Los Angeles Design Blog | Material Girls | LA Interior Design

It’s been such an incredible week here in Los Angeles, celebrating “Legends of La Cienega” these past few days with fellow designers and bloggers. It was a week full of events and parties, and the highlighted “Windows to the World” event, featuring highly selected designers from all over the world, to create window displays in the showrooms that line La Cienega Boulevard.

The two day event started with a kick off party at the Rose Tarlow Melrose House showoom.

Designers Ron Woodson of Woodson & Rummerfield and Christian May of Maison21 at the Rose Tarlow kick off party.

Fellow blogger Typhanie of Shoebox Decor with her sister Khadine at the Rose Tarlow party.

The packed showroom at the Rose Tarlow Melrose House party.

Friends & bloggers: Typhanie from Shoebox Decor, Morgan of ML Designs, Khadine, and Richard of BluePRint Brands.

Yummy champagne, by Veuve Clicquot, a sponsor of the evening’s party.

Leaving the Rose Tarlow party, the elegant courtyard at night.

The next day, before heading to events, I walked La Cienega Boulevard to check out the window displays and eagerly made a beeline to see my blogger BBF and design partner in crime, Christian May of Maison21′s window at the Morrell Showroom.

Seeing the window in person was so stunning! The colors, the custom made screen from Grace Home Furnishings, the custom wallcovering applied to the screen from Black Crow Studios, the gilt coffee table from Gray Morrell, the chic yellow chairs from Gina Berschneider, and more (see here for a full list of credits!). Christian did such a remarkable job! So proud! For more pics of his window display for Legends of La Cienega, click here.

After checking out the windows, I headed over to the Compas Showroom for a luncheon hosted by Elle Decor magazine.

Inside the Compas Showroom on La Cienega Boulevard.

Enjoying the Elle Decor luncheon: Christian of Maison21, me of Material Girls, Jami of Imagine Design Blog, and Sara from Decorative Carpets.

The elegant courtyard at Compas Architectural Stone on La Cienega, the setting for the Elle Decor luncheon.

Later that evening, I attended the very packed and happening Traditional Home magazine party at Lee Stanton Antiques.

At the Traditional Home / Lee Stanton party: Kevin of Fuse Lighting, Shane of Gray Morrell, and Christian of Maison21.

Christian and I at the Traditional Home / Lee Stanton party.

{All photos by Jill Seidner Interior Design}

 I recently had the pleasure of attending a book launch event at Los Angeles based interior designer & showroom owner, Kishani Perera’s chic shop, Rummage.

The event was hosted by model/actress Molly Sims (along with a surprise appearance by actor Gary Oldman!) For proof, just check out this pic of Erika from Small Shop Studio with actor Gary Oldman!

An interior view of Kishani’s cute and chic shop, Rummage, from the upstairs mezzanine (where she also has her very cool studio space!).

Kishani’s book, Vintage Remix, is a must have!

I managed to get a copy of the book – and when I sat down to flip through it, I was awe inspired! Page after page of inspiring interiors, including Kishani’s projects and design philosophy. I really enjoyed seeing her own work space which is feautured in the book as well.

Kishani with Christian of Maison21 at her book launch event.

Another interior pic of Rummage, from near the front entrance.

Stylish vignettes and yummy desserts at the party!

If you’re in LA, defintely go visit Rummage!

All photos by Jill Seidner Interior Design

And a very special Happy Birthday to Kishani – as today is her birthday!

While attending High Point Market last month, I also had the opportunity to visit both the Drexel Heritage and Thomasville Showrooms located in the International Home Furnishings Center (IHFC).  If you happen to be in High Point – be sure to check out the IHFC and visit both showrooms which are located directly across from each other. Until then – here’s a preview of what you might see!

The entrance to the Drexel Heritage showroom.

Cassandra from Coco + Kelley tests out a fun chair in a bright yellow fabric.

One of my favorites, this tie-dyed nail-head console.

Another spectacular piece, this statement headboard upholstered in a fun bug fabric!

The fabric room at Drexel Heritage – so well stocked and organized, with an inventory of just about anything you could possibly be looking for!

