Dina Merrill And 'Decor' On Screen

Public television, the domain of Bob Vila and a slew of home fix-it shows, has just added a classier cousin. "Decor," a sort of Architectural Digest of the screen, focuses on the fine-tuning: upscale interior design.

Linda Corley Webb, the creator and executive producer of the show, was asked, as the show was being developed, to describe what she envisioned in one word.

"Elegance," she said.

To imbue her show, billed as "public TV's first upscale design show," with that quality, she designed it with one host in mind: Dina Merrill.

"I Don't Do That"

"Dina exudes class," Ms. Webb said recently. "To me, Dina is elegant. She is classic, timeless."

"I would've liked Grace Kelly . . ." she added, calling Ms. Merrill "the perfect host."

It was two years ago when Ms. Webb approached Ms. Merrill, the daughter of E.F. Hutton and the socialite Marjorie Meriweather Post. Ms. Merrill and her husband, Ted Hartley, with whom she runs RKO Pictures, are part-time residents of East Hampton.

"Ms. Merrill said, 'Sorry, I don't do that . . . I'm an actress. I do stage and film, I don't do how-to shows,' " Ms. Webb recounted.

After examining the show's format, which includes tours of showcase and historic houses, interviews with celebrities and top interior designers, and a bit of the how-to, Ms. Merrill, whose childhood bedroom was designed by Walt Disney, finally agreed to host the show.

It has been broadcast since the fall on public television stations nationwide; locally it can next be seen on Channel 21 at 3 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 26, and on Jan. 2.

According to a press release, " 'Decor' incorporates the latest style trends of classic design for a fast-paced and informational magazine-style show."

In Five Parts

Each episode includes five segments, all introduced by Ms. Merrill. The first, called "Room Renaissance," is hosted by Ms. Webb and features a look at a room that's being "transformed" as well as a talk with the designer.

In the second, Ms. Merrill chats with interior designers and celebrities whose houses are featured examples of a designer's work. Howard Elliott, who created the interior design for Ms. Merrill's five houses, in Los Angeles, Vail, Palm Beach, Manhattan, and East Hampton, has been featured, as has Mark Hampton, whose style can be seen at the White House.

A "Tricks of the Trade" segment comprises the how-to element of the show, where the show's consulting designer, Debra Stein, gives tips on subjects such as how to organize a collection, or make a small room seem larger.

In a shopping segment, Ms. Merrill visits design centers and manufacturers to discuss how to choose items such as furniture, fabrics, antiques, art, or wallcoverings.

Home decor trivia is featured in "Did You Know?" each show's final segment, the "exclamation point of the show," according to Ms. Webb.

It includes "things people really don't know but that would make their furniture more interesting," she said. Examples include the history of the four-poster bed, and a look at "whatever happened" to plastic furniture from the '60s.

Humor Included

"We try to open up a little more knowledge," Ms. Webb explained. "Even though it's upscale, we do it with a lot of humor." The show provides "ideas that can be used immediately by viewers," providing them with "the knowledge, and, most importantly, the confidence to set a mood and create a statement for their own home."

Ms. Merrill "makes people feel comfortable," said Ms. Webb. "When we go into these homes, she has the ability to make [the owners and designers] feel at ease."

Ms. Merrill's "on-air style is warm and abiding, and she gives viewers a sense that they are guests of hers . . ." says the press release.

"Mother went in for a lot of French furniture but you can have the Louis as far as I'm concerned," said Ms. Merrill in the release. Ms. Merrill's own Palm Beach house was featured in one episode, as was the neigboring abode of Jimmy Buffett, the singer (who has another house in Sag Harbor).

"What we push is to develop your own personal style," Ms. Webb explained.

Though so far the series has not included any visits to the East End, Ms. Webb hopes to include sites here in a second 13-episode series, for which production will begin in February. "We're riding on a trend. The '90s are the decade of home," she said.

Ms. Webb, a public television reporter and producer for 15 years, would like to continue with the show "as long as there is interest there."

And as long as her host will continue. "She is the show," said Ms. Webb.