Our latest home profile: The Ennis house, Frank Lloyd Wright's 1924 concrete block masterpiece in the Los Angeles, is the latest installment of our year-long Landmark Houses series. Check out our:
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In case you haven't heard: Pink is the new black.
And now that Pantone has dubbed Honeysuckle the color of the year, pink accents are popping up everywhere.
Discount online retailer Overstock.com is among the retailers seeing pink. Peruse the site and you will find a variety of bright accents for spring: framed prints by Andy Warhol including "Daisy (Yellow on Pink)," $71.99, shown above center, "Pink on Red," $69.99 and a series of "Flowers" art blocks for $37.99 apiece. The Regent Pink splash pillow, shown above left, is $43.99.
A pink full-size futon cover for $34.99 will please the moodiest of teenage girls, and the hand-tufted dharima brown/pink New Zealand wool rug, shown above right, measuring 5 feet by 7 feet, 6 inches, for $211.99, will please, well, just about anyone.
Shipping is free when you log onto O.CO, the new shortcut URL to Overstock.com.
-- Lisa Boone
Photo credits: Overstock.com
Some years ago, the website of Native Sons Nursery had a photograph of a California flannel bush that had been trained to grow along a garden wall. Each bloom in a spangle of flowers was the size of a teacup. Their yellow could outshine a daffodil, or sunflower. This wasn’t a garden, it was a garden that Matisse dreamed. On seeing that photo, so began years of looking in Los Angeles area gardens for espaliered examples of the glorious genus of natives whose botanical name is Fremontodendron.
And never finding one.
It turns out that the photograph, above, was taken in Guernsey by Native Sons co-founder David Fross, who had just left a place that serves alcohol when he saw the glorious display by one of the signature plants of California chaparral growing in one of the Channel Islands between Britain and France. “I’d had two martinis and half a bottle of wine, came around the corner and late evening light was crashing into this yellow door. At first I was staring at the door. Then I focused and said, that’s Fremontodendron.” It ran almost 50 feet along a wall.
As he kept looking, he found that yet more artfully espaliered displays of the plant named for the western pathfinder John C. Fremont were almost invariably in Britain, such as that in his photo at right, taken in London in 1997, or France, or on an island between the two places. The reasons are many, the first being that the British and British adjacent are better gardeners. The second is that the cooler climate has a refining effect on these strapping western plants.
“In England, a Fremontodendron might put on four inches of new growth a year,” explained Bart O’Brien, special projects director of Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden in Claremont. “In our area, they can put on six to eight feet in three months in the spring.”
Those, like me, intent on pinning a flannel bush against a wall in its home territory should be warned that Fremontodendrons come armored. While a USDA Forest Service information sheet identifies the leaves as edible by ruminants, they are highly irritating to humans. Under the microscope, tiny hairs look like medieval maces, said O’Brien. “Think of them as having projecting spines in every direction. If you’re doing any maintenance or raking up dead flowers or leaves, do that last and go take a shower and put those clothes into the laundry as soon as possible.” San Marcos Growers advises wearing goggles. Fross said he asks his crews to wear masks when they load the plants on delivery trucks.
Like its new neighbor Croft House across the street, the L.A. store Creato Finito has opened a new showroom boasting handcrafted designs manufactured in Los Angeles.
"Made in Los Angeles is so important to people right now," said Creato Finito designer David McCallen. "People are becoming less disposable."
The expansive, light-filled showroom, formerly home to Reform Gallery, features McCallen's custom pieces and classic designs, inspired by family heirlooms.
"My clients often want to re-create favorite heirlooms they remember from their childhood," he said. "People like the comfort of the classics."
Indeed, one of his signature pieces –- the Addie Scroll sofa, shown at left (starting at $4,000) -- is named for his great-great-aunt Addie, a silent movie actress.
Midcentury Modern furnishings courtesy of creative director John St. Denis blend with the more formal décor and antiques to give the new space an eclectic feel.
