Los Angeles being such a multi-ethnic, multi-faceted city, our lifestyles inform a wide variety of design aesthetics, from Mission to modern, antique to avant. Here’s a Haute 5 of stores that keep our domiciles inspired:
Jonathan Adler
The life partner of Barney’s brahmin Simon Doonan, Adler’s fresh, friendly, modern design has been a presence in LA since 2001…but he might be best known for his stint on Bravo’s Top Design, or creating Barbie’s real-life Malibu Dream House last year (spun off into a Las Vegas suite). “We believe in irreverent luxury,” says his manifesto. What is not to love?
Jonathan Adler is located at 8125 Melrose Avenue, 323.658.8390 and1318 Montana Avenue, Santa Monica, 310.458.4545
Kellygreen Design
Eco-Designer Kelly Van Patter (who collaborated on the new Residences at W Hollywood) has a small boutique full of the elegant and inventive recycled, repurposed and non-toxic materials and objects she uses. You won’t sacrifice style shopping here.
Kellygreen Design is located at 4008 Santa Monica Boulevard, 323.660.1099
H.D. Buttercup
Of the well-known furniture stores concentrated in the old Helms Bakery complex, H. D. Buttercup–which also customized a W Hollywood penthouse suite–wins praise for fully embracing LA’s lavish eclecticism, offering furniture, objects and gifts from a wide variety of serious designers (a bed from Annie Selke Home pictured above).
H.D. Buttercup is located at 3225 Helms Avenue, 310.558.8900
Plushpod
A personal favorite? That would be Plushpod, a modern design superstore just full of unique inspirations (that’s their Kraft paper seating above) as well as go-to standards. If I would ever trust one store to remake my entire home, this would be it. Retro, futuristic, classic and radical at the same time.
Plushpod is located at 8406 Beverly Boulevard, 323.951.0748
Ten Thousand Villages
This Pasadena boutique is about putting your money where your mouth is. Supporting fair trade, they offer myriad items made by artisans around the world—Kenya, Nigeria, Pakistan, India, Guatemala, Peru, Chile, Mexico, the Phillipines, even China, a total of 131 groups in some 38 countries–paying them fairly for their work (above, an Indian mango wood tea chest). Many of the employees are even volunteers.
Ten Thousand Villages is located at 567 South Lake Avenue, Pasadena, 626.229.9892