There’s also an abundance of finish assortments to choose from, including many options in wood tones and paint colors.

An entire section is dedicated to dining room furnishings, including bar stools, counter stools, and a counter stool banquette – as modeled by Cassie.

For the more traditional, an upholstered headboard and foot bench make for great classics.

Among the room vignettes are lots of great accent pieces, such as this Moroccan inspired nail-head upsholstered side table.

(Be sure to check out the Drexel Heritage blog – which features us on our tour during High Point Market!)

The entrance to the two story Thomasville showroom at IHFC.

There are some fabulous headboards in their collection, like this tufted scalloped version.

All shapes & sizes, and can be customized in many fabric options.

Cute little chair, in equally cute fabric! (I saw a picture of this chair go by on Twitter as the perfect chair for “tweeting” – true!)

My infamous “Chair model Cassie” testing out a glam chair she eyed.

All photos by Jill Seidner Interior Design

Thank you to Drexel Heritage and Thomasville for the extensive tours and inviting us to come visit the showrooms during High Point Market! Thank you to Lisa Hanly for coordinating our showroom tours for High Point Market!

Last week while attending High Point Spring Market, I had the opportunity to tour the Hickory Chair showroom in North Carolina. Hickory recently celebrated their 100 year anniversary – quite an impression, and a lasting one – so happy to know the longevity of a company, with it’s furnishings made right in our country, hand made, and built to last. I could not be more supportive of that!

Here’s a glimpse into the Hickory Chair showroom – only a fraction of what is to be seen as the rooms are packed full of amazing goods. I highly recommend a visit if you happen to be in High Point, NC – but here’s a start!

Off the main entry are steps that lead to room vignette after room vignette, including spaces dedicated to Hickory Chair’s exclusive designers, including: Alexa Hampton, Mariette Himes Gomez, Suzanne Kasler, Thomas O’Brien, & more!

One of my favorite rooms was the inspiration room by Hable Construction, featuring the latest Hable Textiles. Loved how creative the display was, inspiring indeed – and really loved all the textiles!

Just something really different – textiles from Hable Construction.

And in blue too!

More from the Hable Construction inspiration room!

Another highlight of our showroom tour was meeting some of the interior designer’s in their actual spaces at Hickory Chair! Here is my friend Sheena with interior designer Alexa Hampton. (The introductions went something like this, “Hi, I’m Sheena, your summer intern.”) Alexa is also very humourous by the way, I think we all had a good laugh talking with her.

Just part of Alexa Hampton’s room vignette – the wall color is an amazing, dramatic glossy navy blue.

In the next room over, we met interior designer Mariette Himes Gomez and her daughter Brooke. It was neat to engage with them and hear their stories. Nevermind meeting them in person!

An upholstered bed designed by Mariette Himes Gomez. I like that it’s not too feminine, yet not too masculine either.

A fun, girly room designed by Suzanne Kasler. (Of course, Cassandra from Coco + Kelley immediately declared this was Ashlina from The Decorista’s future girl’s bedroom – and had to text her to tell her!)

And then ALL the girls wanted their picture taken in the room (they fit in so well!). Here’s Ashlina of The Decorista, Crystal of Rue Magazine, & Cassie from Coco + Kelley.

Another fun surprise was seeing fellow blogger and designer Tobi Fairley’s furnishings at Hickory Chair. I really think they greatly reflect Tobi’s design aesthetics!

Love this chair by Tobi too!

Also saw some interesting pieces of furniture, and lots of pretty colors too – like with this chest!

And this fun, colorul zig zag print fabric!

Pretty colors on this ottoman bench and sofa fabric and pillows, as seen at Hickory Chair.

Perfectly pretty side table as seen in a bedroom vignette.

All photos by Jill Seidner Interior Design

A special thank you to Hickory Chair for inviting me to tour the showroom and experience High Point. Many thanks to Laura Holland at Hickory Chair for her expertise and knowledgeable showroom tour. 

{The official High Point Market Spring 2012 poster}

I’ve just returned from a fabulous trip to High Point Market Spring 2012! Hardly made a dent in all that there is to see – but here’s a highlight of some of the things that did catch my eye!

