Interior

ANNAPOLIS -- With painted-on smiles and attitudes carefully checked at the door, leaders of Maryland's interior design industry toed the party line last month before a Senate committee.The statement came a day later, the House passed the bill.

The cards did not look stacked in Salisbury's favor as the reigning national champion took on the unenviable task of trying to upend undefeated Dickinson. But that is exactly what the No. 12 Sea Gulls did as they evicted the No. 2 Red Devils, 11-9, from a NCAA tournament quarterfinal Wednesday. Salisbury improved to 17-5 and will meet No. 4 Stevenson (20-2) this Sunday night for the right to advance to the title game in Philadelphia on May 26. It is a development that coach Jim Berkman is thankful for. “It was a great win on the road against a team that had an unblemished season,” he said Thursday morning.

The use of collections as a means of personalizing an interior is now so commonplace that it's almost become a design cliche.In many cases, however, collections that serve primarily as a decorating effect will have been purchased from someone who actually amassed all the individual objects. And that's not at all the same thing as gradually, maybe even unconsciously, acquiring lovable items until, one day, they comprise a "collection." In fact, there's a big difference between these two approaches -- and it shows.

This year's Baltimore Symphony Decorators' Show House offers not only a look at the latest interior design trends but also a peek into the Timonium home of quarterback great Johnny Unitas. Unitas lived in the five-bedroom house on Timonium Road from 1971, when the he led the Colts to an AFC title match against the Miami Dolphins, until 1988, when he moved to a farm in northern Baltimore County. Unitas died in 2002. His widow, Sandy; daughter, Paige; and son, Chad, and other members of his family, will cut the ribbon to open the show house on April 28, giving visitors the chance see rooms decorated by some of the region's premier designers.

This year's Baltimore Symphony Decorators' Show House offers not only a look at the latest interior design trends but also a peek into the Timonium home of quarterback great Johnny Unitas. Unitas lived in the five-bedroom house on Timonium Road from 1971, when the he led the Colts to an AFC title match against the Miami Dolphins, until 1988, when he moved to a farm in northern Baltimore County. Unitas died in 2002. His widow, Sandy; daughter, Paige; and son, Chad, and other members of his family, will cut the ribbon to open the show house on April 28, giving visitors the chance see rooms decorated by some of the region's premier designers.

When officials at the Baltimore interior design firm of Edmunds & Hyde realized a recession was on the way, they turned the company's design expertise inward.Starting early last year, the 102-year-old company began consolidating its four floors of Mount Vernon office space and 28 employees onto three floors, freeing the fourth floor so it could be leased to another firm.The result not only proved a more efficient use of space, but also created a revenue generator that has been a cushion against hard times.

The hallmarks of the style of John Saladino are his impeccable taste and the timelessness of the interiors and furnishings he designs, characterized by classical roots such as Greek or Roman columns, architectural fragments, wall moldings and what he calls "metamorphic" color."

Changes to the interior of Baltimore's embattled Senator Theatre must now be approved by the city's Commission on Historical and Architectural Preservation. Tuesday's move to protect the 70-year-old movie house is the first time the preservation panel would have authority over the inside of a building. Previous action has affected only exteriors. "Fans of the Senator Theatre want to preserve the building and see it continue as a film and performing arts venue," said CHAP Chairman Tyler Gearhart.

DETROIT - The space invasion is on. After years of focusing on the outside, auto makers are spending more time and money on the interiors of their vehicles as they try to wrap the space around the versatile lifestyle of the American motorist. To differentiate themselves in a crowded marketplace, car companies cater to consumers' love of convenience and style, whether it's a trendy dashboard material or a back seat that turns into a huge cargo compartment in seconds. "You might buy a vehicle based on a certain style, color or price point.

THE INTERIOR Department's historic mission is to protect and conserve the nation's priceless treasury of natural resources. And decisions made by one leader about use of public lands and treatment of endangered creatures have an impact long after that leader has gone. That's why the nomination of Gale Norton as interior secretary raises serious questions -- about the Bush adminstration's commitment to protecting America's natural resources, and about the president's pledge to create a centrist administration.

