Issue № 15 SPRING 2014 $12.00 U.S.
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EVERY AGE 1
Contents Spring 2014
FEATURES
DIVERSIONS
ALL IN THE FAMILY
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Take a peek at the homes of two sisters and their mother—all artists with an innate sense of style.
L.A. STORY
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A native Angeleno offers up some of her favorite Venice Beach haunts, past and present.
GENTLEMAN’S QUARTERS 95 A Chicago loft serves as the ideal backdrop for a consummate collector’s many treasures. COLLECTED WISDOM 103 Memories and mementos fill the interior of a suburban Boston bungalow. DESIGN THAT ENDURES 111 For a Bay Area pair, the timeless rather than trendy is showcased at home and at work. GATHER ’ROUND
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A group of New Orleans artists gets together to share a meal, stories, and camaraderie.
HISTORY LESSON
IN EVERY ISSUE 42
Discover the provenance of some popular modern-day interior design elements.
MAKING IT WORK 53 In Los Angeles, a talented designer rarely shies away from trying something new. THE GOLD STANDARD 66 A photographer’s jaunt around San Francisco reveals the city’s shimmering sites. THE PROTAGONIST
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Meet the 70-year-old Italian gallerist considered by many to be a bellwether of cutting-edge design. HOMEWARD
MOVING FORWARD
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EDITOR’S LETTER CONTRIBUTORS
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MAKING THE MAGAZINE SHOPKEEPERS’ PICKS MARKET REPORT
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CONVERSATION Kristin Perers 15 SCREEN PLAY RESOURCES BY THE BOOK
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PRIZED POSSESSION Nikki Lane 136
A young San Francisco couple relies on DIYs and thrifting to create a place of their own.
JUST DESSERTS
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Pick and choose from a handful of recipes to whip up a sweet ending to a meal.
Cover Photograph by AMY DICKERSON 2
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HENNY VAN BELKOM
COLORFUL CHANGES 72 Bold prints and palettes are at play in a Dutch designer’s family home.
Conversation
Photographs by CATHERINE GRATWICKE Styling by EMILY HENSON
Kristin Perers
On her 50th birthday—March 23, 2012— made a promise to herself to start a blog. “Two of my heroes, Helen Frankenthaler and Henri Matisse, started diary sketchbooks at 50,” Kristin explains of the inspiration for This Is 50 (thisis50.me). “My hope is that this blog is my own diary sketchbook, an exploration into what it means to be a woman in her 50s and how together we can negotiate this new decade and new landscape.” A photographer and stylist with a background in fashion design, Kristin hails from Florida but has called London home for roughly half her life. She and her husband, a clergyman, currently occupy a vicarage in the Hackney neighborhood that serves as the couple’s residence, a gathering place for the community, and Kristin’s work area (the hand-painted textile hanging in the living room doubles as a photo shoot backdrop). “This house has lungs!” she quips. “It expands and contracts as needed.”
This page and opposite: In the home
that Kristin Perers shares with her husband and their Irish Terrier, Guvnor, the dining table was a wedding present. In the kitchen, the countertop is a piece of found plywood, and Kristin replaced the MDF cabinet doors with linen curtains. Previous page: “When
I turned 50, I finally felt it was time to bring over the pastel portrait done of me when I was 15 by a friend of my mom’s,” says Kristin of the painting in her living room; it sits alongside a portrait of her husband when he was a boy.
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EARLY YEARS: I grew up in Florida, on an island
off the coast. My mom was a painter so the house was filled with art, color, pattern, and light. My parents built the house together in the late 1970s and it could be described as Bahama style—simple, open, and light with French doors, with a view of the Indian River. Watching the sunset each night is my strongest memory from those years, like the world on fire in our back yard. STARTING OUT: I studied fashion design at New
York’s Fashion Institute of Technology. In my first year after graduation I found myself living in a funky loft in Chelsea and then marrying one of my roommates. I followed him back to his home in England—so love brought me to London. And now with two English sons and, well, a new marriage, love keeps me here. PERSONAL & PROFESSIONAL PATH: I seem
to move in 10-year phases. In my 20s, I worked as a fashion designer for Calvin Klein and Banana Republic. In my 30s, after moving to London with two small children, I was looking for a more flexible working life. Because I’d always been fascinated with telling a story through images, I
“We are very fortunate to live in this unusual building and circumstance.”
