FASHION WISDOM

Simple styling tips to turn any basic wrap into a ravishing statement piece.

“The artist

wanted to have this in the Muhammad Ali Center and sent me a print, too. I love it!”

— Laila

The scale may be relatively modest, but the rich brown, dark blue and cream decor she chose has a comfortable glamour all its own. It’s a fitting backdrop for all the female super middleweight title belts she amassed during her undefeated career, as well as a few other mementos and tributes to her legendary father and her husband, former NFL player Curtis Conway, 46.

When Laila found the home in 2011, “my husband didn’t care for this one much,” she admits. “But I could see it had so much potential.” Located in a gated community, it felt like a good place for her son Curtis Jr., now 9, and her daughter Sydney, now 6, to play. “I love the grounds here, because we’re on a corner lot with a great backyard and front yard, and we use the pool a lot in the summer,” she says with a smile. “It’s a really nice neighborhood.”

The inside seemed right, as well. “I really liked the open kitchen and family room,” she notes. “Having small kids, that was important. Now when I come home from work, I’m always in there, the kids are

“I wanted to make sure we were somewhere the kids could play and feel safe and still have that neighborhood

feel.” — Laila (with Sydney, Curtis Jr. and Curtis)

usually there doing homework or enjoying free time with their iPads, and my husband might be watching a game.”

She stained the cabinets and bought allnew appliances for the modern kitchen, which happens to be her favorite room. “That’s my space! My husband always says, ‘You love to cook,’ but it’s not that I love to cook — it’s that I love to eat!” she says with a big laugh.

Laila made a few changes over the years, like taking out a large mirror on the wall to add family photos and adding sliding doors in her office, and she’s still planning a kitchen renovation. “I’m a homebody, so it’s really important to me for a house to be comfortable.”

As one might expect from a true champ, her home gym (located in a separate casita just outside) is her refuge. “I have a heavy boxing bag in there, so I love to close the door and play music really loud,” she tells Closer. “That’s when the neighbors know Laila must be in her gym again!” — Reporting by Steve Gidlow

She loves the vibe of her sitting area because “it has a lounge/ club feel and it’s not too feminine, not too masculine.” “There are two sets of stairs! You don’t see that often,” says Laila. She adores this painting of her dad (left) by artist Brent...

“My daughter actually made this mug for me for me, and she loves to paint!”