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Venus Williams

Likes and Loves


Howl 4 venus header web
Howl 4 2 muse process
Muse by V Starr for Wolf-Gordon
Williams reviews the collection with V Starr Principal Sonya Haffey at the design firm’s office in West Palm Beach, FL.
Photo: Ryan Loco, courtesy of V Starr

“My parents chose tennis, for which I am eternally grateful. I was meant to be a tennis player! But I chose design, and it comes straight from the heart.”

— Venus Williams
Howl 4 2 vstarr design
Art Gallery, Private Residence
V Starr’s design for a private residence in South Florida
Photo: Ryan Loco, courtesy of V Starr

We asked Venus Williams, founder of V Starr—the West Palm Beach interior design firm that created The Muse Collection for Wolf-Gordon—about some of the essential elements in her life and design practice.

— A city I love traveling to:

I have so many favorite cities, but the one that always comes to mind is Paris. It was the first international city I traveled to as a 16-year-old. It’s magical, beautiful and inspiring. I never want to leave when I visit.

— A place I look forward to visiting:

I’ve heard amazing things about Sardinia, Italy. Being a professional tennis player, I’ve always had to focus on health and wellness and taking care of my body. Sardinia is one of five blue zones in the world, meaning people there live the healthiest and longest lives out of everyone in the world. I’d love to spend some time there to observe Sardinian life, and bring back some insights to Florida.

— My favorite room in my house:

My entire house is connected and feels like one room. Each room slips into the next because of a shared muted color palette of natural wood and whites. It’s peaceful, quiet and energizing. It feels like there is a hush over the world, and it’s an escape from chaos when I come home. My favorite time to recharge is in the evening, with music playing through the house. I might watch a movie, work on various projects, or sketch.

— My three favorite apps on my phone:

1. Any food delivery application: I love to have my favorite restaurants deliver to me around the world.

2. My filter app: It’s the easiest way to look good without any makeup.

3. My e-reading apps: I love having my books with me, wherever I go, whenever I want.

— While I’m designing, I love to listen to:

Blood Orange, Mac Miller, Frank Ocean or Tyler the Creator. They are some of my favorites when I’m in my creative space.

— One of my favorite movies of all time:

I love high school films like Pretty in Pink or Never Been Kissed. I didn’t go to a traditional high school or to prom and I like to fantasize that high school is just like those films!

— A book I’m reading:

I’m currently reading American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins which has really touched my soul. It’s a story of a Mexican woman and her son who have to leave their life behind, and escape as undocumented immigrants to the US.

— A favorite rule to break:

I am a rule breaker. Break all the rules! Restrictions create limits. If I hadn’t broken all the rules, I would not have gotten to where I am today and I would never have entered the design field, which gives me great happiness.

— Can you talk about the process behind creating Muse, your collaboration with Wolf-Gordon?

We were so excited after our first meeting with Wolf-Gordon. I have a deep love of textiles at a granular level, right down to the actual thread. It was important for this collection to reflect my personal aesthetic and a reverence for the materials by showcasing the threads through the design and colors.

As a women owned and operated firm, we wanted to focus on women, and it took a lot of back and forth to identify the motifs of the collection and to translate them into a woven upholstery. We do a lot of work with textiles with my team at EleVen, my athletic wear brand, and the process was completely different, so it was fun to explore textiles with a new perspective.

We asked Venus Williams, founder of V Starr—the West Palm Beach interior design firm that created The Muse Collection for Wolf-Gordon—about some of the essential elements in her life and design practice.

— A city I love traveling to:
Howl 4 2 muse process
Muse by V Starr for Wolf-Gordon
Williams reviews the collection with V Starr Principal Sonya Haffey at the design firm’s office in West Palm Beach, FL.
Photo: Ryan Loco, courtesy of V Starr

I have so many favorite cities, but the one that always comes to mind is Paris. It was the first international city I traveled to as a 16-year-old. It’s magical, beautiful and inspiring. I never want to leave when I visit.

— A place I look forward to visiting:

I’ve heard amazing things about Sardinia, Italy. Being a professional tennis player, I’ve always had to focus on health and wellness and taking care of my body. Sardinia is one of five blue zones in the world, meaning people there live the healthiest and longest lives out of everyone in the world. I’d love to spend some time there to observe Sardinian life, and bring back some insights to Florida.

— My favorite room in my house:

My entire house is connected and feels like one room. Each room slips into the next because of a shared muted color palette of natural wood and whites. It’s peaceful, quiet and energizing. It feels like there is a hush over the world, and it’s an escape from chaos when I come home. My favorite time to recharge is in the evening, with music playing through the house. I might watch a movie, work on various projects, or sketch.

— My three favorite apps on my phone:

1. Any food delivery application: I love to have my favorite restaurants deliver to me around the world.

2. My filter app: It’s the easiest way to look good without any makeup.

3. My e-reading apps: I love having my books with me, wherever I go, whenever I want.

— While I’m designing, I love to listen to:

Blood Orange, Mac Miller, Frank Ocean or Tyler the Creator. They are some of my favorites when I’m in my creative space.

— One of my favorite movies of all time:

I love high school films like Pretty in Pink or Never Been Kissed. I didn’t go to a traditional high school or to prom and I like to fantasize that high school is just like those films!

“My parents chose tennis, for which I am eternally grateful. I was meant to be a tennis player! But I chose design, and it comes straight from the heart.”

— Venus Williams
— A book I’m reading:

I’m currently reading American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins which has really touched my soul. It’s a story of a Mexican woman and her son who have to leave their life behind, and escape as undocumented immigrants to the US.

— A favorite rule to break:

I am a rule breaker. Break all the rules! Restrictions create limits. If I hadn’t broken all the rules, I would not have gotten to where I am today and I would never have entered the design field, which gives me great happiness.

— Can you talk about the process behind creating Muse, your collaboration with Wolf-Gordon?

We were so excited after our first meeting with Wolf-Gordon. I have a deep love of textiles at a granular level, right down to the actual thread. It was important for this collection to reflect my personal aesthetic and a reverence for the materials by showcasing the threads through the design and colors.

As a women owned and operated firm, we wanted to focus on women, and it took a lot of back and forth to identify the motifs of the collection and to translate them into a woven upholstery. We do a lot of work with textiles with my team at EleVen, my athletic wear brand, and the process was completely different, so it was fun to explore textiles with a new perspective.

Howl 4 2 vstarr design
Art Gallery, Private Residence
V Starr’s design for a private residence in South Florida
Photo: Ryan Loco, courtesy of V Starr