Designer transforms dreams into living spaces

JOYCE RUDOLPH

A career in interior design was Maria Videla-Juniel’s destiny.

Her mother was interested in home decorating and subscribed to

designer magazines that Videla-Juniel read as a teenager. Then, for

her 17th birthday, she asked to have her room redecorated.

“I got to choose all the paint, furniture, carpet and window

treatments, but it didn’t go with the rest of the house, which was

traditional, and this was contemporary,” said the Glendale resident.

The color scheme was white, pink and gray and the window

treatments were sleek. All the furniture had clean lines and there

were few accessories, she said.

“It was pretty minimalist, which I’m not now,” she said. “It’s

funny how you evolve.”

That early interest in design has evolved into a full-time career

as Videla-Juniel, 36, helps her clients create the home of their

dreams with her Burbank business, MV Design Group.

Success has come quickly for this 2002 graduate of UCLA’s interior

design program. Her design was chosen for a segment of “Designers’

Challenge” on HGTV (Home and Garden Television channel), and for the

first time she was invited to participate in the Pasadena Showcase

House of Design.

Showcase is a fundraising home tour organized by the Pasadena

Showcase House for the Arts committee, which has sponsored the event

for 40 years. After a house is selected, several area interior

designers are assigned rooms to redecorate and landscape designers

are given sections of the gardens to beautify.

Proceeds go to children’s music education programs, support of the

Los Angeles Philharmonic and grants for more than 45 nonprofit

organizations.

Videla-Juniel is remodeling the east wing bathroom for this year’s

Georgian Colonial estate in La Canada Flintridge. It is only the

fourth time a house in La Canada Flintridge has been chosen, Showcase

officials said.

Space planning is Videla- Juniel’s specialty as well as helping

the homeowner select materials (tiles, wall coverings, window

treatments), color schemes, built-in cabinetry and furniture.

One of her major triumphs was correcting a remodeled bathroom into

two. Surprisingly, she revamped the space to accommodate a tub, sink

and toilet in the guest bath while the master bath was refitted with

double sinks, a Jacuzzi tub and shower for two people and an enclosed

toilet.

In the Showcase bath, the room was gutted except for the wood

floor, and the only original fixture kept was the claw-foot tub. New

fixtures are in traditional porcelain and chrome. The warm color

palette of neutral yucca palm is combined with a light taupe. An

antique wash of the two colors has been applied to the handmade

tiles.

“My design is a fresh Georgian style with a contemporary feel,”

she said.

Showcase opens Sunday and continues through May 16. It is closed on Mondays. Tickets are from $25 to $30 and can be purchased through

Ticketmaster at (213) 365-3500 or online at www.ticketmaster.com. For

more information, go online to www.PasadenaShowcase.org.

Complimentary parking is available at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena.

Guests are shuttled to Showcase, which also offers dining at the Oaks

restaurant and shopping at the Marketplace. The gardens, restaurant

and marketplace may be visited without a ticket.

SPECIAL EVENTS

NUNS FOR FUN RAISES FUNDS

As a member of the singing group Nuns for Fun, former Burbank

resident Laura La France said there is a real energy created between

the audience and the singers.

“There’s a lot of silliness. We enjoy what we do, making people

laugh,” she said, adding that “it’s also hopeful and uplifting.”

This combination is her inspiration for remaining a member of the

group for 10 years.

Although none of the members are really nuns or priests, the show

is done with respect for the people they portray. The current line-up

includes 12 nuns, an eight- member band dubbed Fr. Inferior and the

Boys in Black, and two soundmen.

Nuns for Fun will present a concert at 7:30 tonight in Holy Cross

Hall at St. Francis Xavier Church in Burbank. It’s a fundraiser for

activities planned for the church’s yearlong 50th anniversary

celebration, including a Mass and picnic beginning at 10:30 a.m.

April 25 in Johnny Carson Park in Burbank.

La France, a 1982 graduate of Burbank High School, formerly sang

in the St. Finbar Church choir and that’s where she met her husband,

Mike La France. When they moved to Palmdale, the couple joined St.

Mary’s Church and the choir. Many of the original members of Nuns for

Fun were members of St. Mary’s choir and they asked her to join, she

said.

The inspiration for the group was the movie “Sister Act” and its

sequel, starring Whoopi Goldberg, La France said.

In 1992, band leader Dan McMahon and a group of friends got

together and performed for St. Mary’s festival. They started getting

gigs and since then have been entertaining all over Southern

California.

In addition to performing songs from the two “Sister Act” movies,

the Nuns for Fun repertoire includes traditional hymns and

spirituals, rock ‘n’ roll and R&B; songs with changes in the lyrics to

make them more religious.

