Interior design isn't just about Eames chairs and brocaded sofas. To Tony Alleyne, interior design can reach into the future for inspiration. It can also be life changing. Tonight on "Tech Live," meet the man who built a replica of the bridge on the USS Enterprise in his condo. It's an incredible achievement in design that just may have saved his life. Alleyne now runs his own company, 24th Century design, and is going futuristic and sci-fi with his ideas. Just look at what Alleyne did to his condo.
Investing time, money to kill depression
Located 90 minutes north of London, Alleyne's flat is no cheesy collection of "Star Trek" chotchkes. No, it's a thoroughly reworked living space complete with a life-size transporter and transporter console, voice-activated lighting, fully realistic console panels, and an infinity mirror over the loo. It's taken more than nine years, thousands of dollars, and an unimaginable amount of work for Alleyne, a self-described perfectionist, to complete the project. But he didn't intentionally start it knowing what a huge investment it would be. He started because he was depressed. "I suppose you can say it saved my life because at the time, the only option open to me was doing myself in, but I'm glad I actually picked the manual up," he says. He's not talking about a self-help manual. In 1994, Tony picked up a set builder's manual that detailed how to create the transporter console from the Star Trek Enterprise. With this initial creation of an element from the show, Alleyne began a journey that's taken him -- well, you know -- where no interior designer has gone before. "I though 'Start Trek' was the best," he says. "It had the best set design for me, anyway. So I thought, what I'll do is I'll incorporate that in a domestic situation and see how it comes out."
'While You Were Out' step aside
His design has come out beautifully. The kitchen is all white, with neon lighting underneath the cupboards. Speakers beep and whiz, mimicking the noises you hear in "Star Trek" episodes. The living room consists of a comfortable futon that looks out on the transporter console. And where most people would have a bedroom, Tony has created a replica of the transporter unit that beams crew members to parts known and unknown. Visitors are blown away by the craftsmanship inside the tiny flat. It's beautifully done, and the Library Computer Access and Retrieval System (LCARS) panels are perfect. LCARS is the colorful computer interface that dominates the bridge of the "Next Generation" Enterprise. "I think to build something like this, obviously you have to have a passion for graphic design, carpentry, and electronics, and I have all three," he says.
For sale to the highest bidder
Now Alleyne is trying to figure out how to make his hobby into a livelihood. The apartment is for sale on eBay at $2 million, but Tony says he doesn't expect any buyers. The goal is to gain exposure for his design business, which he says is getting lots of attention. "There's a great calling for designing a home theater based on the bridge of the Enterprise," he says. "And most of the requests I'm getting are from the United States." Perhaps Alleyne will sell his flat for less than $2 million. After all, it's only a one-bathroom studio. But one thing is for sure: Building a "Star Trek"-inspired home gave one man a new life.