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Saturday is the Fourth of July, when we’ll celebrate the red, white and blue, even if this year we’re doing it a little differently because of the continuing health crisis.

So it is with much American pride that I write about decorating with the colors of the nation’s flag.

A good read, I think, is as good as a good movie — and one of the best parts about relaxing with a book is that the read can last longer than the film.

In these days of at-home solitude, I find that sitting outdoors with a good book is a wonderful way to spend a few hours. And my latest good-read suggestion is Lady Anne Glenconner’s new release, “Lady in Waiting: My Extraordinary Life in the Shadow of the Crown.”

I may be exaggerating a bit, but the model apartments I’ve seen lately definitely say the empty-fridge look is well entrenched, especially in South Florida.

White rooms, of course, have been around for years, of course. I think about the glamour days of actress Jean Harlow and her white-satin sofas, which usually weren’t entirely white but trimmed, maybe, in gold or silver.

Whatever happened to Raggedy Ann and, of course, her brother, Raggedy Andy?

When I was a little boy in the 1940s — back in a world without credit cards, cell phones and drones — Raggedy Ann and Andy were stuffed dolls that were immortalized in a series of adventure stories.

Well, we’ve nearly made it through what would have been the merry month of May (in non-pandemic years) — and June is just round the corner.

There will be better summers to come, and with them weddings with the brides in white, croquet games with the players in white and yacht parties with the guests in white.

I've been thinking about music and how it soothes us.  Let it fill the air during these days when we're quarantining inside.  Music lately has become my new friend, and I am revisiting the repertoire of the old-time vocalists I have loved.

Many of these artists have left us, but their music still sounds great on the Bluetooth speakers that fill my rooms with happiness.  Listening to music also can keep us from overdosing on too much TV news, too, I've found.

Before the coronavirus pandemic grounded us, the year had started with lots of travel for my associate, Brinsley Matthews, and I. Among our destinations, we found ourselves working on a project in Beverly Hills. The temperature was in the lower 60s and the sun sometimes hid behind low clouds, but nevertheless the weather was enjoyable, if not quite what I’m used to in Palm Beach.

Palm Beach means polo — even if the current worldwide health crisis put a stop to the sport of princes this season in Wellington.

When I heard the news, I thought about how polo is part of many Palm Beachers’ DNA. I’ve learned a lot about the sport and its deep roots in Palm Beach County from my friend Jeanne Chisholm, an iconic figure on the Wellington equestrian scene.

I love decorating projects that involve a true collaboration between the decorator and the clients, and I’m lucky to be involved right now in such an endeavor.

It’s a fun project, and filled with decorating elements that are perfect for our subtropical location.

To those who will celebrate the holiday Sunday, I say: Happy Easter. And to my Jewish readers, I hope you have had a joyous Passover, which began Wednesday at sunset.

Easter, as longtime readers know, is my favorite holiday — and in these difficult times, the natural beauty and the celebratory spirit that accompany Easter means even more to me.

Home alone or with others in your household?:

Such is life in these troubled days.

And even the most ardent game-board enthusiasts among us have likely realized we’ll go stir crazy playing Monopoly every day. But we can spend those hours eliminating what we don’t need from the kitchen cabinets, the medicine cabinets and that closet in the back room that we haven’t looked at for some time.

Where can you find a shop in Palm Beach that is filled with love and fun?

Certainly at Sherry Frankel’s Melangerie, 256 Worth Ave. in the Via Amore, where Sherry and her beautiful black poodle, Dash, welcome shoppers looking for something remarkable.

I have in my office a sign that says "He who plants a garden plants happiness!"

I totally believe that sentiment: I've always found flowers and gardens to be a source of beauty, fragrance and happiness.

Winter in Palm Beach means spring training for the baseball players at Roger Dean Stadium in Jupiter and the Fitteam Ballpark of the Palm Beaches in West Palm Beach.

And what’s a good baseball game without a good hot dog? You can take me out to the ballgame anytime — and in return, I’ll give you some hot-dog decorating inspiration, believe it or not.

Black is back — and in a big way. The little black dress has been a classic for decades, and the fashionistas often shop in fine boutiques for sleek black business jackets to wear with pants. And where would a woman be without a black sequined evening dress for formal occasions?

Our design firm is known for its bold use of pattern and color — and that’s because our founder and my mentor, the late Dorothy Draper, loved both.

Some of the patterns she designed have found a lasting place in the design world, including her iconic Brazilliance design, which features a bold pattern of banana leaves and sea grape berries.

It's all about 2020 now, and I'm not talking about vision. The new year has me looking ahead to the next 12 months, when we in the sunshine state will be welcoming plenty of new residents to Florida. In fact, Florida is the fastest - growing state in the country when it comes to transplants from other areas. 

And that means plenty of people will be establishing new homes here-and dealing with all the work that process entails. Here are a few tips folks in that category should think about as they plan to furnish and decorate their new Florida residences. 

Whatever happened to neckties? They seem to be getting short shrift these days.

Just check out the cable news shows, where the male pundits are likely to be tie-less. Their shirts are worn with open collars under business suits. It’s a look that seems to say that ties — and their pleasant touch of color, pattern and fun — are no longer in style. I hope that’s not the case, for I am all for neckties on men.

In this age of steel-and-glass high-rise condominiums that define the skylines of America, it’s fun to think of how you can make the interiors of such buildings charming, warm and inviting.

It is not easy, as concrete, steel and glass do not go well with rocking chairs of the President Kennedy style or with Marie Antoinette-era French chairs, although the latter can sometimes work as accents.

