A British mansion sold for $94 million last month, setting a record for a new-built home. With a kitchen for each bedroom, a 35-seat cinema and a Turkish bath for 20, this Bishop’s Avenue estate broke a British sales record of $68 million set just two weeks earlier. And what’s even more amazing than the price tag—the owner intends to spend almost $60 million to renovate the home. Click here for the BBC story.

Celebrity spokesperson for the American Society of Interior Designers, Matt Lorenz, will lead several events during INTERIORS 08: The ASID Conference on Design, March 13 - 16 in New Orleans. The Chicago native and winner of the Bravo television show “Top Design” will participate in a resume and portfolio review for design students, serve as honorary chair of the ASID Foundation evening auction event, Jubilation, and be on hand to talk about the Society’s new mentorship program, RealWorld DesignWeek.

As a spokesperson for ASID, Lorenz is the voice of RealWorld DesignWeek, the first cohesive, national program to connect aspiring designers with the professionals in the design community and provide them with the support and resources to succeed in the industry. The week-long shadowing experiences will take place October 19 - 25, 2008 and will include online instructional seminars leading up to and following the event.

ASID has 12,000 student members nationwide and a good portion of the conference is geared toward the student. In addition to the general sessions and events that apply to the entire attendance, students can take advantage of:

o    Student Panel-Live Design, presented by the ASID South Central Chapter, Louisiana
o    Joining the Real World: Getting from College to Career
o    Networking lunches
o    ASID resume and portfolio review
o    Off-site experiential learning at historic New Orleans locations
For more information, click here.