Pasadena Home Design Guide

Proper Hotel

From shops and craftspeople to galleries and architectural eye candy, here’s our guide to some of the most stylish aspects of the city.

Pasadena Design Guide

BY ANUSH BENLIYAN

✦ At his ARBOR EXCHANGE design and build studio, master craftsman Josh Jackson creates customizable heirloom-quality furniture using sustainable domestic hardwoods like black walnut, white oak, and hard maple. arborexchange.com

✦ BONITA INTERIORS proprietor Angela Dickerson-Lee curates an ever-changing, global mix of eclectic home goods and artworks—and offers interior design consultations to boot. bonitainteriors.com

✦ Founded by husband-and-wife duo Richard and Helena Martinez, BORBOLETA (Portuguese for butter y) specializes in bespoke wooden furniture created to last, from armoires and beds to farmhouse tables. borboletadecors.com

✦ Susan Sawasy, principal designer of the full-service interior design studio CASA WASY, infuses every project with a perfect mélange of traditional and contemporary, making for re ned yet cozy environments. casawasy.com

✦ The namesake designer

behind CHARMEAN NEITHART INTERIORS nds inspiration for her playful, sun-drenched projects from international travels, transforming local residences with Japanese modern and Spanish bohemian aesthetics. charmean-neithart-interiors.com

✦ COLORES DE MEXICO has an inventory of countless traditional, handcrafted

SHOPS, DESIGNERS, ARTISANS

Arbor Exchange

Mexican tiles. Think rustic Saltillo terracotta oor tiles and vibrantly hued and patterned decorative Talavera tiles perfect for both indoors and outdoors. coloresdemexicotile.com

✦ Interior designer Jeanne K Chung taps her extensive knowledge of historical styles and periods when dreaming up residential projects and curating charming home furnishings

for her shop, COZY STYLISH CHIC. cozystylishchic.com

✦ Through her eponymous full-service studio, artist/designer CYNTHIA BOYD honors and preserves historic homes while maximizing space for modern lifestyles and incorporates the latest energy-saving technologies along the way. cynthiaboyddesign.com

✦ The inventory of Deepali Pareek’s DE-COR retail showroom and gallery runs the gamut from handcrafted artifacts and textiles to furnishings and reclaimed architectural elements that celebrate the Indian subcontinent. de-cor.com

✦ Set in a 1920s-era brick warehouse in Old Pasadena, this

De-Cor

outpost of DESIGN WITHIN REACH is home to a slew of authentic midcentury furnishings, all sourced from manufacturers who hold the rights to produce the respective designers’ works. dwr.com

✦ At FARROW & BALL’s Green Street location, the beloved British label stocks its quirkily named, eco-friendly paints—including the new California Collection created in collaboration with designer Kelly Wearstler—and handcrafted wallpaper. farrow-ball.com

✦ A Pasadena mainstay since 1899, FISHBECKS is a wonderland of upscale outdoor and casual furniture, plus

House of Honey

Maude Woods

garden statuary, fountains, umbrellas, gazebos, pergolas, and canopies. Bonus: the store offers free local delivery and setup. shbecks.com

✦ Those on the hunt for unique contemporary artworks and conversation pieces, look no further than the Edgar Allen Poe–inspired GOLD BUG gallery. This neo-Victorian cabinet of curiosities stocks the works of independent artists, plus home accessories, jewelry, and more. goldbugpasadena.com

✦ HÖMAGE owner Jill Pearson curates an array of home goods and gifts for her shop, among them ceramics, candles, glassware, stationery, and jewelry, all by local artists and small studios. homagepasadena.com

✦ Lauded interior designer Tamara Kaye-Honey draws inspiration from her background in fashion and her international travels for the whimsical-yet-modern abodes she dreams up. Her South Pasadena–based boutique design studio, HOUSE OF HONEY, also has a second outpost in Montecito. houseofhoney.com

