JAMIE DRAKE
In the 30-plus years since he launched Drake Design Associates, Jamie Drake acquired Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Madonna as clients and was inducted into Interior Design’s Interior Design Hall of Fame. Additionally, he has been a contributor to Connecticut Cottages & Gardens.
SHELTER INTERIORS
The foundation for Shelter Interiors was laid when Tricia and Carolyn met at their first interior design jobs after college. A friendship was formed out of their love of design and the trials and tribulations of their first job. After pursuing separate opportunities over the following years they joined forces to establish Shelter Interiors.
“We chose to join forces on the project as we have been colleagues and friends with a very similar aesthetic since we met while working – separately – on a designer showhouse in Darien CT in 1988. Honored to have the opportunity to work together on such a fun project as this one.”
PHILIP GORRIVAN
Philip Gorrivan established his New York-based firm, Philip Gorrivan Design, in 2001, after spending several years in the business world. Whether he’s designing a classic Park Avenue apartment, a rambling country house, a downtown loft or a boutique hotel, Philip tailors each project with his clients needs in mind, creating rooms that feel at once both classic and layered as well as tailored and modern. Philip is known for his clever sense of color and a refined eye for objects, art and furnishings. The firm has received much press including House and Garden’s ‘tastemaker’ distinction in 2007, House Beautiful’s ‘Americas top 25 new designers’ and their ‘top 100 designers’ and New York Spaces ‘top 50 Designers’. Philips writes the “Country Life” column and has been an Innovation in Design Awards judge for Connecticut Cottages & Gardens and Westchester Cottages & Gardens.
Catherine Cleare
Catherine Cleare’s passion for design and years of experience in the luxury residential market up and down the East Coast offer her clients uncommon business acumen and fresh, imaginative results, regardless of their style preferences. Catherine draws on extensive experience working with discerning clients, renowned architects, builders, specialty artisans and her own high caliber artistic sense. She has a knack for selecting memorable architectural details, priceless antiques, custom furnishings, one-of-a-kind appointments and innovative technology integrations that hold their intrinsic value far into the future. She is known for her ability to envision and execute residential design projects from concept to completion. Catherine’s work has been featured on HGTV, The Robb Report, New York Living, Design Times, AtHome Magazine, East Coast Home & Design and other media. Catherine Cleare’s goal is a true expression of her clients’ unique personality and taste.
Polly Denham
Polly Denham Interiors creates interiors with carefully chosen textures, neutral palettes of color, and gives great thought to selecting art and unique accessories to complete the rooms.
Polly’s only rules are symmetry and furniture with clean lines. In the 25 years of business, Polly has been fortunate enough to be involved in everything from New York apartments, designing a yacht made in Italy, a local car dealership, and waterfronts from Fairfield County to Sea Island, Georgia.
Polly is on the Conservancy board that oversees the Governor’s Residence. She also serves as the Director of Interior Design for the second floor of the Residence. These private spaces will eventually be opened to the public as well.
PAULA PERLINI
Paula Perlini has been bringing tasteful and practical interior designs to her residential clients in New York City, Boston, Palm Beach, Washington, D.C., Martha’s Vineyard, Europe, Mexico and numerous other locations for the past twenty years. She develops her designs by listening carefully to how her clients plan to use their homes and works with them in assuring that the final results uniquely reflect their life styles.
She was the lead designer for Mark Hampton and worked with him as project manager on several major projects such as Blair House in Washington and Gracie Mansion in New York. She was president of Perlini-Tanksley Associates for six years before establishing her own business in 1993. Paula’s professional experience has led her to use a variety of colors in her designs which produce rich, inviting living spaces. Her designs for specialty floors, unique curtain treatments and mastery of blending various furniture styles and periods produce extremely comfortable and memorable rooms.
Paula is a graduate of the Academia de Belle Arte in Rome. Her work has been widely published in such design magazines as House Beautiful, Traditional Home, British House and Garden, New England Home and she has appeared in several books.
Carey Karlan
Carey Karlan is the principal of the interior decorating firm Last Detail, based in Stamford, CT. Born in Oklahoma “from a line of southern women who loved to decorate and always had flowers on the table,” she developed an enduring love for decorating at an early age. Carey’s design philosophy embraces the concept of flexibility. She listens intently to her clients and prides herself on having the ability to envision and create interiors to suit any size or style of home, and any lifestyle.
Carey has lived in, loved, and decorated cottages and large homes alike. Her perspective is innovative and open, experimenting with every style and technique to create a wide array of possibilities to please her clientele. Her sharp yet, warm approach to understanding and translating her clients’ personal desires into stunning interiors has earned her a portfolio of loyal clients, awards and projects including the 2010 A-List Award, the Designer Showhouse’s of Westchester and the American Fashion Showhouse at The Aldyn.
A graduate of Trinity College, Carey’s background includes a successful decade working in the advertising field before pursuing her passion for design. After raising five children and completing classes at the New York School of Interior Design, she worked locally before opening her full service decorating firm, Last Detail. Her work has been featured in atHome Magazine, New England Home Connecticut, Cottages and Gardens and Stamford Advocate.
