Jamaica-born designer earns first spot for blacks

• Palmer to participate in the Decorators' Show House & Gardens

Janice Palmer, an interior designer, became the first black designer selected to participate in the Decorators' Show House & Gardens. This event, one of several fund-raising efforts for the Atlanta Symphony Associates, featured the Lotus House located in one of Buckhead's most prestigious neighbourhoods on West Wesley Road.

The Decorators' Show House & Gardens showcases some of the finest interior and landscape designers in the southeast. Janice Palmer, an immigrant from Jamaica, was one of 29 interior decorators selected from a pool of over 250 applicants desiring to decorate the Lotus House.

Palmer, the owner of Y Design International, said she was "ecstatic about this special honour to be part of the team helping the Atlanta Symphony celebrate its 66th anniversary season and raise funds to help bring classical music to the lives of over 40,000 children in the Atlanta metro area".

exceptional residence

The Lotus House was described by the Associates' president as: "An exceptional residence that will open the Decorators Show House and Gardens' fifth decade as a cherished, highly anticipated Symphony and Atlanta tradition."

Each year, between 12,000 and 15,000 people tour the Show House, and the Decorators' Show House & Gardens has been ranked one of the 10 best shows in the country.

To view samples of Janice Palmer's work visit www.ydesignllc.com.

Palmer, whose Y Design International specialises in commercial interior design and demanding residential spaces, was born in St Thomas.

She migrated to the United States where she pursued a career in interior designs. She has a degree in fine arts and interior design. Palmer's portfolio includes model homes and community spaces for top American builders, such as John Wieland Homes, and carefully detailed home transformations for the most discriminating professionals, celebrities and corporate clients. Her work has received numerous enthusiastic reviews and recognition. Palmer was recently featured in Atlanta Home & Lifestyle in April.