Tickets are $10, $5 for children. They can be purchased at the

door. The church is at 3801 Scott Road, Burbank. For more

information, call 504-4400. There is an optional pasta dinner

beginning at 6 p.m. for $5, $3 for children.

FRITZ COLEMAN RAISES

FUNDS FOR RED CROSS

Southern California’s favorite weatherman Fritz Coleman will

spread his own brand of sunshine during the 13th annual comedy

benefit at 5 p.m. Sunday at Glendale Centre Theatre.

Coleman will be joined by four top stand-up comedians at this

fundraiser for the American Red Cross Glendale-Crescenta Valley

Chapter. Proceeds go to the local Disaster Relief Fund and Health &

Safety training programs.

Best known as the weather forecaster on the weekday editions of

the “Channel 4 News” on KNBC-TV Channel 4, Coleman is a longtime

stand-up comic who has performed at the Improv and the Ice House. He

appears frequently on “The Tonight Show” and has hosted several

comedy/variety specials since arriving in Los Angeles in 1980.

His one-man shows “It’s Me! Dad!” a heartwarming commentary on the

baby- boomer generation, and “The Reception,” a look at the quirky

people attending a wedding reception, have received high acclaim.

Tickets are $20 at the door. The theater is at 324 N. Orange St.,

Glendale. For information, call 243-3121, or go online to

www.arcglendale.org.

LOCAL BAND RELEASES

CD AT PARTY

Reserved 16, an acoustic modern rock band featuring several

members from the area, will have a release party for its new CD

“Reigning Shadows” at 8 tonight at the La Canada Community Center,

4469 Chevy Chase Drive, La Canada Flintridge. Admission is $5.

This is the band’s fifth recording and the CD includes a music

video and nine of the group’s best songs, said bass player and band

manager Ross Allcroft of Glendale.

“We’ve been a band for five years and, at this point, this is the

pinnacle that we’ve been working toward over those five years,” he

said. “We’re anxious to see how people will respond to it.”

Other locals in the band are drummer Scott Unger of Pasadena, who

graduated from La Canada High School, and singer/guitarist Beau

Wammack of Montrose, who graduated from Crescenta Valley High School.

Allcroft graduated from Hoover High School.

NMON FORD APPEARS

AT OCCIDENTAL

Noted baritone and recording artist Nmon Ford will perform at 7:30

tonight at Occidental College’s Cultural Center for the Arts.

He will sing music by Rossini, Liszt, Verdi, Corigliano and

traditional spirituals, and spoken word texts.

Panamanian-American Ford has performed throughout the Americas,

Europe and Japan. He has appeared with the San Francisco Opera, Los

Angeles Opera, Utah Opera and others.

Admission is $15, $5 for seniors or students. For tickets and

directions, call (323) 259-2785. The college is at 1600 Campus Road,

Los Angeles. For more information, go to www.oxy.edu/welcome or

nmonford.com.

DISNEY AUTHORS

VISIT WALT’S BARN

Walt Disney’s Barn is open for tours from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. the

third Sunday of the month. Members of the Carolwood Pacific

Historical Society operate the tours on behalf of the Walt Disney

Family Foundation.

The barn is in the Los Angeles Live Steamers facility at 5202 Zoo

Drive in Griffith Park. Admission and parking are free. For more

information, check the website at www.carolwood.com.

ROAD’ERS MEET FOR CRUISE-IN

The Road’ers Car Club will have its Cruise-In from 5 to 8 tonight

at Bob’s Big Boy, 1407 W. Glenoaks Blvd., Glendale.

This month it’s “Chevy Night” and a trophy will be awarded for

Best Chevy 2004. Eleven other trophies will also be awarded plus

raffles, 50/50 and D.J. Jim playing his great oldies but goodies. All

classic, hot rod and muscle cars welcome.

The Best Of Show winner for March was Larry Boord and his 1970

Chevelle.

For more information, call Rick Fox at 240-9461.

ON STAGE

‘MAGIC FLUTE’ AT FALCON THEATRE

“The Magic Flute,” adapted from Mozart’s comic opera, continues

today at the Falcon Theatre in Burbank.

This musical is a new production for youngsters with book, lyrics,

musical adaptation and direction by Dimitri Toscas.

In an enchanted land of spells and dragons, the Queen of the Night

has locked the Sun away. The musical takes an adventurous young man,

a mysterious maiden and a Phoenix on a magical musical quest to

rescue the Sun.

Performances are at 1 p.m. Saturdays and 1 and 3 p.m. Sundays

through May 22.

Tickets are $12, $10 for ages 12 and younger. The theater is at

4252 Riverside Drive, Burbank. For reservations, call 955-8101.

* If you have news releases for the 48 Hours column, please call

JOYCE RUDOLPH at 637-3241 or e-mail joyce.rudolph@latimes.com or fax

them to 241-1975.