LouAnn Torres
LouAnn Torres is the General Manager of the Tile & Stone Department at Klaff’s Inc Norwalk Ct.
She joined Klaff’s in 2001. LouAnn’s childhood passion for design started from her avid art, sculpture and
Ceramic background. She launched herself in the design world with her husband when they opened and
operated Tile la collection located adjacent to Klaff’s. She has been designing for 25 years. The tile &
stone industry has evolved from functional and utilitarian into a major design statement. Louann
offers her clients that are planning a kitchen or a master bathroom suite and experienced designer that
provides them with a timeless design yet understand the intricacies of the tile installation. Her mission is
to help her clients create spaces that reflect their passion & enhance their lifestyle.
SANDRA MORGAN
Sandra Morgan, a Modern Traditionalist, fills a room with classic objects blended with contemporary flair. After graduating from Connecticut College, cum laude, with a BA in Art History Sandra joined the editorial staffs of House & Garden and Mademoiselle Magazine, where as Associate Fabric Editor she created the column Chez Mlle, devoted to stylish decorating for young women-on-the-go. Passionate about the decorative and fine arts, she later collaborated with David Findlay Gallery of NY to install an extensive show of contemporary French paintings in her private gallery in Greenwich, located in a converted barn. In 1988 Sandra established Sandra Morgan Interiors, Inc. Over the past years, she has expanded her business to include The Penthouse Art Gallery, and in 2007, SM HOME, her ASID award winning retail showroom specializing in Swedish antiques, quality reproductions, fabulous accessories, unique lighting and fine art. Countless projects reflect her design expertise, vast knowledge of the arts and the Swedish Gustavian Style. Her work has been published in many magazines including Connecticut Cottages & Gardens, Design Times, Greenwich Magazine and The Modern Estate. In 2008 NY Spaces Magazine named Sandra one of the Top 50 Designers in the Metropolitan area. Sandra is also featured in Showcase of Interior Design, Design Sense by Linda Blair, Make It With Style by Donna Lang and Bedrooms by Chris Madden. Sandra Morgan is a professional member of ASID. Her design studio, art gallery, and retail showroom are all located at 70 Arch Street, Greenwich, CT. She also maintains an office in Vero Beach, FL, where she was featured on the cover of Vero Beach Magazine in 2008. You can learn more about Sandra at, SandraMorganInteriors.com.
SUSAN BEDNAR LONG
Susan Bednar Long’s eponymous firm, S. B. Long Interiors, Inc., is a full-service interior design firm whose ‘modern traditional’ signature style connotes tailored, crisp and sophisticated interiors. Susan carefully selects projects to enable her to focus on each client’s needs; she designs relaxed and graceful interiors that reflect each client’s individual style.
Susan recently established her namesake firm in Greenwich after relocating to Connecticut and ten years of running Tocar Interior Design in NYC. She began her career at a boutique design-build firm in Beverly Hills, and worked with some of the world’s most recognized celebrities. There, she developed a comprehensive approach to interior design, from managing specialized construction work to designing custom furniture. Later Susan was recruited to Polo Ralph Lauren where she oversaw the decoration of their flagship Retail Stores across North America. She was later hired by Coach and was a creative force behind the new Coach Store Prototype and the Coach Furniture line. ‘My experiences at these world class brands taught me to layer all of the elements – wallpaper, artwork, furniture, fabrics, accessories, and lighting – to add vividness and completeness to every design vision. Without layering, rooms aren’t done.’
Susan graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Occidental College and studied at UCLA’s Interior and Environmental Design Program. She is a monthly contributor to CC&G writing the Design Beat segment. Susan resides in Litchfield County, Connecticut with her husband, John and their two children.
Nick Geragi
General Manager for Klaff’s Kitchens; Nick has been designing kitchens and baths for better than 30 years. An award winner of several kitchen and bath design contests, he grew up in the kitchen business working for his father. Nick has authored several design columns as a featured writer for many industry publications. As Director of Education and Product Development for the National Kitchen and Bath Association from 1991 to 1999, Nick co-wrote and published over 35 industry text books on Kitchen and Bath design for the trade. Nick has been with Klaff’s since 1999 where he has established the Kitchen Department and Klaff’s own brand of custom cabinetry, furniture and millwork.
Glenda Moralee
Glenda Moralee is the owner and creative source of BY DESIGN INTERIORS. Based in New Canaan, CT, Glenda has been creating classically modern interiors since she entered the design world in 1988. She collaborates with her clients to bring ambiance, style and comfort to their homes always with an eye to delivering on time and within budget.
Working in a mainly neutral color palette she likes crisp, tailored furniture shapes using texture on walls and in fabrics to add dimension and sophistication. Born and raised in Cape Town, South Africa , and spending time in India and the UK Glenda likes to reflect those influences in the details of her work where appropriate. Key words in her design philosophy would be timeless..…continuity…….quality.
Projects are primarily in southwestern Connecticut, Westchester county and Manhattan. Diverse vacation residences have been on the Cape, in Vermont, Vero Beach and Key Largo.