Look for midcentury vintage items such as Saarinen side tables ($645), one-of-a kind handmade pillows made from vintage fabrics ($295), vintage and antique Turkish rugs, an oversized reupholstered vintage chaise ($3,850) and works by local artists. Unique items from McCallen's travels dot the shelves too, including a vintage Gucci leather cocktail set/picnic bag he found at a Milano flea market. "I priced it high in the hopes that no one will buy it," he joked. The showroom also features a drafting table in the back for custom pieces. "We frame the design and send it home with our clients," he said.
Creato Finito Home is at 601 N. La Brea Ave., Los Angeles. (323) 951-1200.
-- Lisa Boone
Photo credits: Creato Finito Home
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Treat yourself to a new desk chair for work or home as the online retailer Design Public discounts all Steelcase and Turnstone products by 15% off through Feb. 28.
The sale includes modern chairs ($169-$419), ottomans ($299-$369), task lamps ($105-$299), lounge chairs ($599), crushed can stools ($109) and the Uno mid-back multipurpose chair, shown above, ($309) which comes in 13 colors.
Use coupon code WHATASTEEL. You must create an account, however, for the code to work. Shipping is free. (800) 506-6541.
-- Lisa Boone
Photo credits: Steelcase
3M Post-it Notes and their even stickier counterpart, Post-it Super Sticky Notes, are recyclable in L.A.’s blue bin. While the notes are typically colored and also have an adhesive strip on one side, the dye and the pressure-sensitive glue are mostly removed from the paper in a chemical de-inking and pulping process that separates them from the paper, enabling the paper to still be recycled.
Some other adhesives are OK for recycling, such as those on the backs of business envelopes; on labels on cans and glass or plastic bottles; and on cardboard and product boxes. Those are all water soluble, L.A. Sanitation officials say.
But other adhesives shouldn’t go in the blue bin. The adhesive on address or shipping label sheets tends to ball up and mar finished paper products. Scotch tape, painters tape and masking tape are not recyclable. Neither is duct tape; it is made of layers of waterproof material.
Because policies and recommendations can vary from city to city, each week we ask a sampling of officials from different municipalities to weigh in.
Can you recycle Post-it Notes in …
Glendale: Yes
Manhattan Beach: Yes
West Hollywood: Yes
Torrance: Yes
-- Susan Carpenter
Photo by Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times
Drawing by Steve Sedam / For The Times
Each week we explain the recycling potential for an item that might be confusing. Here are some previous Can I Recycle columns:
Julie Burleigh with the fertilizer-producing bunnies.
It’s a typical story: An empty lot where a house has burned down lies deserted for decades. It becomes a gang hangout, a place to walk dogs.
That was the situation on Raymond Avenue in West Adams, and for years artist Julie Burleigh wondered about turning the lot across from her house into a community garden. In the summer of 2007 she approached Al Renner, executive director of the L.A. Community Garden Council, for advice on how to convert the space, then waist high in cheese weed.
The garden, once a vacant lot.
He put her on the path, detailing the setup steps and mentioned the four types of committee garden government he had seen over the years: rule by committee, by tribal consensus, or by benevolent or non-benevolent dictatorship.
“I was a benevolent dictator,” she says, laughing, noting that community gardens can be little microcosms of bad government. “Six months ago I stepped back so it’s more collective. Now it's all just life lessons.”
Heath Ceramics has bypassed spring and moved on to summer with a sunny new collection that will make you forget the gray skies outside.
Debuting April 1, the collection includes bud vases, glassware and irresistible "sets" of things you really don't need but must have: salt and pepper shakers, espresso cups, board and bowl, iced tea service, cheeseboard and an appetizer tray. Summer candles are included and for the first time ever, one-of-a-kind ceramic beads, leather and chain necklaces in a collaboration between designer Julie Cristello and Heath.
The signature piece for the season is a "spun lemongrass" single stem vase, shown above, made in a limited edition of 150 pieces for $175. Rounding out the collection is a hybrid stem vase by potter and Heath Los Angeles studio director Adam Silverman using Heath glaze and his own unique firing technique.
To see the collection, keep reading ...
