Takashimaya on 5th Ave., New York, stands as a cross-cultural forum on one of the great shopping streets in the world. Here, East meets West to blend the most cutting edge news in fashion and the art of living. Re-cently, 10 of New York's cutting edge interior designers were invited to create special temporary "celestial interiors" for this Japanese-owned department store for a special Visions & Dreams show. The designers chose planets for their themes.

Martha Burns brought Mercury, child of the sun, down to earth, representing the quicksilver planet in a 10-foot Krypton fabric-covered sphere with the surprise of a box wood, moss and rose-filled garden room within.

"As technology silently takes control of our lives," she explained, "our spirits will need more nourishment than ever before. This retreat for repose, reading and regeneration allows for the nurturing of body and soul. The environment was part of an American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) event to benefit the Partnership for the Homeless.

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