interesting nonetheless. The plaid drapery fabric hung at the windows in the featured room setting was a tone-on-tone russet-and-cream plaid – not a plaid that the Scottish would recognize but perfectly British. A large antique-pine tall chest stood majestically in the window, flanked by a pair of classically proper high-back – but not wing – armchairs covered in a taupe-y suede. Where were the chintz fabrics so popular in Colefax and Fowler style? Obviously not there, but believe me, had the shop been open on Sunday, I would have found the interior racks filled with chintzes.

I stopped by Claridge's for a coffee and enjoyed the Art Deco environment but noticed that the look – while still what it has been for years – has been a bit uplifted with photographs on the walls replacing the paintings that once hung there. And if I were to say that anything was really new – design-wise – in English scenery, it is photography. Restaurants, hotel lobbies, museums and galleries are all filled with photographic images – beautifully hung, with many of the images truly arresting. It's the new way of the walls – photographs! I predict that 10 years from now, interior design regularly will incorporate the best of the best photographers' works.

Monday, May 21

I have to visit a developer who is creating countries in the Arabian Sea! Yes, perhaps you've heard of this new happening four miles off the coast of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. It's called "The World" and features manmade islands in the shape of most every landmass on the globe. In 2011, you will be able to visit the island of Ireland in Dubai – along with the islands of Thailand and Australia. For those Americans interested in purchasing property on any of the 320 islands, happily planned and being created under the direction of Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashed al-Maktum, ruler of Dubai, there are opportunities awaiting.

On the island of Thailand in The World development, Jasmine Gardens is the project of note, complete with one "six-star" spa resort. The Jasmine Gardens residences are now 75 percent sold out, and Thailand will be one of the first islands to be completed. I'm told a 950 square-foot studio will run about 406,000 – yes, that's "000" – English pounds. Translate that into dollars, and your investment will be more than $1 million – but then, for those folks with income to spend, the Arabian Sea might just be the perfect choice.

There are 30 individual islands devoted to the United States in The World, and the sellers are awaiting an American developer who believes in the project and has 750 million to lay down – and that 750 million refers to English pounds, not dollars.

The British market is much into the development of The World, as are the Irish. Soon we may all be in the Emirates, soaking up the sunshine on some newly built but beautiful beaches! Ziad Mostafa of Al Khayat Real Estate in Dubai can provide you with all the information you could ever want about Jasmine Gardens project on the island of Thailand. If you're interested, you can contact him at eziad@dre.ae and discover a fascinating world out there. You can also see aerial renderings of The World development by visiting the Web site www.theworld.ae.

My Decorator's Diary today also records a visit to 26 Bruton Street to the showroom and display offices of the late designer Norman Hartnell. The Hartnell Building is a landmark, and tenants are prohibited from removing any relic of the Hartnell history, including a molding or a chandelier. I'm all for preservation, and the Hartnell history, design-wise, is so strong here in England.

That's it for now, except for one additional bit of information: I stopped by the decorator office-and-shop of my friend Jan Churchill, and she told me that David Linley, son of Antony Armstrong-Jones and Princess Margaret, is the new chairman of Christie's Auction House. This was news to me, and I'm passing the information to you in case you didn't know it already.

When you're next in London, here's a restaurant tip. Try Locanda Locatelli at the Churchill Hotel for the greatest Italian cuisine in town – and while there, you might even see Camilla dining with her children. I'm told The Duchess of Cornwall is a champagne drinker – surprise, surprise.

And now I'm off to Ireland, where I shall be when you read this diary.