A couple of summers back I wrote about the Los Angeles residence of fashion designer Johnson Hartig, a home filled with recent Damien Hirst paintings and a curious collection of antique ceramic figurines, including packs of Staffordshire dogs in almost every room. It seemed quaint and eccentric, even for the creator of the trendy Libertine clothing line.
Named for the county of Staffordshire, where potteries produced these ceramic mantel piece canines, the dogs are Cavalier King Charles spaniels named for the British monarch, Charles II (1630-1685) who was said to give these royal hounds the run of the castle. In the early 18th century, the figurines were made from china and hand-painted in a labor intensive process of repeated kiln firings. They reached the height of their popularity in the late 1800s and were mass produced in the 20th century.
It turns out that Hartig's collection was ahead of the curve. As designers look back to the 19th century for inspiration, these pups have emerged as iconic symbols of Victorian decor.
They are now so hip that in 2010, young British designer Donna Wilson sweetly reinterpreted them in signed and dated limited edition pairs, right. Wilson, who is known for handmade animal dolls and vividly patterned pillows and blankets, has the figures made in Staffordshire and hand-paints a Fair Isle sweater pattern on the neck and chest. They sell for $400 per pair in the U.S. exclusively through The Future Perfect.
Original Staffordshire dogs are far more expensive, starting at about the $1,000 mark and rising in cost based on age, condition and rarity. One of the above pairs is an antique, the other a new reproduction by Carlton Varney for HSN that's just under $40.
Keep reading to see which dogs have the pedigree and which are fresh from the puppy mill -- I mean ceramics factory.
"Life is all about how you handle Plan B," says Sherri Wolf, edging her wheelchair closer to snip at a hanging leaf on a rose bloom, her hands trembling slightly but her speech clear, her eyes steady. It’s one of the coffee mug homilies she lives by — that and “There's nothing better than putting a big pot of water on for dinner, going out into the garden and picking your corn.”
Working the soil and growing from seed is an integral part of Wolf’s Plan B, a way to deal with the Parkinson’s disease that has brought her from her Del Mar condo to living at the Village at Sherman Oaks, an upscale retirement community. At 69, she’s the youngest person there — there are a few over 100 — and despite her disability, she’s forcing all of her new neighbors to reevaluate their relationship to plants.
Her impact at the facility ranges from the fresh-cut flowers in the dining room to the rose-filled containers in the central patio, just off the main lobby. In the back are more roses, along with raised beds full of herbs and vegetables, and a greenhouse where she works — sometimes until midnight or later.
“It's funny. When I'm working on my plants, I forget I have Parkinson's disease,” says Wolf.
She came to the Village last February and quickly found a spot in the garden, working there every day, pruning, weeding, talking to her plants. “People say it's stupid talking to your plants, but to me that only means paying attention to them.”
Jonathan Adler's tangerine-colored Templeton Apartment sofa, shown above, is almost as cheerful as the designer (author of "My Prescription for Anti-Depressive Living") himself.
Even cheerier? The sofa is currently 20% off as part of Jonathan Adler's annual custom and in-stock upholstered furniture sale running through Feb. 28.
The 78-inch Templeton sofa, shown above, which regularly begins at $3,400, now starts at $2,700, depending on the fabric. The sale also includes dining room chairs, ottomans, benches and settees, sectionals and love seats.
Call (800) 963-0891 for more details.
-- Lisa Boone
Photo credit: Jonathan Adler
Every Monday, we post a new home whose design is presented in the designer's or the builder's own words. Although Pro Portfolio is dark this week, here are some links to earlier Pro Portfolios that you may have missed:
Modern makeover in Manhattan Beach
Burbank tract house made modern
East meets West in Calabasas ranch house
A steel box with the rugged patina of nature
The goal is glamour in the Hollywood Hills
Calm and collected in Santa Monica
To submit a project for Pro Portfolio, please e-mail us at home@latimes.com.
-- Lisa Boone
Photo credits from top: Ken Hayden and Adrian Van Anz; Tim Street-Porter
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