✦ With a roster of international clients—including Sofía Vergara and Joe Manganiello—Jennifer Bevan Mon-

toya of JENNIFER BEVAN INTERIORS has a knack for injecting a sense of livable luxury into every one of her projects. jenniferbevan.com ✦ After nearly 30 years at its Allen Avenue location, LANZETTI CUSTOM UPHOLSTERY recently moved to a new showroom space on Colorado Boulevard where the experts are continuing their time-honored tradition of custom upholstery and antique restoration services. lanzettiupholstery.net

✦ At MAUDE WOODS, proprietor Carrie Davich’s collected decor, furniture, bath linens, kitchen accessories, textiles, and art mingle with covetable vintage and antique nds inside the light lled boutique. maudewoods.com

✦ Connecting architecture with nature, interior/exterior designer

MICHAELA SCHERRER’s work exudes a sense of calm by way of muted palettes and earthy textures. michaelascherrer.com

✦ A. PELTIER HOME, the shoppable range curated by South Pasadena–based interior designer Amy Peltier, comprises collectible home accessories and objects such as sea-foam glass bottles, hand-painted bone Hömage boxes, and distressed terra-cotta vases. peltierinteriors.com ✦ The sun-soaked historic homes transformed

by SAMANTHA WILLIAMS INTERIOR

DESIGN all share the local talent’s trademark touch—a fresh, streamlined twist on classic style— while each re ecting their homeowners’ distinct personalities. williamsinteriordesign.com

✦ SAXUM TILE DESIGN STUDIO houses a plethora of mesmerizing tiles from around the globe, including the latest from Mosaïque Surface and Caesarstone. The knowledgeable team will work with you, your designer, and/or contractor to customize its offerings to your needs. saxumtile.com

✦ Interior designer Robert Frank’s expertly edited collection of California-inspired home goods at SUMMERHOME spans raf a furniture and natural- ber rugs, handblown glassware, and rustic dinnerware. Frank also offers in-house design services. summerhomestore.com

✦ Artisan-crafted homewares take pride of place at the 5,400-squarefoot Old Pasadena outpost of ROOM & BOARD. The retailer, which is dedicated to sustainable practices and products, specializes in Shaker, Asian, Danish, arts and crafts, and modern styles. roomandboard.com

✦ Altadena-based multidisciplinary artist Kenesha Sneed of TACTILE MATTER creates objects and textiles that speak to empowerment and the Black female experience. Her offerings include made-to-order prints of her vibrant oil-on-canvas works. tactilematter.com

✦ Helmed by creative director Hanna Li, the full-service design rm ZEHANA INTERIORS incorporates elements of wellness, vitality, and comfort into its projects, marrying mixed metals and ultra-luxe pieces with natural textures and organic accents. zehana.com

Tactile Matter

FOR ARCHITECTURE AND HISTORY BUFFS

✦ Set on South Arroyo Boulevard,

the storied BATCHELDER HOUSE was where the namesake ceramist and tilemaker Ernest Allen Batchelder once resided and worked. Today a private home, the 1910 bungalow and its surrounding gardens are dotted with the late designer’s colorful handcrafted art tiles.

✦ Another quintessentially Pasadenian bungalow built in the arts and crafts style is the iconic GAMBLE HOUSE. Designed in 1908 by architects Greene and Greene as the winter residence of the Gamble family, the 8,100-squarefoot work of art is open to the public for ticketed tours, which will be resuming soon. gamblehouse.org ✦ Designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, the 1923-built MILLARD HOUSE—also known as La Miniatura—is a poetic masterpiece that showcases the visionary architect’s textile block system. The Mayaninspired private property, located near the Rose Bowl, is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

✦ With its distinct Romanesque revival bell tower, ST. ANDREW CHURCH was built in 1886 as the first Catholic church in Pasadena. Modeled after Rome’s Santa Sabina and Santa Maria in Cosmedin basilicas, the historic structure features Corinthian-capped scagliola columns (built by Italian immigrant artisans in the 20th century) and a Carrera marble altar. saintandrewpasadena.org

