Venus Williams’ firm V Starr Interiors is designing Serena’s modern South Florida home. (Julian Finney/Getty Images)
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It’s Labor Day weekend. That means NFL football, U.S. Open Tennis and barbecues take center stage. But design? Design doesn’t typically make headlines this time of year—unless it’s related to football or tennis. And so it does. In this holiday tradition, let’s take timeout to acknowledge athletes making a positive contribution beyond the field or court. Let’s let some good news rule for a change.
Serena Williams plays at the 2019 U.S. Open in New York City. (Tim Clayton/Corbis via Getty Images)
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Serena Williams (arguably the greatest player in women’s tennis history), Venus Williams (arguably the classiest legend in tennis history), and the Green Bay Packers’ Aaron Rodgers (arguably the NFL’s best quarterback), are making some positive noise outside their sports.
Venus and Serena Williams are so close they once lived together. (Tim Clayton/Corbis via Getty Images)
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Serena, who has owned residences in Los Angeles, Paris and Florida is building a new “super modern” but livable house in South Florida. According to Architectural Digest, she’s tapped sister Venus’ firm V Starr Interiors to design the home.
Venus Williams is the 52nd world-ranked tennis player and head of V Starr Interiors. (TPN/Getty Images)
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So far, Venus is encouraging her little sis to make brave choices, to be open for anything totally different or whimsical—like repurposing an unmovable pillar into an illuminated centerpiece, according to AD.
Serena and Venus Williams attend the HBO New York Premiere of ‘Being Serena’ at Time Warner Center. (Angela Weiss/AFP/Getty Images)
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While Serena prefers fashion, Venus is an interior design aficionado, intrigued by art, textiles, Navajo weaving and boutique hotels. So it’s no surprise V Starr’s philosophy focuses on functionality, space, materials, textures and colors. She says she’d like to step out of her comfort zone—like making hospitals more inviting by adding some color. “You can heal with aesthetics, colors, and with design,” Venus told AD.
Venus Williams during the 2019 U.S. Open in New York City. (Al Bello/Getty Images)
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But she told AD her dream project is “a big stadium,” a design-worthy venue she would “trick out” beyond typical concrete halls. She’s played in enough stadiums to know the good from the bad from the ugly.
Aaron Rodgers Scores Again For Alma Mater Cal
Aaron Rodgers surprise gifted his alma mater a new football locker room. (Dylan Buell/Getty Images)
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Speaking of stadiums, Aaron Rodgers recently surprised his alma mater with a generous gift—a renovated Simpson Center locker room for the University of California at Berkeley football team. The surprise went viral on Twitter as shocked current Cal football players took selfies, celebrated, danced and thanked the NFL legend for his generosity.
Oooooooooooooohhhh!
Thank You @AaronRodgers12! #GoBears pic.twitter.com/6mHI1JhuVE
— Cal Football (@CalFootball) August 28, 2019
The renovation included built-in, individual locker stations, fold-down leather chairs (with hidden gear compartments), illuminated stainless steel helmet cubicles, name plates, and golden bear logos—all in Cal color schemes. Each locker was supplied with brand new Cal attire (custom sneakers, sweatshirts, shirts, slides, etc.) as players marveled at their good fortune from one of the NFL’s greatest players ever.
Current California Golden Bears players celebrated their new modern locker room, courtesy of NFL star and Cal alum Aaron Rodgers. (Robert B. Stanton/WireImage)
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Rodgers is already an icon in Berkeley and Green Bay. He will have an entire team rooting for him during the NFL’s kickoff classic Thursday versus the Chicago Bears. No disrespect to Mr. Simpson, but I think Cal’s Simpson Center just might be renamed in the near future.