became a stylist. At the same time, I was doing up our old house on a shoestring. I kept a photo diary scrapbook of the process, which became my book The Seasonal Home and introduced me to the world of photography. Ten years later—after styling interiors and fashion shoots, and turning 40—I decided to move behind the lens and I became a photographer. STARTING AGAIN: Now remarried, I live in a
working vicarage. My husband is the parish priest for the local Anglican church, and we are very fortunate to live in this unusual building and circumstance. The house itself is late Georgian—tall and thin, with the most elegant proportions of that period. Directly adjacent to the church, it has all the elements of a child’s mystery novel: secret passageways, a bell tower, underground tunnels, layers of wallpaper that leave clues to those who have been here before. We will live here only for as long as my husband remains the vicar. Consequently I have had to make 17
Above: The muted living room is en-
livened with a scarlet needlepoint pillow from Charlene Mullen’s shop and wallpaper that reminds Kristin of the home’s “past lives.” Below and opposite: The painted
bathroom floor is Kristin’s doing.
decisions about where best to put my efforts. I happen to love this sort of approach to decorating—more like camping out. So, for instance, wallpaper was out but painting all the wood trim was in since it was the cost of a few buckets of paint and my time. Although we have had to live with the fixtures we were given, I replaced the tiny bathroom basin with a big Belfast sink. The deal was basically that I spend my time—and little or no money—so I have sewn slipcovers for the couch, rigged curtains from old blankets, and fashioned a romantic retreat with a rail and textiles around a very basic bathtub. BEST RECENT ACQUISITION FOR YOUR HOME: A gallon of pink
paint for the floorboards in our living room. Now this north-facing room no longer feels cold, but feels bathed in a soft blush of light. NEXT ACQUISITION: I’ve been researching for my blog subjects—
ranging from environment and religion to 19th-century fiction—and have built up a nice collection of books. I hope to mount a shelf, a little space where they can live as a collection. MOTTO: My mom once said to me, “Honey, there is a time in your life
for everything, but not everything all of the time.” It sort of slowed me down and helped me not to rush my life away.
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“The house itself is late Georgian— tall and thin, with the most elegant proportions of that period.”
ALL IN THE FAMILY
Clockwise from top left:
Janaki Larsen’s dining room. Klee Larsen’s photos from a 2013 show. Patricia Larsen. Janaki and Pascal Roy. The chairs in Klee’s apartment came from her high school. Klee in her living room. Opposite: In Patricia’s home,
a cabinet rescued from a junk pile is now a resting spot for textiles picked up in various Mexican locales.
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There’s no shortage of creativity and talent in the Larsen family: Patricia is an accomplished painter living in Pescadero, Mexico, while her daughters— Janaki, a potter, and Klee, a photographer—reside in Vancouver, Canada. There, the two sisters, along with Janaki’s husband Pascal Roy, run Le Marché St. George (marchestgeorge.com), a charming corner shop and café. One look at their homes, not to mention their artistic endeavors, and it’s easy to see that a great eye for design runs in this family.
Text by ANH-MINH LE Vancouver Photographs by CLAUDETTE CARRACEDO Mexico Photographs by AMY DICKERSON
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N THE LARSEN FAMILY, there’s no stigma to hand-me-downs. “I’m so lucky,” says Klee, 28. “My mom [Patricia] and sister [Janaki] find amazing things, and then I get to borrow them!” Take the gold candelabra that hangs above her sofa: it belongs to Janaki and was originally loaned to Klee as decoration for one of her art shows, entitled Oro (which means “gold” in Italian). “I have just kept on borrowing it,” adds Klee with a laugh. Klee currently manages the café at Le Marché St. George, and she lives next door with her friend, Melissa Hudson, in a two-bedroom apartment that Janaki and Pascal previously called home. Remnants of the couple’s decorating efforts include wood floors that were painted a dark gray-mauve, and the textured living room wall, a result of what remained after the wallpaper was removed. Like many 20-somethings, Klee and Melissa have furnished their home with plenty of pieces that were gifts or passed down. “How you place items and put colors and textures together is how you make things your own,” says Klee. In the living room, an old army cot came from a neighbor, whose father slept on it while serving in World War II. A friend’s mom provided Klee with the slightly beat-up green desk that’s tucked into a corner. Art by Klee’s family members, as well as Klee’s own photography (kleelarsen.com), populate the apartment.
