AND THE PULITZER GOES TO.... NANCEE BROWN!

So here's the best book of the year: "Can't Go Wrong: Window Treatments." It's written by my sister Nancee Brown, the best interior decorator alive today. If there was a Pulitzer Prize for creating and writing about Window Treatments, well, she'd win it hands down. Maybe I ought to contact the Nobel Prize Committee and get them to stop handing out that damned Peace Prize since nobody has ever really achieved any sort of lasting peace anywhere, and insist they replace it with the Nobel Prize for Creating Beauty, which is what my sister does. Or maybe the Nobel Prize for Window treatments. Window Treatments, you say?

Yes, Window Treatments. I too was ignorant of Window Treatments before Nancee educated me. Seems there's a lot more than curtains and blinds involved in a successful Window Treatment. Her book is chock full of beautiful things, making a window a lot more than just a window. And she doesn't always go in for the elaborate, knowing that sometimes simple says it best. Her vivid color schemes were always her trademark, an expert eye for colors that command attention, going against traditional schools of thought on what colors and patterns go with one another, and her instincts always result in more beauty in this world. Creating beauty is a fine thing.

She designs interiors, the spaces in which we live our lives. Nancee always lets the space tell her what it needs, not the other way around. And so she asks the proper questions of the work before her: What is this space being used for? By who? What space leads into this one and where does this one lead? What does this room absolutely need to have to be functional? What can it use to make it comfortable and beautiful? She does all sorts of work, not only Window Treatments, but everything under the Interior Decoration Sun from brand new construction to alterations to single rooms, plus all the furnishings, installations and floor coverings, and yes, Window Treatments.

Apparently her Window Treatments caught the eye of her publishers, who sought her out to write this book. They are called Creative Homeowner and publish a series of home decor books, found not only in bookstores but also in building supply and home furnishing stores. You can order your own copy from Doubleday, Barnes & Noble or online at the publisher's own website, www.creativehomeowner.com. You'll be getting the work of a real pro, a member of the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) and certified by the National Council for Interior Design Qualification (NCIDQ). Yes, Billy, there are such things! Nancee is also a graduate of the New York School of Interior Design.

I always knew my kid sister had a way with colors, starting from when I was a teenager attempting to leave the house for a date and got marched back into my room by a nine year-old who had a better idea of what I should wear than I did. And she was always right. I learned a lot about being a good dresser from Nan. The eyes rolled skyward went a long way towards letting my brother John and I know that we didn't pass muster. Even as a kid, she was already practicing her craft by constantly rearranging the little bedroom she shared with our sister Beth. Drove Beth a little batty, but they did always have a nice room.

Nancee has paid her dues in her chosen profession, starting right after graduating college to work for different design firms in Manhattan, then moving to London for 10 years and working for herself. She's been back in America for a dozen years now and heading up Nancee Brown Interiors. She's built up an astonishing body of work, one you can check out at nanceebrown.com. The funny thing is, in England she was valued for her American audacity, and in America for her traditional English experience. Go figure people. What Nancee has, however, is not an American thing or an English thing, it is hers alone, a recognizable style that combines breathtaking color, graceful function and the feel of being surrounded by beauty. It's a Nancee Brown thing. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got a call to the Nobel Prize people to make. You can listen in to my end of the conversation if you like:

"Yes, this is he... yes...yes.. Oh, you got my letters and e-mails?... Were there really that many?... well, it is important... Her name is Nancee Brown, Lars, ask me again I'll knock you down... yes, she is my sister, but that's neither here nor there... what do you mean, there's no Nobel Prize For Window Treatment?... What century are you people living in?... Aren't you still giving one out for alchemy?... Don't give me that, pal, I happen to know that Alfred Nobel made his dough inventing dynamite, so don't get all Peace-Prize-and-service-to-humanity with me! Don't make me come to Sweden, Ingmar! We're talking about a woman who creates beautiful things here, pal, not some blowhard politician looking for statesman points and brokering a peace treaty that doesn't last until he needs a shave again!"

Oh well, that didn't work out so well. Hope I didn't hurt my sister's chances if they ever wake up over there and start awarding a Nobel Prize For Window Treatments. That would be awkward if they picked someone else. Sorry, Nan, but I have to look out for my kid sister, like you looked out for your sartorially-challended big brother back in the day. And I want you to have a prize to match the one I won a long time ago; the prize of being Nancee Brown's brother. I really hit the jackpot with that one and now I'm doubly proud that she's now an author as well as being one of the finest people on the planet. She wrote all her own copy, vivid and passionate prose describing her work. And if you good readers want to hit the jackpot and check out a seriously talented and very interesting interior designer, check out her book and her website. And maybe an e-mail campaign to the Nobel Prize Nomination Committee wouldn't kill you either. They're not taking my calls anymore.