 

Seeing a lot of the natural and organic, this rope chandelier at Regina Andrew really caught my attention!

And these little side tables too, also from Regina Andrew.

Noir Furniture had a ton of great accessories, furniture, and lighting – Katie of Matchbook Magazine was eyeing some of the accessories!

Oomph was fresh and vibrant – lots of colorful items in their collections!

Pretty sure this is the prettiest backgammon table I’ve ever seen!

All the little side tables from Oomph are fun in their assortment of colors and patterned tops!

Dransfield & Ross had some very pretty bedding, bathroom accessoires, and pillows in their space at High Point. I loved some of the soft muted colors in their bedding collections.

All of these bathroom accessories from Dransfield & Ross are gorgeous!

This nautical pillow in their collection has been a long time favorite of mine, perhaps stemming from my year’s of being around boats.

The Halo showroom is always where it’s happening…gotta love that edgy industrial chic vibe with a British edge by Timothy Oultan.

The fab lighting at the Halo Styles showroom.

“Kids in the window” – at the Oly showroom with Christian of Maison21, Ashlina of The Decorista, Crystal of Rue Magazine, Mandy, & Cassandra of Coco + Kelley.

So fresh and pretty and Spring-like at Oly!

There were some very pretty upholstered pieces, like this headboard from Thomasville.

And this side chair too, from Thomasville.

Loved this headboard at Drexel Heritage!

This console table from Drexel Heritage with the tie dye effect fabric and nail-head trim really caught my eye – and so did the whole vignette, love the Arabesque mirrors too!

Over at Hickory Chair, these “painterly” textiles from Hable Construction were a favorite of all of us.

The painted effect seems to be popular, as also seen on this chest at Hickory Chair.

More vibrant colors on the fabric in this Hickory Chair.

As one of the featured designer collections at Hickory Chair, Suzanne Kasler’s girl’s room vignette was oh so pretty!

As always, the Currey & Co showroom space was magnificent, filled with all their amazing lighting (& furnishing) pieces!

I spotted these fun and colorful pendants at Currey & Co from across the room!

Loved this elegant table lamp from Currey & Co named “Cassandra” after our own Cassandra from Coco + Kelley!

We had the most fun and fantastic tour of CR Laine given to us by Holly. All of us enjoyed visiting the showroom – we even got to pick out fabrics for pillows that are being made for us! Can’t wait to share that! This is the entry to the showroom space. Again, seeing lots of pretty colors and a fresh, Spring like look!

Cassandra of Coco + Kelley and Ashlina of The Decorista fit right into the CR Laine showroom!

Global Views was filled with so many great accessories & furnishings – it was like being a kid in a candy store! And lots & lots of color!

Thought this tall headboard at Global Views was very chic.

In awe of this credenza from Global Views, too – love the detailing and hardware.

The ever so cool Four Hands showroom had a lot of great things going on (& not just because they throw the best party in town during High Point Market!) – loved these cluster of pendants and the round dining table.

These colorful Moroccan lanterns were seen all through out the Four Hands showroom.

And if you are looking to catch a breath of fresh air, step out onto the balcony at Four Hands which is filled with beautiful outdoor furniture and overlooks the buildings of High Point!

All photos by Jill Seidner Interior Design.

Stay tuned for more blog posts about High Point and my tours of Thomasville, Drexel Heritage, and Hickory Chair!

Enter to win the Crate and Barrel sweepstakes – tomorrow, April 4th is the last day!

Enter here for a chance to win your favorite spread from the 2012 Spring Inspiration Catalog, valued up to $15,000!

For more information about the Crate and Barrel $15,000 Pick Your Page Sweepstakes, including terms and conditions, please visit www.crateandbarrel.com/Sweeps. Good luck!

 

It has been quite a few eventful days this past week with WestWeek taking place, two days and three nights of back to back showroom events and parties! Here’s a recap of my WestWeek highlights!

 

Starting with a kick off party at interior designer Michael Smith’s showroom, Jasper, hosted by Margaret Russell and Architectural Digest magazine.

