Venus & Serena Williams’ Sister Act & Aaron Rodgers’ Surprise Gift

Real Estate

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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

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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.

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.

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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.

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