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graND DEsIgNs FOr LIVINg
LEta FOstEr is a consummate interior designer, and she
crafts something artful and ardent out of every project she touches. Leta austin Foster & associates is run by Leta, who in 1975 opened her first location in Palm Beach, now a charming boutique located at 64 Via Minzer. she speaks with pride: “Decoration is so much more than color and wallpaper. It’s a blend of ideas, people, and places.” Leta’s work is entirely creative—sophisticated, colorful, and wonderfully thought-out, especially considering the numerous constraints designers face. It’s a challenging job to turn a bare room into an exciting finished project. and Leta’s unwavering stylishness is in every way transforming. Her fascination with design began when she moved to New York City and took classes at the New York school of Interior Design. after the successes of her work in Florida, she went on to open an office in New York in 1990 and in California in 1992. Leta’s love for design is in her DNa; her three daughters, Elizabeth, sallie, and India, have all joined the family business. “the California office is now on its own as Elizabeth Dinkel Design associates,” Leta tells me. sallie and India work with their mother in New York and Palm Beach, respectively. as interior designers, the Fosters have 82 QUEst
perfect pitch. Leta is accruing all sorts of honors; House and Garden called her one of the “100 greatest american Interior Designers” and she was included in House Beautiful as one of the 20th century’s most influential interior designers. Before I had my conversation with Leta, I studied many of her projects, all of which had a soothing quality and heeded the inherent charisma of the room. there was a Park avenue duplex that she designed with a large spiraling staircase. Her choice of furniture—a bending backless settee and a chair with upside-down u-shaped legs—matched its flowing curvature; the wallpaper and stair-carpet featured circular patterns that accented an arched door. Everything came together perfectly. When I asked Leta if she planned around aboriginal objects in a room, she claimed that to ignore that “indigenous something” is to throw a lot out of kilter. “My mantra is that places should be a blend of their location, their architecture, and the people who live within them.” We also talked about taking risks. “If you don’t ever take risks, you just are going to die a bore.” But even at her most daring, her designs are both lovely and livable, all while staying in tune with the client’s vision. the idea of her slowing down is not something she subscribes to. “I don’t plan to ever retire.” u
co u rte s y o f le ta f o s te r & a s s o c i at e s ; K a ry n M i lle t ( b e d ro o M by e l i z a b e t h d i n K e l )
By alex R. TRaveRs