Be a looky-loo for a good cause — see the Showcase House

I have to confess, as a connoisseur of historic houses, weekend open houses and designer showcases have always held a special allure for me. For a looky-loo like me, driving through historic neighborhoods of Los Angeles, most especially our own, one gets familiar with architectural styles, architects and the nuances of historic periods, but very rarely, unless invited in or they come up for sale, does one get to see the inside of these splendid houses. Does the language of the architecture continue inside or change? How do the occupants interpret the interior spaces and fill them? I often think of how I would decorate these interiors, how I would respond to the features or quirks of a house, what it would feel like living there. So I was particularly excited to be invited to preview this year’s 58th Pasadena Showcase House of Design, which is being held at one of Pasadena’s grand estates, the 1933 Colonial Revival-style Stewart House.

Stewart House

The house was designed by one of Pasadena’s most cel-

DESIGN FOR LIVING On Preservation

by Brian Curran

ebrated architectural firms, Marston and Maybury, designers of such Pasadena landmarks as the Chinese-inspired Grace Nicholson Building (home of the USC Pacific Asian Museum), the Old Pasadena Post Office, the Shakespeare Club and the Westminster Presbyterian Church. The client was Union Oil Company of California heir Arthur Stewart (grandson of founder Lyman Stewart) and his wife, Ruth Nicholson Stewart. For this home, the architects composed a 1930s version of Dallas’ South Fork, a grand columned manse with a semi-circular tree lined drive set on two acres of the former Rancho Santa Anita. Adjoining the house was a motor court, a pool complex and tennis court. At the time it included a stable and corral as well. This is the second time the house has been the Pasade- na Showcase House of Design, the first time being in 1983. Decorator showcase houses pose a particular challenge, not only to visitors, but to the architectural historian, because organizers take a magnificent house, remove everything of the owners’ and allow a designer to interpret a single space or room. For this year’s Pasadena Showcase House, these individually-designed spaces are united only by a chosen color palette starting with the Dunn-Edwards 2023 Color of the Year, which happens to be Terra Rosa, a rich dusky rose color.

With more than 30 interiors and garden spaces on view, this could be a bewildering kaleidoscope of color, pattern, texture and styles obscuring Marston and Maybury’s sophisticated layout and rooms. Luckily the creative skill on display — even when it veered toward the contemporary or experimental — was successful in enhancing spaces that might be passed by or considered an afterthought.

What struck me in the midst of all this elegant showmanship was how intimate the spaces were, belying the grandeur of the towering entrance portico with its lantern draped with chains. Visitors pass through this public projection of wealth and power into the private realm of the family typified by lower ceilings, smaller proportions and narrow passages for servants to circulate unseen. The entry hall and staircase are surprisingly understated after such a grand entry, almost a passage to quickly move to the drawing or dining room or wait while the lady of the house descends the stairs on her way for an evening out. Circulation proceeds to the right with the largest room of the house, the drawing room, which branches off to the garden room with an adjacent “speakeasy” and finally to the gilded cigar box sanctum sanctorum, the gentleman’s library.

It became clear that the house was designed to allow flow through the garden room to a terrace, then to the rear garden and lawn as well as the pool and tennis court. The size of the rooms would not allow for the type of entertaining required by a Union Oil executive and his society wife, so, for large-scale entertaining, the massive expanse of rear yard must have come into

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By Casey Russell

Some new stores have recently opened on Larchmont Boulevard, and their managements report that the businesses are doing well.

The manager of Boba the Great at 142 N. Larchmont told us that the store has received a warm welcome from the community.

“People who don’t even know what boba is pop their heads in and say, ‘Hey, welcome to the neighborhood!’ It seems to be a courteous, nice place.”

Boba the Great brews all its teas and purees in-house. The Signature Brown Sugar Milk Teas and the Signature Ice Teas have been quite popular, we were told. When asked what days and times seem to be busiest, the manager said that when school gets out, a lot of business comes in. The early hours on Sundays have been very busy as well.

So what is boba? It’s a sweet tea-infused drink with option- al sugary tapioca pearls lining the bottom, slurped with a straw.

Nearby, at Velvet by Graham and Spencer, 146 N. Larchmont Blvd., assistant store manager Kathryn Fissel told us the community has been extremely kind and welcoming. “We’ve received lots of little goodies from shops around just saying hello and welcome. It’s a really nice community here,” she said.

Velvet is a men’s and women’s clothing store. It already has seen repeat customers with people on their daily walks popping in to see what’s new. “The reaction of the people around us tells us this seems to be a really good fit,” said Fissel.

Thirteen Lune, 120 N. Larchmont Blvd., is getting closer to opening its doors and plans to be welcoming customers starting Fri., May 5. The shop will feature an assortment of beauty products for all skin colors.

New Italian restaurant coming to the Boulevard Beloved Italian restaurant Vernetti, which was opened on the Boulevard in 2014 by Steve and Joanna Vernetti, will be closing at the end of May. The couple said they have enjoyed serving Larchmont but are ready to move on to other things.

The space at 225 N. Larchmont Blvd. is being taken over by Hancock Park resident Shereen Arazm, an owner of Terroni on Beverly Boulevard. Arazm will be offering food from the Terroni Italian-based menu and special dishes for the new Larchmont Boulevard eatery.

Business owner Jess Rona of Jess Rona’s Grooming at 656 N. Larchmont Blvd. has been working to share her entrepreneurial skills. For the past several years, the pet groomer has offered a course to help small business owners on their journeys to becoming successful.

Rona knows how overwhelming it can be to start and run a business. Ten years ago, she was grooming pets in her garage.

But her now busy brickand-mortar store speaks to the success she knows is possible for people.

This year’s updated course is currently available for purchase on her website at jessronacourses.com.