Selling a house is rarely easy and quick, but the transaction for the three-story end-of-group brick rowhouse at 200 Warren Ave.e in Federal Hill was just that. The property listed and sold simultaneously, closing for $950,000 after being offered at $995,000. Little wonder. The home was built just five years ago in the same architectural style and detail as the older homes around it. Additionally, it is within walking distance to the Inner Harbor and shops and restaurants on Light and Charles streets.

They may look like simple iron candlesticks, tall and thin. But for interior designer Elizabeth Cross-Beard Marsh, they were more than just a decoration or a lighting accessory. They were an inspiration, for a room of soft beiges and abstract art. "I just fell in love with those candlesticks," says Marsh, one of 11 designers from the Mid-Atlantic whose works - each inspired by a unique piece of craftsmanship - will be on display at the Baltimore Convention Center next weekend as part of the 37th annual American Craft Council Show.

Anne D. Bendann, a retired interior designer and community volunteer who was active in women's issues and church affairs, died Jan. 4 from pancreatic cancer at her Homeland residence. She was 65. The former Anne Duffy, the daughter of an investment banker and a homemaker, was born and raised in Cleveland Heights, Ohio. After graduating in 1965 from the Beaumont School in Cleveland, she earned a degree from Marymount College in Arlington, Va., where she studied art and design.

When Bob Zealor was growing up in Overlea, he would go into the woods near his home and collect greens to make a wreath for his mother. You can imagine his delight when he discovered Colonial Williamsburg, where all the holiday decorations come from nature. All these years later, the interior designer and his wife Maureen make regular Christmas pilgrimages to Williamsburg, Va., which has become the inspiration for his holiday decorating. "It is homey. It is real. The greens, the fruit.

Richard D. Pickens, owner of a Crofton interior design firm who lived in Union Square, where he served as president of the Friends of the H.L. Mencken House, died Tuesday of stomach cancer at Anne Arundel Medical Center. He was 50. "I was dumbfounded when I got the news about Richard's death. It was like a bolt out of the blue," said Harry R. Lord, a retired partner in the Baltimore law firm of Piper & Marbury. "Richard was really the lifeblood of the Mencken House for all these years.

More than a few East Coast buildings contain a Tiffany stained-glass window or two. But one structure in Baltimore can boast much more - a complete interior created by the famed designer, Louis Comfort Tiffany. St. Mark's Lutheran Church on St. Paul Street is considered such an exceptional example of Tiffany's work that it has been recommended for designation as a Baltimore landmark. Only one other city building - the Senator Theatre - has an interior that was singled out for landmark status.

Designing women always have been a fixture of the fashion industry, from Coco Chanel to Donna Karan, but in the world of interiors, female names have not exactly been household words.It was in this environment that interior designer Bebe Winkler successfully but quietly plied her trade for nearly 25 years. Since she began decorating rooms in 1969, she has gathered a sophisticated, moneyed, international clientele and accolades for excellence in her profession. She has been widely published in home fashion magazines, including the prestigious Architectural Digest, as early as 1979, when just a handful of women had been featured.

Interior designer Alexander Baer doesn't have a green thumb. When he plants flowers, they sometimes don't flourish. Take the roses, for instance.Deciding he wanted a rose garden, Baer planted, watered, sprayed and generally babied a few select rose bushes in a flower bed near his swimming pool. The roses weren't happy. Instead of growing strong and healthy, they turned spindly and forlorn, trying only half-heartedly to climb a nearby trellis."Then a few weeks ago, I was riding downtown and there, growing on this broken-down fence near the University of Baltimore, were these absolutely beautiful roses," he recalls with a laugh.

There is plenty of material to choose from when creating a kitchen backsplash. Glass, tile, embossed concrete, punched tin, stainless steel, curved glass, subway tiles, marble, natural stone. Designer Laura Kimball of LCK Interiors offers some advice for those planning a kitchen backsplash and how to coordinate it with your countertop. Granite counters will always get a "wow!" reaction, but often the marriage of counter and backsplash ends in irreconcilable differences. A few concepts to consider before making lasting and expensive mismatches: •Granite or composite stone counters can stand on their own; no need for the 4-inch matching backsplash if you are adding a full tile or stone backsplash.