GAMBLE HOUSE: ALEX VERTIKOFF

Above and below: Gamble House. Opposite page: St. Andrew Church

Above: Cara Hotel. Below: Proper Hotel

EXCEPTIONAL EYE CANDY IN AND AROUND TOWN

✦ Recently transformed from a ’50s-era motel into a serene oasis within L.A., the CARA HOTEL in Los Feliz is an amalgam of Californian and Mediterranean aesthetics, featuring a central courtyard and tranquility pool, palms and century-old olive trees, whitewashed accommodations, and thoughtful design details such as locally made ceramics throughout. carahotel.com

✦ A romantic hidden gem in the heart of Pasadena, THE CELLAR is an intimate, below-ground wine bar “library” that stocks varietals from around the globe, including rare finds from Armenia and Brazil. The wood-clad space is decked out in Western classical composers’ portraits; wall-to-wall shelves of bottles and books; velvet and leather tufted sofas; and classic green banker’s lamps. lecellar.com

✦ Designed by Kelly Wearstler, the nearby, newly opened PROPER HOTEL is housed in a 1920s California Renaissance revival landmark building. Wearstler played on the historic architecture and incorporated elements of Mexican modernism, along with French- and Moroccan-influenced details, throughout the 148-room property. properhotel.com

✦ Lauded design duo Brittany Zwickl and Shannon Wollack (together known as Studio Life/Style) are the masterminds behind FACILE at The Commons. A must-know for any skincare junkie in town, the spa/dermatology office/boutique—an airy, neutral-hued space—is bedecked in custom furnishings and pieces from Lawson-Fenning and Consort. facileskin.com

TRIED-AND-TRUE ANTIQUE AND VINTAGE RESOURCES

Bougie Bazaar

bougiebazaarla.com

Hollis (pictured)

hollispasadena.com

Pasadena Antique Center and Annex

Pasadena Antique Mall

thepasadenaantiquemall.com

Pasadena City College Flea Market

pasadena.edu/community/flea-market

Revival Antiques

revivalantiques.com

Rose Bowl Flea Market

rgcshows.com

T. L. Gurley Antiques

gurleyantiques.com

Sacred Space Gardem Design. Below: Sarah Bazik of Sarahcotta Plants

INDOOR PLANTS AND LANDSCAPING

✦ BLVD NURSERY has been serving the community since 1991. The garden center, open for retail and wholesale, has an inventory of more than 1,000 indoor and outdoor plants and flowers, from in-demand fiddle leaf fig trees to massive evergreen succulents like the aloe Hercules. blvdnursery.com

✦ Specializing in sustainable, water-saving, and low-maintenance gardens, designer Tristam Bielecki and his team

at COLWYNN GARDEN DESIGN create beautiful drought-tolerant landscapes with California-native flora. colwynn.com

✦ Another local landscape business dedicated to creating water-wise oases is GARDEN NATIVES. Founded by Sydney Harrington and Amanda Claverie, the full-service firm designs landscapes with Californianative plants—helping support the ecosystem of butterflies, birds, and bees—and offers maintenance services as well. thegardennatives.com

✦ Master stone mason Omar Huerta Tobon and landscape designer Karen Miller are the husband-and-wife team behind the full-service firm SACRED

SPACE GARDEN DESIGN. With a roster of offerings, from custom hardscaping and shade structures to lush vegetable gardens, the duo creates decorative, California-friendly landscapes and outdoor “rooms” like kitchens. sacredspacegardendesign.com

✦ SARAHCOTTA PLANTS is a gorgeously curated petite plant shop in Glendale where proprietor Sarah Bazik stocks a plethora of both familiar and rare houseplants. Whether you’re on the lookout for a philodendron pink princess, caladium Miss Muffet, rubber tree, or lemon button fern, you’ll find it here alongside design-forward pots and quirky accessories. sarahcottaplants.com