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klee, 20s She recently started experimenting with printing her images on transparent paper, such as vellum, then laying the images on wood boards and adding layers of paint, paper, and resin or wax. Klee currently ascribes the adjectives “constructed” and “quirky” to the interior. “Having student loans and living in Vancouver does not give you much extra money for home decor,” she says. “You have to be inventive. A nice vintage blanket and a couple of throws to cover a couch are more cost-effective than a new couch.” (The Ikea sofa anchoring the living room was a gift.) “You don’t have to have tons of money to have interesting style,” she continues. “It can be as simple as a can of white paint, a score at the flea market, and some sticks from your neighbor’s tree.”
Above left: The art in Klee’s
home includes pieces by Patricia (large painting) and Janaki (foot sculpture), as well as a work by Klee and Janaki’s father, Ron Crawford (square painting).
A young couple makes the move to San Francisco, where new opportunities—for decorating their apartment and exploring their environs—are plentiful Text by ANH-MINH LE Photographs by ERIN KUNKEL Styling by MIRANDA JONES
moving
FORWARD
AS THE SAN FRANCISCO EDITOR of lifestyle
website Refinery29 (refinery29.com), Angela Tafoya is exposed to plenty of cool makers, designers, and shops. But the 27-year-old admits that she views most of them as sources for inspiration—rather than actual sources for decorating the San Francisco apartment she shares with artist boyfriend Eric Bailey, 34. “My job is good for finding out about people and places, but they’re not always budget-friendly,” she says. “And we’re all about finding the deals and DIYing.” Angela and Eric met in Los Angeles and moved to the Bay Area together five years ago. With two dogs in tow—Rye and Oliver—and given the competitive rental market in San Francisco, they settled in Emeryville, just on the east side of the Bay Bridge. After four years in a tri-level loft there, they lucked out: a friend told them about a soon-to-be-vacant spot in San Francisco’s Mission District. Since the apartment was not yet listed, Angela and Eric didn’t have to contend with other rental applicants. In addition to its prime location—within close proximity to plenty of bars, restaurants, and shops— the unit had a couple of other important perks: the landlord permitted dogs and was open to tenants making changes. The ground-floor space was once used as a gallery; so, since moving in last spring, Angela and Eric have done some work to make it function better as a residence. They got rid of the moveable gallery walls, which was no easy feat because they were so well constructed. The previous tenants had also built a lofted area, along with the stairs that led up to it and the walk-in closet beneath
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In Angela Tafoya and Eric Bailey’s living room, Eames chairs, a vintage cot repurposed as a coffee table, a sofa passed down from his mom, and wooden side tables made by friend David Franklin happily coexist. The art in the space includes a neon piece by Meryl Pataky and a sheep drawing by Meagan Donegan.
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the great ENTERTAINERS Although there is no shortage of restaurants nearby, the couple enjoys cooking and often entertains. “Eric is definitely the chef in the house,� admits Angela. In addition to his culinary creations, Eric made the open shelves in the kitchen. Behind the bar in the dining area hangs a Mike Giant print with the names of local dive bars.
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the PROTAGONIST With her self-assured style, an Italian tastemaker deftly navigates the design world Text by LAURA RYSMAN Photographs by ANDREA WYNER 15
T
he world of design
has as its capital the city of Milan—a dominion where shop and gallery owner Rossana Orlandi is both queen and jester. Every April, Milan’s Salone del Mobile brings together a global furniture and design community for an overloaded week of events, exhibits, and parties. At the top of the must-see list is the Spazio Rossana Orlandi (rossanaorlandi.com), Rossana’s 12-yearold eponymous establishment that is housed in a former tie factory. There, in the otherwise remote neighborhood of Magenta, Rossana puts together an annual presentation of the 65 designers she deems most prescient—choices that are regularly cited as a bellwether for the industry. In the past, she has presented unorthodox pieces like Nika Zupanc’s lascivious lamp composed of a pair of monumental blown-glass cherries in gold; vintage furniture covered in embroidered textiles depicting vivid tales of politics and immigration from the Beirut duo Bokja; and Alvaro Catalán de Ocón’s now ubiquitous basket-style PET lamps woven in the Colombian Amazon from strips of recycled soda bottles. A vision of the current design moment seen through her provocatively witty prism, her exhibition stands apart in location and philosophy, deviating from the rigid, minimalist design that otherwise tends to define Milan. For our lunch date, Rossana arrives wrapped in layers of functional black wool and nylon, loudly punctuated by accents of her preferred
Top to bottom: A sofa by Yuya Ushida, a
Japanese designer based in the Netherlands, occupies a spot on the ground floor of Spazio Rossana Orlandi. The Milan shop’s owner and namesake.
