Bohemian South-of-the-Border

Inspiration

We love the evocative, original, fluid styles showcased in the homes showcased in photographer/writer couple Tim Street-Porter and Annie Kelly’s latest tome Casa Mexico, At Home in Merida and the Yucatan ($55 from Rizzoli USA). While many of the room designs appear easypeasy, the elegant yet unstuffy balanced interior designs that would fit nicely in our own Santa Barbara lifestyle are quite hard to attain.

Available from local book dealers and shops including Chaucer’s, Tecolote, Book Den and Upstairs at Pierre La Fond.

Serapes y Cobjias!

Hand woven, striped wool blankets from the Peruvian highlands ($450-$550) come in a rainbow of pleasing colors. Perfect for outdoor entertaining when the sun drops -store them rolled up in a decorative ceramic pot or large basket. Argentine accent pillows ($315) are hand-dyed and crocheted hemp.

Upstairs at Pierre La Fond, East Valley Road, Montecito, 805-565-1503

Viva Carolina!

Longtime fine art and antiques dealer Carolina Pierpont grew up on an art-filled hacienda and farm in her native El Salvador that influenced her appreciation and knowledge of Latin American style. She still has roots in her home country and her penchant for Latin American art and artifacts is well known – but after a recent trip to Brazil, the bubbly Carolina has added some Brazilian pieces to her cool collections from Europe and other parts of the world. Now in a new warehouse showroom, Mediterranee is located in Carpinteria’s burgeoning industrial area “The Row” which has a brewery, mead house, wine and chocolate shops which adds up to many more reasons to shop at this end of Carp, a tasty destination in more ways than one!

Mediterranee Art & Antiques, 4193 Carpinteria Avenue #6, showroom phone: 805-695-0910 or cell 805-637-2842. www.mediterraneeantiques.com. Open Tuesday – Saturday 11 am-4 pm and by appointment

Santa Barbara Design Center is proud to bring you the finest sofas and couches on the Central Coast. Since we own the factory, the only limit to what we can do is your own imagination! We create our sofas from California alder wood in Los Angeles. From couches to sectionals to chaises to loveseats to recliners and everything in between, allow us to help you create your own perfect seat.

We pride ourselves in our craftsmanship, price, and the largest selection in Santa Barbara and the Central Coast. From traditional to contemporary to ultra modern, if you can dream it we can make it a reality.