OndineAge: 38
Hometown: Mountainside, N.J.
Resides in New York City
Ondine has been a successful set decorator working on major motion pictures and television shows in New York City for most of her professional life, including on the hit television series Sex and the City, where she served on a small team that continually pushed the limits of high-end, interior design. When the series ended in 2004, she opened her own boutique design studio in SoHo. Four years later, Ondine Karady Design has already developed an impressive client list that includes major celebrities, Hollywood directors and Washington opinion makers. In addition, she has also developed a robust catalogue of custom-made furniture, wallpaper and ceramics. It is Ondine's dream to build her business into a design powerhouse specializing in glamorous homes, hotels and restaurants, with product lines in major retail stores. An avid world traveler, she ultimately intends to design and manufacture furniture with artisans from villages around the world while supporting developing regions in the process. Ondine has a gift for transforming even the most sterile spaces into elegant, comfortable, and livable, works of art. She began her career in set decorating after graduating from Barnard College of Columbia University. Among other major projects, her credits include the films Requiem for a Dream and "25th Hour." Ondine splits her time between New York City, Montauk, N.Y. and Washington, D.C., where her husband Jim Rutenberg is a political correspondent for the New York Times. She lives with her black cat named Norman and a Blue Chow named Little Bear.