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A native Angeleno shares the memories and highlights of the Venice Beach she grew up in, along with newer favorites that have sprung up over the years Text and Photographs by LAURE JOLIET
L.A. STORY
An electric trestle sign greets locals and visitors alike at Pacific and Windward Avenues, near the Venice Beach Boardwalk. Previous page: Artist Diana
Garcia’s cross between a unicorn, wolf, and cheetah distinguishes the exterior of Gjelina restaurant.
BY ALL ACCOUNTS, I AM A PROUD THIRD-GENERATION ANGELENO. A LITTLE TECHNICALITY is that my dad is
French and until I was five years old, my family lived between Los Angeles (my mom’s hometown) and Paris (my dad’s). But after my parents divorced, we all settled in the greater Los Angeles area—my mom in Glendale and my dad in Venice. So I grew up spending weekdays in the suburbs and weekends at the beach. When my dad moved to Venice in 1986, it was largely viewed as Santa Monica’s ugly stepsister—a sleepy, gritty artists’ enclave. There were few remaining traces of the luxury resort that developer and conservationist Abbot Kinney had envisioned for the two miles of beachfront 80 years prior. So why did my dad choose Venice? Coming from Paris, living by the beach in Los Angeles, in any capacity, was living the dream. A little sketchiness only added to the charm. Plus, in the mid-1980s, Venice was full of French expats—including my dad’s cousin, Marie, and her son, Louis (who was conveniently
my age and also an only child; surrogate brother!). We lived in a 500square-foot house that was part of a strip of matching white bungalows built in the ’20s. Writer and photographer Laure The whole block, Joliet’s childhood home in or “island” as it was L.A.’s Venice area. known, had once faced one of the many canals that gave the area its name. At the turn of the 20th century, Kinney had won the marshy wetlands of Venice in a coin toss, and he ambitiously set out to recreate the great canals of Venice, Italy. The neighborhood opened in 1905 and became a sort of West Coast version of Coney Island, full of side shows and cheap thrills. But after Kinney’s death in 1920, followed closely
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Left to right: Boardwalk vendor and artist Jake Napier of Venice Woods makes laser-engraved wood etchings. A
Sonoran Sun cocktail at the Hotel Erwin’s rooftop bar. Employee-recommended tomes at Small World Books.
by the main pier and amusement park burning down, the area declined. By the 1930s, many of the canals were paved over—victims of city politics and high maintenance. The few canals that remained fell further into disrepair until a restoration project in the early ’90s set the stage for the million-dollar neighborhood you see today.
and newcomers often associate Venice with the boutiques and restaurants that line Abbot Kinney Boulevard, it’s not what comes to mind when I think of the neighborhood. As a kid, my regular outings included walking down to the Venice Beach Boardwalk with my dad to people-watch and get a classic (not vegan, not orWHILE VISITORS
VENICE BEACH Venice Beach encompasses the beach itself, along with the adjacent promenade (a.k.a. the boardwalk). Grab a bite to eat, duck into a shop, take in a street performance, or just sit back and people-watch. Figtree’s Café
Small World Books
429 Ocean Front Walk
1407 Ocean Front Walk
figtreescafe.com
smallworldbooks.com
Hotel Erwin
Venice Beach Boardwalk
1697 Pacific Avenue
1800 Ocean Front Walk
hotelerwin.com
laparks.org/venice
The Sidewalk Café
Windward Farms
1401 Ocean Front Walk
105 Windward Avenue
thesidewalkcafe.com
(310) 392-3566
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ganic) chocolate ice-cream cone. Harry Perry was a common sight back then, in his roller-skates and acoustic guitar; he has since upgraded to Rollerblades and an electric guitar, but his signature turban remains. There were also performers juggling chainsaws, tarot card readers, and epic roller-skating competitions that would hold me captive for hours. Much to my delight, the boardwalk and its cast of characters haven’t drastically changed since my childhood. Sure, it’s touristy, but don’t rule it out completely just because it’s lacking the cool factor of Abbot Kinney Boulevard. Look past the Bob Marley posters, Red Hot Chili Pepper tees, and endless incense and sunglasses purveyors that dot the promenade and you’ll find some gems like Small World Books. Tucked behind the The Sidewalk Café since 1976, it’s everything I want in a bookstore: it’s small, it’s well curated, the books go all the way to the ceiling, and the people working there are dedicated
DESIGN that ENDURES
In their city and country dwellings, as well as their retail stores, a Bay Area couple extols a timeless aesthetic
Text by MIRANDA JONES Photographs by KELLY ISHIKAWA Styling by ROD HIPSKIND
IN THE CITY
This page: In the living
room, the sofa and tables are from B&B Italia, while the marblebased floor lamp is the Arco. The three prints are by Donald Judd. Opposite: “We have been
together so long, and we share clothes,” says Todd Barket (standing) of his and Carl Chiara’s similar sartorial style. “We like things that are washed, tactile, utilitarian, and slightly luxurious.”