My friends Morgan and Christian of Maison21 at the Jasper Showroom / Architectural Design party.

Interior Designer Michael S Smith with Margaret Russell of Architectural Digest magazine.

Morgan, Me, Christian at the Jasper Showroom/Architectural Digest kick-off party.

Christian enjoying the Jasper Showroom party.

The next day I ventured over to the Pacific Design Center to take part in the events as an “official” blogger for WestWeek. (Thanks to Crestron and Andrew Martin for sponsoring.)

One of my first stops was to drop by the Thomas Lavin showroom to check out the new lighting pieces designed by Kevin Kolanowski of Fuse Lighting. Kevin was at the showroom to give a tour of his new selections – loved this wall sconce!

Next stop, was the Duralee Fabrics showroom for the John Robshaw textiles preview and an event with HipSwap co-hosted with Turquoise. I met up with Alissa from The Goods Design and Christian of Maison21 (standing in front of the new John Robshaw fabrics).

Vanessa of Turquoise and Typhanie of Shoebox Decor at the Duralee Fabrics showroom / HipSwap event.

In between events, Christian and I browsed a few of the design showrooms, stopping in at the David Sutherland showroom. While he was checking out the Perennials outdoor fabrics, I was checking out some of the dramatic lighting like this chandelier.

Following the California Home + Design “Rise of the Rock Star Designer” keynote, the Andrew Martin showroom held a reception party. Pictured here is Typhanie of Shoebox Decor, Christian of Maison21, & Matt Locke of Design Star.

Eileen of Christopher Guy with Typhanie of Shoebox Decor in front of the “sexy” tables at the Andrew Martin showroom.

After the Andrew Martin cocktail party, we decided to leave the PDC and “hit the street” where we walked down Melrose Avenue to the Dennis & Leen open house.

While the interiors of the Dennis & Leen showroom are gorgeous, I took respite in the courtyard with the koi pond.

Next we headed back up Melrose Avenue to stop by the Rose Tarlow Melrose House cocktail party.

 

Turns out, there was a little surprise at the Rose Tarlow showroom – fashion designer James Galanos (also known as Nancy Reagan’s dress designer) happen to be there. Here he is pictured with Christian.

Our last stop of the first day of WestWeek events was the House Beautiful party hosted by interior designer Peter Dunham of Hollywood at Home.

 

With more events and showroom open houses taking place on day two of WestWeek, I held out for the grand finale “rock star of parties” – the coveted Restoration Hardware party, complete with greige “red” carpet arrivals and guest list only invites.

 

The event was also to benefit LACMA (The Los Angeles County Museum of Art) and celebs came out to lend their support. Pictured here is actress Elizabeth Banks with model/actress Milla Jovovich.

Also in attendance, Restoration Hardware Chairman and Co-CEO Gary Friedman.

Party ambiance inside the Restoration Hardware store located on Beverly Boulevard in West Hollywood.

Typhanie and I at the Restoration Hardware party.

Tula of the blog Whorange with Typhanie of Shoebox Decor and Richard of BluePRint Brands at the Restoration Hardware party.

The real rock stars of the Restoration Hardware party: Typhanie, her sister Khadine, and Richard.

My favorite: the graffiti wall in the courtyard at Restoration Hardware.

All photos by Jill Seidner Interior Design

The other evening, I had the pleasure of attending a dinner party at the George Smith furniture showroom located here in Los Angeles. The occasion for the event was a pre-WestWeek gathering that I attended with Christian of Maison21. The evening included cocktails, live music, and a five course sit down dinner by the amazing chef Keven Lee. In attendance were several other local Los Angeles interior designers including Liz Dinkle, Gary Gibson, Donna Livingston, Kerry Joyce, Peter Dunham, and Christian’s “design crush” – Pamela of Commune Design.

 

The evening began with cocktails and socializing, while we also took a look around the showroom to view some of the lines that George Smith carries – including fabrics from Raoul Textiles, lighting from Best & Lloyd, fabrics & wallcoverings from Bennison Fabrics, & of course, furniture from George Smith.

A Chesterfield Sofa in the showroom at George Smith.

