Riviera View

NOCAL ROADTRIP The Wildthing (a.k.a. my six-year-old) and I had the good fortune to spend Easter weekend at my cousin's home in Napa Valley. Goes without saying that this area is absolutely beautiful. There's so much to blog about; the soil, the weather, the spas, the goodlife -- but since this is my blog, well, let's talk a bit about shopping, shall we? One of my favorite California designers, Erin Martin, has a store on Main Street in St. Helena. Below are a few photos taken with the late afternoon sunlight streaming in through her front doors. Ms. Martin's interiors are usually a bit less eclectic than these images convey (click here for examples of that). My guess is that the store may be her muse, a place to let ideas run loose without any design dogma imposing itself. Window Display on Main Street. Funkadellic Chandeliers with a beautiful chaise. Swimmin' with 'da fishes. Fantastic clear bottled screen. (How can I work this into my kitchen?) I believ...

Last year, L.A. designer Rosaline Bersnstein left the safety-net of designing and merchandising for a national, homestore retailer and opened her own interior design studio, christened MODBOX . One of her first projects was creating a retail space for Vespa , Los Angeles in Little Tokyo. Starting a new venture is always a bit scary and conversely exhilarating. Recently, I caught up with Rosaline to ask her a few questions about the Vespa project and about designing in general. Here's what she had to say... photo - Label Networks RV: You've designed other types of retail spaces before. How was designing the Vespa store different from those experiences? RB: Most of my previous experience in retail design came from working in-house for large, well-established companies. These companies had pretty rigid molds and stringent parameters for what you could and couldn ’t do…which makes sense from a business point of view when you’re a global entity trying to maintain a unified b...

L.A interior designer Rose Tarlow recently reopened her furniture shop, Melrose House in a hip, new Los Angeles location, 8545 Melrose Place, not so very far from her older legendary spot in the same neighborhood. Back in the day the new space was the Heritage Bookstore. Nowadays the building is home to Rose's fabulous collection of home furnishings. Entering off Melrose Place through the double french doors you'll find a shop filled with warmth and light. The case goods lead you into the central room and the upholstery asks you to sit down and stay awhile. Moving into and through the foyer you are greeted by the vignette below. Glimpse left or right to see rooms wrapping around corners in either direction. all photos - riviera vie w "Earthy" is the trend these days and Rose seems to be well aware of that. Relaxed finishes and wheat-toned fabrics dominate the scene playing off the white walls, the soaring farmhouse ceiling and Rose's signature Fiddle Leaf Fi...

all photos above- Riviera View Still swamped. In the meantime, here is an overdue snippet about Gum Tree in Hermosa Beach. Owner/buyer Lori Ford has an amazing eye for color. She always finds adorable things for you and the little person in your life. Oh, and did I mention her husband can cook for you while you're shopping? Check out his cafe next door. Yum. 'Hot Cross Buns' photo from the Gum Tree blog