Shopping for the Showcase House
By Carl Kozlowski 04/01/2009
Beautifying one of Pasadena’s most distinguished homes with lavish furnishings and the creative inspiration of the area’s top designers might seem a dubious proposition in these harsh financial times. Yet thanks to the Pasadena Showcase House of Design’s worthy goal — raising funds for local arts organizations — as well as its near-escapist charms, the country's oldest house and garden tour might just be more relevant than ever.
The Pasadena Showcase House of the Arts, which organizes the annual event, rallied more than 70 full-time volunteers and 200 other supporters to produce the 45th tour, which goes on view from April 18 through May 17. Over the years, tickets (which range from $30 to $40), benefits, donations and an on-site restaurant and shops have raised more than $16 million for the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Walt Disney Concert Hall and local symphonic, cultural and educational programs for youth.
The 2009 Pasadena Showcase House transformed the Italian Renaissance Revival Stimson House in San Marino. The 10,000-square-foot home, resting on more than two acres, was designed and built by George Lawrence Stimson for his parents, George Woodbury and Jennie Stimson. This year, 22 interior and nine exterior designers received the call to dress the home’s rooms and grounds according to their visions. Like what you see? You can recreate the looks with these tips from several participants, who reveal where they shopped for their top designs.
Young Adult's BedroomDavid Dalton of Los Angeles — (323) 525-3155, www.daviddaltoninc.com — gave a hip ambience to what he calls the “guest sweet” at the top of the grand staircase by incorporating new indoor/outdoor fabrics from fashion designer Trina Turk. “The true power comes from energizing a bedroom suite with high-intensity color and bold patterns,” Dalton said.
To that end, Dalton used black hand-dyed raffia wall coverings by Phillip Jeffries — (973) 575-5414, phillipjeffries.com — and a new shade of iridescent white paint called Snowflake from Dunn-Edwards’ Modern Masters series. Bedding and furniture were custom made, including an elaborate upholstered opium bed.
“Traditionally, the Chinese built these beds for small rooms where opium was smoked,” Dalton said. Polishing the look are lots of ethnic accessories, including eight Syrian and Turkish trays from Berbere World Imports in Culver City.
Dining Room
Pasadena’s Paul Devine of Interior Devine — (626) 795-5025, interiordevine.com — looked to “Alice in Wonderland” for his design of the dining room. “I used 18th-century Rubens engravings, which I got from a Paris flea market and placed in velvet frames,” Devine said. “The walls will also be velvet, which will result in putting velvet next to velvet to create a very tactile experience. The room was built on these engravings. I wanted it to be impressive and luxurious. How many rooms have an aggressive and luxurious velvet on their walls?”
Breakfast Room
Suzi Reader and Scot Barr of Burbank’s SuziScot Design — (818) 953-9534, www.suziscotdesign.com — were inspired by Lucullus, a politician of the late Roman Republic known for consuming lavish feasts, as the design team set about transforming the breakfast room. Borrowing earth tones from dates and walnuts for their palette, the pair arranged plates and sconces along the ceiling border to play off the crown moldings throughout the house “and create a frieze or ornamental band around the perimeter,” Barr said.
The room showcases a chandelier created for the space, which helped “play the room as both a breakfast room and an intimate dining room,” Barr added. “We wanted to be very elegant and timeless, yet warm and inviting.”
Environmentally responsible, too. SuziScot upholstered pieces in its own line of hemp and organic silk and cotton fabrics and hung wallpaper by Innovations, which uses recycled materials. Says Reader: “We want to inspire people so that they can go green without sacrificing style.”
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