Just a sampling of some of the lighting collections carried at the George Smith showroom.

Several tables were set up to accommodate all the guests for the evening. All of the dining chairs (stunning!) were made just for the occasion!

The table setting and menu for the dinner party.

I was absolutely loving the blue tufted dining chairs…so much in fact, I wanted to take them home with me! The chairs are also incredibly comfortable (something about those high backs)!

Thank you to the George Smith showroom for including us for a wonderful evening!

{All photos by Jill Seidner Interior Design}

The other day I stopped by the Helms Bakery District, a restaurant and furniture shopping area located here in Los Angeles, located at the historic former Helms Bakery buildings. The buildings in this square block currently house H.D. Buttercup, Room & Board, Rejuvenation, and Vitra…just to name a few. I happen to check out both H.D. Buttercup and Rejuvenation.

H.D. Buttercup is a must see – a large warehouse like space that carries Cisco Home, Lillian August, Timothy Oulton, Stark Carpet, and more…

The packed showroom space of furnishings and accessories by a variety of manufactures – all under one roof.

The Cisco Home section features natural, sustainable furniture – including tufted upholstery items and natural wood casegoods.

Also saw lots of fun ottoman poufs – both large and small, in fabric and leather.

The Lillian August collection.

The chic Timothy Oultan display.

A cool chandelier made of bottles and hanging by a rope!

I also noticed a lot of industrial chic tables with mix matched chairs!

And another one!

I then ventured across to the newly opened Los Angeles showroom Rejuvenation, a Portland, OR based lighting and house parts store.

The showroom showcases their line of reproduction lighting, hardware, and other items such as house numbers and mailboxes.

Some of the cabinet knobs and pulls on display.

And house numbers, mail boxes, and mail slots!

The Helms Bakery District is definitely worth a visit if you are in LA!

[All photos by Jill Seidner Interior Design]

With the Design Bloggers Conference happening in Los Angeles this past week, along came several invites to parties all around town. While it was hard to make each and every one, I did have the opportunity to attend the Hollyhock party hosted by Suzanne Rheinstein, the Harbinger party with TRADHome and Kravet, and the Grace Home Furnishings party.

Suzanne Rheinstein, proprietor of Hollyhock hosted a kick off party in honor of Ronda Carman of All the Best Blog at the start of the 2012 Design Bloggers Conference.

Lots of familiar faces! (left to right): Christian May of Maison21 Blog, Clinton Smith of Atlanta Homes & Lifestyles Magazine, Scot Meacham Wood of Tartan Scot Blog, Jennifer Powell: Social Media Coordinator for Kravet, Tobi Fairley of Tobi Fairley Blog, Brooke Carter Wallace from Tobi Fairley Interior Design, Robert Kaner of Robert Kaner Interior Design, and Andrew Joseph of Andrew Joseph PR.

The weather couldn’t have been more perfect for guests to enjoy mingling in the courtyard that separates Suzanne Rheinstein’s showroom (in the front) and offices (in the back).

The Harbinger party hosted by TRADHome and Kravet housed a packed crowd that read like a “Who’s Who” of designers, bloggers, magazine representatives, vendors, pr people, & more. I don’t think I have ever looked around a room and seen one familiar face after another!

At the Harbinger party: Christian of Maison21, Crystal of Rue Magazine, and Jaime & Ron of Woodson and Rummerfield’s House of Design. (Photo courtesy of Maison21)

Another group shot at the Harbinger party (left to right): Richard of BluePRint Brands, Andrew of Andrew Joseph PR, Christian of Maison21, and Jaime & Ron of Woodson and Rummerfield’s House of Design.

My last party of the three days was a stop at the beautiful and inviting Grace Home Furnishings showroom in the heart of my own neighborhood!

It was fun talking to Roger Stoker, proprietor of Grace Home Furnishings and meeting Bethanne from Curry & Company. Oh! And did I mention Gracie was there too!?

A room vignette at Grace Home Furnishings – the showroom is always so well put together…you just want to sit and stay awhile!

…or sleep!

Thanks Gracie for hosting such a nice party!

{Photos in this post by Jill Seidner Interior Design}