The New Year always brings with it the announcement of Pantone’s color of the year, the hue that the analysts at the famous color institute believe will be a leading trendsetter in the design world over the next 12 months.

And for 2020, that color is Classic Blue. So we are back to the basics, albeit those who read my column regularly know that I believe the basics are never out of style.

It’s almost the New Year, so it’s time to make those resolutions.

My hope for all of you is to try something new in 2020. Maybe you’ll try taking piano lessons, something my sister did — and how I wish I had followed her example.

Maybe you’ll plant a vegetable garden this summer or, like a friend of mine, you’ll write that book you’ve always talked about doing.

You might also take an art class. Or, if I may suggest, you could take a spin on the potters wheel or try your hand at fusing glass or designing custom tiles.

Oh, how I love Staffordshire dogs! I adore these antique porcelain pups in every shade — white and black, henna-red and white, and even solid black.

These Cavalier King Charles spaniel figures have a fascinating history. The breed itself was popularized by Queen Victoria, and the porcelain versions were made by children and mothers in Staffordshire, England, beginning in the mid-19th century. The figurines were often called “comfort dogs,” as they were sometimes given to children when money was not available to buy or maintain a real pet.

It’s that time of year. I always know the season is upon us when the first estate sales get under way on Georgia Avenue near South Dixie Highway’s Antique Row in West Palm Beach. That happens this weekend at two popular establishments.

James and Jeffrey, a super emporium with a couple of locations on Antique Row, always offers plenty of treasures during special sales at its James and Jeffrey Estate and Tag Sales warehouse at 5704 Georgia Ave. The first sale is scheduled for this weekend, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

There’s one thing about Palm Beach I’ve always loved: You never know what you’ll discover just around the corner.

A visit to Lycette , a charming and colorful boutique owned and operated by needlepoint aficionado Jessica Chaney, is a case in point. This is a place where needlepoint dreams become reality, and the shop is filled not only with supplies, patterns and samples but also with joy.

I plan to gather with friends Saturday at 11 a.m. at St. Edward Catholic Church to celebrate the life of Dr. John Whelton, a longtime Palm Beach resident who died Oct. 25 at 75.

Known to many simply as “Dr. John,” he was originally from Ireland, a rheumatologist who practiced in Palm Beach County for more than 40 years and who was loved by so many of us.

It’s pumpkin time, a time to celebrate the harvest and to find the perfect costume for Halloween.

I always know Halloween is on the horizon when the costume shops pop up around South Florida. Who wants to be Darth Vader? Who wants to be Cinderella? Who wants to be a fierce pirate?Or do you just want to wrap yourself in a white sheet to be a ghost?

In the 1960s as a young decorator in New York office of Dorothy Draper & Co., I had the opportunity to decorate an apartment for the late, great Judy Garland. It was a hotel apartment in Manhattan on the 18th floor on East 52nd Street.

It just happens that at the time, we also were engaged in designing an apartment in the same building — but on the 15th floor — for another star, Broadway legend Ethel Merman. When I think back to the contrast in personalities and decorating wishes of the two ladies I can only say: Vive la différence. But more about that in a moment.

Looking for decorating talent? You really need look no farther than Palm Beach and vicinity. There are so many talented designers here who contribute so much to ensure that local homes, hotels, restaurants, country clubs and condominiums are filled with happy and beautiful rooms.

And among those at the top of my own list of favorites is the amiable Stephen Mooney, who has been a Palm Beach presence for some 22 years with an office, retail showroom and studio at 6 Via Parigi off Worth Avenue.

Many homes I see in my work have been beautifully decorated. But something critical is missing. They lack character, as far as I’m concerned.

Beware such a room. All the furnishings are in place, and the upholstery well coordinated with the curtains. The lamps and shades are in order, and care has given to carefully light the art hanging on the walls.

Get ready for it: Chintz is staging a decorating comeback, big time.

Picture the Victorian days when sofas and chairs were covered in posh velvets, only to be slipcovered in a happy flowered chintz when summer arrived. I remember my grandmother’s home, and it was filled with furniture covered during the warmer months with glazed summer chintz.

Greetings from Ireland, where I'm enjoying the late-summer green of the hills and the excitement of the ever-popular racing season.  

These days, I've been spending some time among the horses and dogs on Sundays at Limerick Racecourse in Patrickswell, where the best of the best are awarded red ribbons for placing first, while second-place finishers take home blue and third, yellow.  It's the Irish way.

What family home has a ballroom these days? Few indeed, but there are still some around.

In the days of yore, a generously proportioned ballroom was a staple of Palm Beach mansions. At Mar-a-Lago, Marjorie Merriweather Post enjoyed hosting dinner dances in hers and often hired dance instructor Frederico McMasters to teach the guests a little cha-cha-cha or maybe the rumba.

Decorating inspiration can be found beneath your feet if you’re in Arizona and New Mexico.

Those living the desert life long have loved all that is clay — and that includes the color we call clay. Imagine the color of a terra-cotta pot, and you’ll know what I mean.

Large urns of all kinds of shapes and forms are manufactured in the American Southwest or in Mexico and find their way into American homes, where they are filled with blooming plants and ferns. Perhaps they are then placed on a clay-tile floor.

I always marvel when I encounter an artist who is adept at both painting and sculpting. And Dan Meyer of Lake Worth certainly falls into that category.

I once had the pleasure of using one of Dan works as a golf-course sculpture, of all things. Yes, his colorful groups of super-size golf tees never fail to wow the eye, as they do at the Greenbrier Resort in West Virginia.