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T
o hear Todd Barket and Carl Chiara talk about the state of their San Francisco home when they first saw it 11 years ago sounds like something out of one of those whole-house renovation TV shows—complete with wall-to-wall shag carpeting, original 1980s kitchen, and flocked wallpaper in the bathroom. But the duo— owners of Unionmade (unionmadegoods.com), a men’s boutique known for its refined Americana style—recognized that the William Stout-designed dwelling had potential. Its bank of windows and jaw-dropping views were certainly a selling point, as was the covetable location at the end of a quiet street. Todd and Carl knew that once they stripped it bare, the house’s clean lines and well-thought out spaces would shine. “At its core, it is timeless. Well, other than the glass blocks, which I do love,” admits Todd, gesturing toward the architectural element in the entry. Carl, 44, and Todd, 41, met 14 years ago at a bar; a couple of years later, Todd moved into Carl’s one-bedroom apartment. At that point, Carl had a love for antique furniture. “We had a pretty mixed point of view happening there,” says Todd. But by the time they settled into their next place together—an open loft space with tons of windows—they had
“This place is really a blank canvas; you can do whatever you want in terms of design details.�
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“We tried to make smart interior design decisions because we only wanted to have to do it once.” shifted away from antiques toward a more modern aesthetic, a precursor to the one they share today. “When we moved into our current house, we tried to make smart interior design decisions because we only wanted to have to do it once,” says Carl. “Every few years we add to it with new things we like. But before we make any large purchases, we are very thoughtful about longevity.” To that end, he and Todd invested in pieces like Eames dining chairs, an Arco floor lamp, and a B&B Italia sofa—which they accessorized with items that have a decidedly handmade feel. A collection of studio pottery in earth tones rests on the dining table and a hand-woven Indian throw is draped over the arm of the sofa. “This place is really a blank canvas; you can do whatever you want in terms of design details,” Carl observes. “The secret is keeping the majority of things white and kind of light.” In 2009, Todd opened the first Unionmade in the city’s Castro neighborhood as somewhat of a
Cassina’s La Rotonda table design dates back to the 1970s. In the couple’s dining room, it is joined by Eames molded plywood chairs and the hand-blown glass Miconos light by Artemide.
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Clockwise from top left: A Marga-
ret Kilgallen work hangs above the bed in the guest room. In the office, the art includes a photo of Carl and his twin brothers from the early 1970s, Jenny Holzer postcard, Ed Templeton photo, and Mark Gonzales pencil drawing. Holzer’s “Truisms” line a hallway; nearby is another Templeton photo and vintage pottery. Overflow clothing is kept in the office.
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PRIZED Possession
“As a collector of vintage and antique items, it’s very hard for me to pick just one prized possession. But this 1950s Buco motorcycle jacket that I got for Christmas a couple of years ago stands out for several reasons. Although I had it fitted to me, since it’s made of horsehide I had to wear it almost nonstop to get it to break in. I love that it’s literally covered in memories: as I travel, it collects patches, pins, and souvenirs. The jacket is also like a wingman—making me look tough and protecting me from bad weather.” Country songstress NIKKI LANE’s new record, All Or Nothing, is slated for a May 2014 release. A native of South Carolina, Nikki now makes her home in Nashville. (nikkilane.com)
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HAIR BY BOBBY ELIOT. MAKEUP BY TOBY FLEISCHMAN
Photograph by AMY DICKERSON